Page 15 of Family Bonds- Kelsey & Van

“I wouldn’t have guessed by the comfort level you felt coming in or the way the hostess smiled and then dropped it the minute she realized we were together.”

He smirked quickly and then turned when the waitress came over. “I’ll have the IPA on tap,” he said.

“The same,” Kelsey said. When he lifted an eyebrow at her, she asked, “What? Don’t I look like the beer-drinking type to you?”

“I’m not sure what you look like to me or what I think.”

She laughed. “Good. I like to keep people guessing.”

“I bet you’re a pro at that,” he said.

“Maybe,” she said. “I’ve got to tell you, I didn’t think you’d reach out to me at all let alone this soon, though I was hoping.”

“I had nothing else better to do tonight,” he said.

She smiled. “Gee, thanks. It was between having a drink with an incompetent dog owner or channel surfing? Glad to know I won that one.”

“There you go,” he said. “Not much of a hard choice if you ask me.”

His eyes were taking her in. She’d made sure to put a bit more effort into her appearance since the last time he saw her looking like a lunatic chasing a four-month-old eight-pound puppy down the road waving her arms and yelling.

“I’ll take it,” she said.

Their drinks were brought back and the server asked if they wanted any appetizers.

“Sure,” Van said.

The server put the menu down and then walked away. “Not very friendly, is she?”

He shrugged. “She seems new to me, but I haven’t been here that long either.”

“You’re new to the island but not this establishment?” she asked.

“Sort of. I’ve been on the island now for about two months, give or take a week. Been coming here the entire time. It’s not far from my place and I can get a quiet drink and food.”

“I’ve never been here before,” she said. “But I know most places on the island. I do work for a lot of them.”

He lifted his eyebrow at her. “You know what I do, what about you?”

“Since you asked so kindly,” she said tongue in cheek. She lifted her beer and took a sip, then wrinkled her nose.

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothing,” she said, “I’m not a big beer drinker.”

“Then why did you get it?” he asked.

“I didn’t know what their wine selection was going to be and didn’t want to order a scotch.”

No reason to have a big amount on the tab.

She’d planned on paying her share but didn’t want to put him on the spot either.

She’d learned from her last years of shitty online dating to let the man make the first move. It’d tell her a lot about how he reacted to things.

“Get what you want,” he said. “No reason to choke something down you don’t like.” When the server came back to get their appetizer order, she got nachos and Van ordered wings. “Do you or don’t you want a scotch?”

She liked he didn’t just do it for her but rather asked, “I’d like two fingers straight with a glass of water.”

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