“I’ll be right back with your orders,” she says, taking our menus.
“Dorine, could we have one of those children’s menus?” Charlie asks, and I raise an eyebrow at him. “We need something to do while we wait,” he shrugs.
She chuckles and nods. “I’ll be right back.” A minute later she returns with two children’s menus and two sets of crayons. “There you go.” She sets them down on the table. “You guys have fun.” I see Charlie wink at her and she lets out another laugh before leaving us alone again.
“Better be careful or she’ll want to take you home with her,” I tease him.
“She can’t have me,” he replies. “I’m all yours.” His grin is wide and my heart skips a beat. God how I wish that were true. I’d give anything to have him be mine. All mine.
“So, what gives with the kiddie menus?” I ask him.
“Play tic-tac-toe with me,” he says, sliding one menu aside and then pushing the other menu towards me. He opens a packet of crayons and holds them up. “Which one?”
This is so utterly ridiculous, I can’t help but smile. When was the last time I used a crayon for anything? The last time I colored? The last time I played a game on a restaurant menu? Fuck, I think Trey was a child. That was ages ago. “Green.” I take it from his outstretched hand. He goes for blue and we start. There’s four different tic-tac-toe boards and we tie on all but one, which Charlie wins, and then throws his arms up in the air and cheers, making everyone in the restaurant turn their heads in our direction. I laugh and cover my mouth with my hand.
“Ooh, they have a would-you-rather game on the back.” Charlie wiggles in his seat. God, he’s so fucking adorable. “Would you rather kiss a frog or hug a snake?” His gaze lingers on me expectantly.
“Neither,” I say.
“Eh, wrong,” he replies, making the buzzing sound of a game show and slapping the table. “You have to pick one.”
I groan. “Seriously? This is like asking, ‘would you rather be stabbed in your right eye or your left?’”
Charlie laughs loudly and I can’t help but follow suit, attracting the attention of the other guests yet again. “Okay, even though I’m terrified of snakes, I’d probably pick that, because kissing a frog is gross and depending on the frog they can actually have poisonous skin, so, there.” I shiver and Charlie chuckles.
“I didn’t know you were afraid of snakes,” he says.
I nod. “And if you ever try to scare me with a fake one I promise you it will not go well.” I eye him because I know that’s the type of thing he would do.
“Scary how well you know me already,” he says with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.
“What about you?”
“Probably the snake,” he agrees, then peers down at the menu, ready for another one. That’s when Dorine arrives with our food and sets it in front of us. My eyes bug out of my head when I see the size of Charlie’s pancakes, filled with cheesecake bits and covered in strawberries and whipped cream. It looks like a diabetic coma on a plate. And Charlie is elated.
“Thank you,” we both say, and Charlie stops her before she can walk away.
“Hey, Dorine, would you rather be able to slide down rainbows or jump on clouds?”
She smiles. “Probably rainbows,” she says. “I’m too old to jump. You guys enjoy.”
Charlie takes a few bites of his pancakes and then looks at me with his mouth full. “You want any?”
I laugh and shake my head. “No thanks.”
“Darn,” he pouts. “I was hoping to trade you.”
I laugh again. “You could just ask.”
He grins. “Can I?”
“Help yourself,” I say, and he reaches across the table and snatches a piece of bacon.
“Thanks, Papa Bear,” he says softly, then proceeds to devour it.
Dorine comes back a couple of times to refill our coffee and ask if we need anything else, and of course Charlie charms her with his smile and vibrant personality each time. When she leaves the check on the table for us she turns to him.
“You wouldn’t be looking for a job by any chance, would you?”
