Page 22 of Between Us

The question comes out right as she’s taking a drink from her water bottle. She chokes from surprise, sputtering some droplets down her chin and onto her chest. Her awkward nature’s one of the most endearing things about her, especially because it seems heightened when she’s talking to me.

Wiping her face and side-eyeing me, she shakes her head.

“Want to get dinner? There are those food trucks I’ve been wanting to check out.”

“Oh, The Loop. Yeah, the food’s really good.”

“Great, I’ll drive,” I chime in.

“Wait. What? No. I didn’t mean ‘yeah’like that. Just in like, confirmation of where you were talking about.”

Opening the exit door for her, I ask with faux hurt, “So, you don’t want to have dinner with me?”

“I—what? No—”

I cut her off, playfully clutching my heart and attempting puppy dog eyes for the first time in my life. I wouldn’t consider myself a particularly ‘girl crazy’ person, despite what my mother might say. But since I turned sixteen and started lifting weights, I’ve never had to reallytrywhen I liked someone either.

Blake, though? She doesn’t make it easy on me. It’s rare she holds a full conversation with me, and I have to initiateallof them. Sometimes when she sees me, a light blush graces her cheeks, and she will avoid me when possible.

I’ve considered maybe leaving her alone and taking her alleged disinterest at face value, but then I see her watching me over the computer screen or eavesdropping when I’m talking to the clients—specifically the women. And it gives me a new surge of hope.

And this is a prime opportunity.

“I guess I’ll just eat alone… again.”

She scoffs, but her expression falls in either remorse or guilt. I’m not above using it to my advantage at this moment, though it doesn’t make me feelgood.

“You’re manipulating me,” she accuses when we stop next to her old black Jetta.

Shrugging, I lean one arm on the hood of her car. “Is it working? I’m hungry.”

Her mouth falls in indignation. I can almost see the word ‘no’ forming on her tongue, but she surprises me. “You’re buying, I assume?”

A big, dopey smile forms, and I probably look like a love-struck fool.I feel like one.

“Of course.”

She nods once and unlocks her car. “I’ll meet you there?”

I wouldn’t mind driving her, so it could feel like a real date. But I can see her fighting her instinct to run for the hills so it’s a small compromise on my part.

Plus, I can save that for our firstofficialdate.

Chapter Eleven

Adrian

“Thisplaceiscool,”I muse as Blake, and I walk into The Loop. It’s my first time coming here, even though I pass it while driving multiple times a week.

It’s more or less a large lot that’s been renovated into a seating area with tables and lanes for the food trucks to park in. There are about four right now, sometimes more depending on the day. It’s in between the local businesses and the beach, which makes it convenient despite where you’re spending your day in Amada Beach.

“It is,” Blake easily agrees, seeming more at ease than when we first ran into each other. “These four trucks”—she points in front of us—“are always here. They opened The Loop about two years ago and rent out the other spots to different trucks throughout the week. It can be hard to catch the others sometimes, but these are the best ones in my opinion.”

I take in the four trucks as Blake fondly describes each one. There’s a pizza one that seems to be an extension of the local parlor Tossin’ Tomatoes. The truck’s name is Slice of Tomato. There’s also a waffle truck named Stacks, a barbeque truck named Finger Lickin’ Good BBQ, and one named Gringo’s Tacos that made me laugh, but Blake swears that it’s one of the most popular trucks in the city.

“What are you getting?” I ask, leaning toward the barbeque myself.

Typically, I’d go home, and either make something or warm-up one of my prepped meals for the week. My dad turned me into a bit of a foodie when I was growing up, and I love to cook. It’s one of my favorite hobbies outside of weightlifting. I don’t have as much time for it as I wish. Even most of my pre-cooked meals are more or less the same, rotating between about six different options.

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