Page 26 of When Our Stars Aligned

I open the door and the chaos of smells that is signature to the restaurant immediately assaults me. The smell of coffee is always the first to hit my nose. Then comes a mixture of maple syrup, spaghetti sauce, meatloaf, and the crap cologne the frat boys are wearing these days. As I walk up to the counter to place my order, the back of my neck tightens and my heart starts to race. She’s in here somewhere. I just know it. My body only reacts this way to her, and for some reason, I’ve developed a sixth sense that alerts me when she’s nearby.

After our first real conversation on the beach, I realized that Aly is someone I could really enjoy having in my life…as a friend. Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself. Deep down, I worry I want more than just a friendship, but I can’t consume myself with those thoughts.

I place my order with the overly perky college student manning the register. She hands me my order number and drink. As I turn to look for an empty table, I spot Aly in the far-right corner. She is wearing jeans and a green polo with the university’s crest of a lion in the upper-left corner. Her dirty-blond hair is pulled back into a messy bun. She is sitting cross-legged on her chair and concentrating on writing something in a notebook. I can’t help myself and head towards her table. Shemust sense me too because she slowly looks in my direction. Her mouth turns into a friendly smile as soon as we lock eyes.

“Hey! What are you doing here?” Her tone is a mixture of surprise and curiosity. She nudges the chair across from her with her foot as if to tell me to sit down.

“I had some business to take care of nearby and missed lunch.” I sit down and look at her tray. “Pineapple and pepperoni on your pizza, huh?”

“I know, I know. Some people don’t believe pineapple belongs on pizza, but seriously, don’t knock it until you try it.”

“Perhaps I will,” I say.

“Number eighty-four!” a kid yells, pushing a tray onto the counter.

“That’s me.” I hook my thumb over my shoulder. “Be right back.” She nods and puts her notebook away in her bag.

A second later, I place my tray down next to hers and she looks up in disbelief.

“You can’t be serious,” she says, still staring at my plate.

“Well, you said I should try it.”

“Bullshit! You ordered that before you saw what I had.” She leans back into her chair, her eyes still on my tray. “Huh, I’ve never known anyone else to like pineapple and pepperoni on their pizza.”

“What can I say? I guess great minds think alike.”

Aly and I make small talk as we eat our meal together. She tells me that her schedule changed unexpectedly due to a water main break near the campus. Because of that, all college-level classes temporarily switched to an online format until further notice. She wasn’t even supposed to be in Molly’s when I came in.

“Okay, so now that we’ve established that we have the same favorite pizza toppings, what kind of business were you doing out this way?”

“Do you know what I do for a living?” I take a bite of my pizza.

“Apparently, that’s a mystery among the girls.” She takes a sip of her drink. “Michelle thinks you’re some sort of hitman for hire and Gabby thinks you’re a stripper.”

Her words make me nearly choke on my food. “Carter works with me sometimes. Could you picture him as a hitman or a stripper?” I say after clearing my throat.

“Hmm…” She taps her chin. “I don’t think Carter has the ability to hurt a fly, but he is a great dancer.”

“Good point! Are you done for the day, or do you have to go back to work?”

“I’m actually done for the day.”

“Great! How about you come with me and I’ll show you what I do.”

“Okay, but if you’re a hitman and plan to kill me, just know that Iwillcome back to haunt you.”

“Fair enough, and if I’m a stripper?”

“We need to stop at an ATM ’cause I don’t have any cash on me.”

I throw my head back in laughter. We finish our meal amongst more small talk. It’s funny how we can talk about nothing and it feels right, good even. With the exception of my family, I don’t normally talk so freely with women. I don’t know why, but I’ve decided to show her what I do for a living and I’m oddly excited to see what she thinks. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I promise you won’t need cash.”

“Great! Haunting it is.”

I grab onto her shoulders and lead her towards my truck. We drive for about fifteen minutes toward the rural section of town. The conversation flows easily as we talk about everything from our favorite movies to bands we like. I even notice she has a decent singing voice…when she gets the lyrics right.

“You do realize he’s sayingtiny dancerand notTony Danza, right?”

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