Page 11 of Finding Fate

The platter was filled with chips covered in refried beans, chicken, ground meat, fajita meat, and three different kinds of cheeses. In the center of the nachos was a large bowl full of queso sauce for dipping. It was a huge amount of food, necessary for the guys’ seemingly bottomless stomachs.

“Yep, that’s it,” Tucker answered her as they all started clearing the table, having gathered at their favorite hole-in-the-wall place for dinner.

“Does everything look okay?” the waitress asked, making sure to lean closer to Tucker as she set down their order.

He glimpsed at her nametag with a grin, admiring the view she’d given him. “Looks great, Kelsey. I think we’re good for now.”

“I’ll be sure to check on you later then,” she said, looking back as she walked away.

Annie shared a look with Izzy after the exchange. They rolled their eyes as their waitress headed to the next table. Tucker barely even tried that time, and the girl looked ready to throw herself at him. “Pathetic,” Annie thought as she started to fill her plate, the helping already picked over by the guys.

“I will never understand how you two can put so much in your stomachs,” Annie commented at the heaping piles on their plates.

Jet looked up with a mouth full of food and answered, “Wha? We’re ‘ungry.” Tucker hadn’t even bothered to look up. He just kept shoveling the food into his mouth.

She looked at Izzy, who was staring, horrified, at the display. “I should be used to this by now…” Izzy commented. “But… I mean…”

Annie nodded. They were like animals around food sometimes. “So…remind me why I date him, sis,” she teased, pointing at her boyfriend.

Izzy just shook her head. “That is beyond me at this point.”

Jet finally managed to swallow. “’Cause you love me. Besides, you knew how I was before you agreed to go out with me,” he smirked, clearly unaffected by the girls’ comments as his attention returned to the food.

Isabel sat back, letting her meal digest and looked around the restaurant. Most of the tables were full, and there were a few people standing up at the front counter for to-go orders. At the back of that line, she saw a newly familiar face already watching her. He smiled and left the line, heading in their direction.

“Hey, what’s up?” Wesley asked when he reached their table. He leaned casually against the edge of the booth, flashing Izzy a grin.

“He is so cute,” she thought, unable to help her giddy smile. “Not much. We were just finishing up lunch. Do you want to join us? There’s plenty. Sort of,” she corrected, noticing the guys were filling their plates for their third helping. Tucker growled when she started to scoot in.

They all looked over, surprised at his reaction.

“Something caught in my throat,” he said gruffly, reaching for his drink.

“Uh…I think I’ll have to pass for now. I’m just here to pick up the take-out my parents ordered.”

“Oh,” Isabel replied, disappointed.

“But hey,” Wesley ran his fingers through his short, dark hair, giving her his charming smile, “I’m glad I ran into you. I got tickets to a concert tomorrow and wanted to see if you’d like to go.”

Isabel beamed. “I’ll have to check with my mom, but I’d love to!” she said excitedly.

“Great, I’ll text you the details.”

“Great.”

“Catch y’all later,” he waived to the group, heading back to the register.

Jet had paused on his current helping to observe the interaction. “So this thing with Wesley is going well, huh?”

She could feel the pink hit her cheeks as she responded. “Yeah, I think so. We have fun, and he’s really cute.”

Annie looked at her curiously. “Future boyfriend kind of fun? You’re usually so picky.”

Isabel smiled, flushing deeper as she hid behind her glass. “We’ll see,” she replied.

Tucker tried not to glare as he sucked down his soda. He was pissed that Izzy was going out with Wesley again. It didn’t make sense. He wanted Izzy to be happy. Wesley seemed okay. They got along fine at work. “Maybe I’m just being protective,” he thought. Izzy had had a small fling with a guy at dance camp once, but that was it, unless you counted a few bad first dates. “I just don’t want her to get hurt,” he tried to reassure himself.

“Yet half the time, you can’t look away from those legs,”his brain argued.

“I brought some refills,” their waitress said as she returned. She leaned suggestively past Tucker again as she switched his glass. “Need anything else?”

He shook off his last thought, frustrated, and forced his best charming smile. “Just your number, Kelsey. Can I take you out sometime?”

“Sure,” she beamed. From the corner of his eye, he watched Izzy frown.

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