Page 85 of All I Ask
Present
I’m parked outside the restaurant where we’re supposed to meet. My nerves are out of control. Thank God Nina came over and picked out my clothes because I was completely lost.
What the hell do you wear to a date with a man you’ve loved your whole adult life?
Nothing looked right. I was trying too hard, not trying hard enough, or just plain frumpy.
Now, I’m here, in a deep purple dress and my hair curled in long waves—sitting in the car—like a chicken shit.
This is crazy. This is completely stupid and crazy. Derek can’t possibly want to date me, not really. He wants to figure out some weird thing in our past and see if it’s true. Hemust be just…going through some move-back-to-small-town-life crisis.
I start the car and then a knock causes me to jump. “Jesus.”
Derek is at the window, with a smile on his face. “Going somewhere?”
I close my eyes and let my head fall to the steering wheel. “God, I hate my life.”
“Were you running away?”
“Not very well.”
He chuckles and then opens the door. “No, but I give you a C for effort.”
“Just a C?” I ask as I turn my head to the side to catch a glimpse of him.
“I’m being generous too.”
Lucky me. “How long were you watching me?”
I have a feeling this is going to be the worst part. If he just happened upon me I won’t have to die from mortification, but if he was somehow skulking in the shadows and saw me sitting here for fifteen minutes, I’ll never live it down.
“Oh, since you pulled up.”
“Of course.”
“What were you doing? Convincing yourself it’s totally cool to bail on your date? I know you didn’t like being on the receiving end of it.”
“I wasn’t going to bail like he did. I planned to have a better reason,” I huff.
“How magnanimous of you.”
He leans over me, turning the engine off, and taking my keys.
“Hey!”
“We’re not eating in the car and really, you’ve lost the element of surprise.”
I glare at him as he grins. “Fine.”
“Just the way I like my dates to start off…”
I laugh and shake my head. “You haven’t been on a date in over thirteen years.”
Derek wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me to him. “Yes, and look how great this one is already going.”
We enter the restaurant and get to our table. I haven’t been to Pasta Palace since I was in high school. It’s a few towns over, which we thought was a good idea so we lessen the chances of running into anyone. Privacy is a commodity we don’t have an abundance of.
“You look great,” he says as we look over the menus.
