Page 16 of Sack

Before Colt could answer, a man as round as he was tall approached. “Ah, Mr. Colt. Welcome. It’s been too long since we’ve seen you.”

“Thanks, Marco, but you know I need to stay away during the offseason. A diet of pizza and garlic bread isn’t good for the waistline.”

“Bah,” he waved a hand. “You don’t need to worry. Now, if you had a waistline like mine…” He patted his robust stomach and gave an even heartier laugh.

Colt waited for Marco’s laughter to fade before he asked, “Is the room upstairs free?”

“For you? Of course. Wanting a little privacy for you and the signorina?” He gave them an exaggerated wink and another belly laugh.

Ivy tensed. “Oh, it’s—”

“Come, come.” Marco gave them his back, cutting off whatever she was going to say.

They followed Marco up a short flight of stairs to a private dining room. He and his teammates had used it several times in the past for celebrations or when they wanted to eat a meal undisturbed.

Colt held out a chair at one of the smaller tables and waited for Ivy to sit before taking the seat across from her.

“Would you like your usual?” Marco asked as soon as Colt was situated.

“No, I think we’ll have a large meat lover’s.” He looked over at Ivy and winked.

She dramatically plopped an elbow onto the table and face-planted her palm, making Colt laugh. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”

His non-answer had her peeking at him from between her fingers.

Marco cleared his throat. “And can I get you something to drink?”

Sitting up, Ivy said, “I’ll have a Sprite, if you’ve got it.”

“Of course.”

“I’ll take an iced tea.”

They both watched Marco disappear down the stairs.

“I didn’t take you for an iced tea drinker.”

“No? What would you have guessed?”

She shrugged. “Beer, maybe soda.”

“I don’t drink a lot of alcohol, especially during the season, and soda is nothing but useless calories.”

“There’s diet soda.”

Colt grimaced. “Never could get used to the taste.”

Ivy scrunched her nose. “Me either. Did you know diet soda was first created for diabetics and people with cardiovascular problems?”

He shook his head.

“Yep. But it didn’t take long for dieters to discover it, which had soda companies scrambling to develop their own brands.”

Reaching into his file of useless trivia, he offered, “Like Tab?”

“Exactly!” She pointed a finger for emphasis. “But Diet-Rite actually came first.”

Marco reappeared with their drinks and a basket of bread.

---