Page 46 of Tiny Fractures

“You don’t?” I ask, truly surprised. Ronan is exceptionally handsome and I have no doubt at all that he could get any girl to go out with him if he so much as hinted at it.

“No,” he says, shaking his head. “In fact, I don’t usually even take a girl’s number, and I definitely don’t give out mine.”

“Huh, I must be special,” I say, wiping imaginary dust off my shoulder.

“You are,” he says with such sincerity that it throws me off.

I blush violently, not knowing how to respond. “So why don’t you go on dates?” I ask, studying him and forcing the heat to leave my face. “You’re not gay.”

Ronan laughs out loud. “No, definitely not gay.”

“You’re hot, so it can’t be that girls don’t want to go out with you.”

“You think I’m hot?”

“Does that surprise you?” I ask, my tone flirty, but he just laughs again. “Okay, so if you don’t go on dates, then you’re either a serial killer or you have some weird fetish or something.”

“Or maybe it’s both,” Ronan teases with a shrug.

“Oh god, why didn’t Vada warn me?”

“She’s scared of me,” Ronan says with a knowing nod.

“Yeah, she seems absolutely terrified,” I agree, then laugh.

“Actually, I should be scared of her. She has a total thing for sneaking up on me. She scared the crap out of me last night,” he tells me. “I have no doubt she would murder me in my sleep.”

I laugh out loud but shake my head. “I would say I could see that about Vada, but I’m pretty sure she cares too much about you to kill you.”

“Sheesh, I hope you’re right,” he sighs, making me laugh even more.

We drive for a while, though I don’t pay particular attention to where Ronan is taking us. I only realize we’re deep in the city when Ronan pulls into a small parking lot in front of a hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant.

As soon as we step inside, it’s obvious that Ronan knows the owner because a short, round man with flour all over his turquoise apron walks around the counter and gives Ronan a bear-hug. He shouts something in Italian that neither I, nor apparently Ronan, understand. “I haven’t seen you in ages,” the short man says in a thick accent, repeatedly clapping Ronan on the back. “Sit, sit. I have a new creation you must try. Oh,” he says after he spots me, “and who is this?” he asks, not taking his eyes off me.

Ronan laughs, shaking his head. “This is Cat.” He introduces me to the short man, Benito, and I shake his hand. He has small, crinkly eyes and a strong handshake. His belly shakes when he laughs and he talks as though he’s attempting to have a conversation with a heavy metal band playing right next to him, and it makes me laugh.

“Si, Ronan, she's beautiful,” he says, clearly attempting to whisper but failing miserably. “Your girlfriend?”

Ronan’s eyes meet mine. “No, not my girlfriend, Benito. Just… Just a friend.” As if trying to challenge me, Ronan keeps his eyes locked on mine, but I’m forced to break eye contact when Benito turns to me.

“Say, bella señora, you need to have Ronan here as your boyfriend. He will take good care of you.”

I blush and look down.

“Alright, Benito. Why don’t you whip us up something good? Surprise us,” Ronan says, and I’m grateful for the subject change. Benito walks back behind the counter and shouts something in Italian again. Ronan is laughing as he leads me to a table and we sit down. “I’m sorry, I should have warned you about Benito. He’s very…”

“Friendly?”

He laughs again, nodding. “Yeah, you could say that.” Ronan’s eyes sparkle as he laughs, and I join in because it’s so contagious.

By the time Benito brings our pizza, Ronan and I are deep in conversation about growing up in a small town. I pick a piece of pizza off the tray and transfer it to my plate, grabbing my knife and fork, ready to start eating.

“What are you doing?” Ronan asks with amusement, scanning the silver utensils in my hands.

“Umm, I’m about to eat some pizza,” I reply with a confused look. Ronan bursts out laughing, and I look around for an answer. “Am I doing something wrong?”

“Is this how you always eat pizza?” he asks me, still grinning, eyes sparkling.

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