Page 83 of Verses

“Yeah. They said it was a possibility tonight.”

We’d had a few small flurries here and there but no major snowstorms thus far, not that this one would amount to anything. It seemed like we got more snow in January and February than the months before, and this year was bound to be the same.

Still…I liked snow and this seemed like nature’s blessing on me and Wolf.

“I’ve got good tires and four-wheel drive. Let it snow.”

“Yay!” As he drove down the highway and tiny flakes continued to melt as soon as they hit the windshield, I noticed the music playing from his CD player. It was interesting in that it definitely sounded like hard rock, but I could have sworn I heard an organ. I listened to it for a while, just appreciating being exposed to something new—that was actually only new to me. I could tell that it was older. “Who is this?”

“Deep Purple.”

“Oh. I’ve heard of them.”

“Good. I would have driven the truck into a tree if you’d asked who they were.”

I started laughing. “Haven’t you talked about them before?” Meaning that was probably the only time I’d actually heard of them. I mean…it wasn’t like I didn’t respect old bands and musicians like Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix, but it was harder getting into them.

The stuff Wolf was playing at that moment in his truck, though…even though it sounded old, it was catchy.

Wolf said, “Probably. They’re one of my favorites.”

“I can see why.”

“Yeah? You like ‘em okay?”

“I do.” Reaching toward the stereo, I said, “So we need to crank it!”

“Not too loud, Hayley.”

Feeling ornery, I said, “You know what they say, don’t you?”

“What’s that?”

“If it’s too loud, you’re—”

“That’s not it. I don’t want you to blow out my speakers. I paid a lot of money for them.”

“Fine.” But I still turned it up a little more before leaning back in the seat. And I watched as the snowflakes grew thicker and came down faster and we got closer to Silver City while enjoying a new audible experience.

Soon, Wolf was pulling into the parking lot of a Mexican restaurant calledDos Amigos. Like before, I was sliding off the seat by the time he met me on that side of the truck. He held out his hand to help me—but he let go as soon as my feet were on the ground.

At first, I felt a little disappointed but remembered that he might not be ready to make our relationship public yet.

When we entered the warm restaurant, the sounds of mariachi music poured down from above and a pretty young woman with her hair piled on top of her head asked, “Two?”

Wolf said, “Yes,” and we had to practically run to keep up with her. As we got deeper into the restaurant, I understood why. They were busy and almost every table was filled. At the back, though, there was a big booth for us. Too big for just two, but it wasn’t like we had much of a choice.

The woman said, “Someone will be right with you.”

I asked Wolf, “Are they always this busy?”

“I don’t know. I’ve only been here once.”

Before I even had the menu open, a young man came by the table to place chips and salsa on the table, followed by two small glasses of water. “Your waiter will be with you in a minute.”

I didn’t want to eat too much, because if I had my way later in the evening, I’d be jumping this guy’s bones—kind of hard to do when your belly’s too full. So once the waiter arrived, I asked for the small combination with a burrito and taco. Wolf had no suchqualms. He ordered a huge platter with three enchiladas, rice, and beans—and a Dos Equis. “Wanna beer, Hayley?”

Again, I was thinking what a beer would do to my digestive system. “No, thanks. I’ll stick with water for now.”

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