Page 24 of I Am Sin

The host—his nametag says Tex, of all things—glances around toward the back of the diner. “Looks like Lexi’s cleaning it right now. I’ll get you two seated in a minute.”

“Wait a minute,” I say. “You just told me half an hour.”

“That’s before I knew you were with Dragon here.” He nods in Dragon’s direction, smiling. “He’s a regular. We always have a table for him.”

I widen my eyes and look at Dragon.

He simply shrugs.

A few minutes later, Tex leads us back around the corner to a tiny booth. “You can see why this place is always available,” Tex says to me. “Sometimes we don’t even use it—only when we’re incredibly busy like tonight.”

The booth indeed has seen better days. The plastic coating on the table is cracked, and the vinyl covering the two benches is ripped. It’s smaller too—a booth for two as opposed to the other booths that seat four or six.

“Have you been here before?” Tex asks me.

“Afraid I haven’t. But I’m looking forward to it.”

He gestures to the napkin holder against the wall. “Menus are in there. And the Saturday night special is Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes and green beans.”

“Sounds good, Tex,” Dragon says. “Obliged.”

Tex nods. “Glad to see you back, Dragon. Hope to see you around.” He heads back to the host’s stand.

“Hey, Dragon.” A blond waitress approaches us. “Tex said you were back.”

“Hey, Lexi,” Dragon says. “This is Diana.”

Lexi smiles sweetly at me. “Good to meet you, Diana. Did Tex tell you about tonight’s special?”

“Salisbury steak with mashies,” Dragon says. “Sounds good to me.”

I can’t help but smile. Dragon, the brooding rock star, just referred to mashed potatoes as mashies. In public, in front of a perfect stranger.

Underneath his gloomy exterior, could there be something light, even playful?

“Tex probably neglected to mention that our special tonight is also cherry pie.” She winks at Dragon. “And Iknowyou love cherry pie.” She turns to me. “What can I get for you, doll?”

“Uh…I haven’t looked at the menu yet.” At the moment, I’m too busy wondering why Dragon told me he didn’t like sweets when he obviously loves cherry pie. “Can I have a minute?”

“You sure can. I’ll be back in a flash.” She rushes away.

“I always get the special when I come here,” Dragon says. “They sell a lot of it, so it’s always hot and fresh.”

Does that mean the other food isnothot and fresh? Salisbury steak doesn’t sound great to me. I’m kind of a beef snob. You can’t grow up on a beef ranch and not be, so when I’m out, and it’s a place that doesn’t source its beef from my family’s ranch, I usually get chicken or fish.

I grab a menu and open it. A blob of ketchup greets me. I take a napkin and wipe it off.

“I guess I’ll have…” I scan the menu. “You have any recommendations?”

“Like I said, I almost always get the special. But I hear the chicken fingers are okay.”

I glance down. Chicken fingers served with fries and a side of coleslaw. That’ll work. “Chicken fingers it is.” I close my menu and return it to the holder.

Lexi returns with two glasses of water and sets them down. “You decided yet, doll?”

“Yes, upon recommendation, I will have the chicken fingers, please.”

“Good choice. And you, the special.” She makes notes on her pad and then shoves it in her apron pocket. “Shouldn’t be too long.”

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