I stopped in my steps and looked at him.
This was… unexpected.
The thought didn’t make me tense up.
Actually, I thought that it sounded really nice.
But then it also sounded like it was bordering on date-like.
Yes, I wanted that but was I ready for it?
“I heard that sandwich shop across the street is good. I haven’t tried it yet, though,” he said, his eyes looking into mine almost as if they were unsure.
Sandwiches didn’t sound too date-like. Right? More of a casual friends hanging out sort of thing. I often ate with Laurel and Cami, so this wasn’t much different.
But I knew it was, even if I was trying hard to deny it.
“I would like that,” I told him with a smile.
The relief washed over him the moment the words left my mouth. I could admit that I was happy to see it.
He put his bag away in one of the compartments on his bike, then we walked across the street.
The place was cute. There weren’t a lot of tables and since we were seated in the back, it almost had an intimate feel to it. I couldn’t say I hated it.
He ordered the roast beef sandwich with swiss cheese and mushroom gravy. I had trouble deciding and since I was already a bit nervous, I ended up just pointing to something on the menu. It was a good thing I liked turkey.
“Is it good?” I asked with a giggle as I watched his eyes roll back in his head at the first bite.
“So good.” He tried his hardest to tell me without showing me the mouthful of food he was working on.
I giggled some more.
Next thing I knew, he was shoving it in my face and telling me to try it. I didn’t hesitate to do so and I had the same reaction as him the moment the flavors hit my tongue.
I had a feeling that turkey wasn’t going to cut it after that.
“Here, you want to switch half?” he asked and he was already picking up the untouched half of his sandwich and moving it toward me.
“Thank you,” I told him after he took half of my boring one away. “So… Mouse…”
I didn’t know what to do at this point. Talking should have been easy. I knew him, he knew me. We’d had many conversations before. So why was this so different?
Then I got it in my head that I should maybe try to… flirt? I’d seen Tricia do it enough times, I should be able to copy some of it. I wasn’t saying I would go all crazy with the arm touching and stuff like she did.
His eyes were on mine, so intensely waiting for me to say something. I realized that I had kind of left my last sentence hanging.
My mind was blank and I scrambled for something quick to say.
“How is your day going?” Even as the words came out of my mouth I wanted to roll my eyes.
If I seemed stupid, he didn’t let it show.
“Really good so far. Actually, one of the best I’ve had in a long time.”
Wow, the way he was looking at me was as if he was telling those words to my soul. The deep penetrating stare was almost too much and I instantly caught onto what he meant. I was the reason it was one of the best that he’d had in a long time. This special time, right here, was the reason he seemed much lighter now.
Okay, I was going to do this. I knew it now. This was not just two friends hanging out. So, I decided to try playing with my hair because I’d seen Tricia do that often.
