Page 21 of Level Me Up

Chapter Thirteen

Morgan

As soon as I close the door behind us, I drop his hand before I can really let myself think about the fact that I was just holding his hand. The fact that he had a firm grasp on mine and his hand was warm was…well, it was just...nice.

"Sorry about them. They mean well, but Ruby is nosy. Actually, I'll probably be getting a text from her any moment now," I say as we start walking toward the elevators at the end of the hall.

He chuckles and says, "It's ok, we probably would have had the...”, and the whistle of my phone interrupts his thought, and he laughs, "Well Simon and Link would have done the same thing. They wouldn't have interrogated you. They would have tried to make me look like an idiot in front of you, though. Nice text tone, by the way.”

I chuckle, and I pull my phone from my purse. “It takes everything in me not to shout, ‘I volunteer!’ every time I hear it,” I say as I read the text.

Ruby:I was just going to say, that it sounded like your kind of date. ;) You two lovebirds have fun!

I smile and show him the phone so he can read the text himself when it vibrates in my hand to indicate another incoming text. He reads it with a smile. I quickly pull my phone away and read the new text.

Ruby:Also, lover boy looks totally hot tonight. Kiss, kiss!

Oh, my God. I know I'm blushing now, and I know he is looking at me. We enter the elevator at this point, and I don't really know what to say. I open my mouth but close it, not finding the right words immediately. Then I decide on, "So where are we eating?"

He shoves his hands in his pockets after pushing the first-floor button. "Well, what sounds good? We can go anywhere you'd like? Probably not somewhere we have to have a reservation, though, we might have to wait a while. Do you want a burger, or Italian, or Mexican? We could find a steak place too, if you want, or even pizza."

"Well, that all sounds fine. I do love Mexican food, but pizza sounds excellent, right now," I reply.

"Ok, I know a place. It has some of the best pizza in town. It has both deep dish and New York style, but it's in an arcade. Would that totally ruin the mood of our date? Would your friends disapprove?" He sounded really excited at first when he brought up the pizza, but I can tell now he’s worried I'm going to hate the idea of an arcade.

I laugh a little because, for one, he is worried about what Ruby and Gia will think, and two, it actually sounds like a really fun time.

"I think that that sounds like a great idea. I haven't been in a lot of arcades, so if we go there to eat, we have to play some games. Oh, do they have skee-ball? I love skee-ball!" I add with excitement.

"They most definitely have skee-ball."

As the elevator dings, and the doors slide open I add, "Oh, and Dex, it doesn't matter what Ruby and Gia think." He smiles and says ok, and then he holds an arm out for me to take.

We get to his car, and he opens the door for me. I slide into the passenger side seat of some kind of small SUV. As I look around I see that it’s a Ford, maybe an Explorer. It's nice and clean inside, and it smells like him. I take a deep breath right as he climbs into the car.

"So, Mike's Pizza is only about twenty minutes from here," he says, starting the car.

"Good, because like I said, I’m so hungry I could eat a cow," I reply. I can make fun of myself. Sometimes.

He laughs, “I like a girl with a healthy appetite.” He shoots me a quick glance and with a boyish grin adds, “I mean, as in food. I like a girl who has a healthy appetite for food.”

I can tell he didn’t mean that in a sexual way, but the fact that he tries to cover it up makes me smile. Then there is a sudden twitch deep in my belly that immediately has me thinking about what it would be like to have his hands all over me…

Calm down, Morgan! We are only five minutes into the date, I tell myself.

I mentally curse away the blush and lean in toward him and with a sly and flirty smile, “I knew what you were talking about, Dex.”

About thirty minutes later, we find ourselves sitting at a table for two in the center of the arcade. We ordered our pizza and drinks at the front counter and then snagged up one of the only available tables left. I expected a lot more family and kids, but there are a lot more college-age groups here. There isn't much light, but there’s enough over the eating area.

The outside walls are lined with arcade games, and there are several rows of more games toward the back of the room. The table is small but clean and is set with everything you'd find on the table of a pizza place; crushed red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese stashed to the side. Our numbered card is put in the tall card holder in the middle of the table. Our drinks come out in clear plastic cups, but it looks like we’ll be using real plates and flatware, not paper and plastic.

"So, what do you think?" he asks.

"It's like a big kid Chuck E. Cheese! I've already spotted the skee-ball machines," I say a little giddy. "I used to beg my parents to take me to Chuck E. Cheese when I was a kid. I just hope the pizza is better here!"

"I promise, the pizza is amazing, but I remember the pizza being pretty good at Chuck E. Cheese’s, though. Although, I'm an equal opportunist when it comes to pizza. I've never met a pizza I didn't like," he says.

"Hmm, you've got a point. Pizza is pizza, and pizza is good."

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