“Because you only said you werethinkingof getting a burger. Did you actually have your mind made up?”
“Well, no but…”
“You would’ve taken forever to make a decision. I made the decision for both of us.”
“But wings sit in my stomach forever.”
“Jeez, you really aren’t from Buffalo, are you?”
He smiled. I didn’t smile back. I realized that this sort of thing was part and parcel of dating Kayden Preston. Amazingly, I didn’t feel deterred. He presented a challenge, and I was up to it.
“Besides,” he said, “it’s my chance to open you up to something new. Canadians don’t eat wings.”
“Yes, we do. How else would I know that they sit in my stomach forever?”
“But you don’t eatrealwings.”
“Oh God, what do you mean by that? Please tell me because I’m just dying to know.”
“No one loves a smartass, De Ruiter. Real wings are from Buffalo.”
“Whatever you say, dude.”
To say Kayden seemed distracted after that would be an understatement. My teammate glanced around the Colter Bay Grill constantly like he was either looking for somebody or expecting someone he knew to breeze through the door.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
He focused on me again, like his attention had never strayed, but I knew better.
“It doesn’t look like nothing,” I said. “Waiting for someone?”
“No way, dude. It’s nothing. Oh hey, I forgot to tell you, I brought you your shoes.”
“Gee, thanks so much, but I really prefer going barefoot.”
“There’s that wiseass edge again.”
We sat silently for a moment, Kayden glancing out the window here and there, and my eyes never left him. God, he looked so good, especially when I saw the way the light shining through the window struck his face.
Come on, man, stay in control,my inner voice said.Don’t give in until you’ve moved to the next step.
I appreciated that Kayden had made sure to look so good for our first “real” date. And I was glad that he hadn’t argued about it. But we had so much to talk about, and I worried about how he would react. Like, if I told him how much potential we had together, he would downplay it.
I would take the lead like I had before.
“You know this is going to be the first of many, right?” I asked.
“Many what?”
“Dates, dude.”
I said it loud enough for him to hear it over the music. He glanced around like I’d said something obscene and worried what those around us would think.
“What’s the problem?” I asked.
“You don’t have to be so loud, bro.”
