Page 11 of Devil in the Details
“Have you ever eaten here before?” I knew the answer before he even spoke. He didn’t seem like the type to eat at a place like this, not because it was a shithole or anything, but because I envisioned him dining at some five-star, three hundred dollar a meal establishment.
His looks screamed he had money.
Pope leaned back in his chair and looked around before shaking his head a second later. “No, and I’m kicking myself in the ass for not trying this place out sooner. I’m loving the whole retro feel going on.”
Huh, this guy might have money, but I was liking his attitude, which was not stuck up at all.
He ended up ordering a beer, and after we placed our hamburger and french fries order, we were left alone. I’d suckeddown half of my second shake by this point, and although I was feeling pretty buzzed, I was trying not to act like I was. I didn’t want him to think I was a lush within the first twenty minutes of us meeting.
There was a moment of this weird, heavy silence as we waited for his beer to arrive, and the entire time, he stared at me, this little smirk on his face as if he knew I was uncomfortable, as if he kind of liked me squirming under his stare. But the reason I was uncomfortable was because I certainly hadn’t expected him to be so damn attractive.
When his beer arrived, he immediately picked it up and took a long drink. The expression on his face when he set it back on the table was one of pleasure, as if he’d been waiting for that moment all day.
I idly wondered if that was the expression he had when he came.
Oh my God. My thoughts were filthy. I blamed the damn alcohol.
“Good I take it?” Why the hell I even said that was beyond me. At this point, I should have just kept my mouth shut.
“You have no idea how good that tasted.” The way he said that made chills move along my body. “I swear my entire week has been one big shit show.”
I felt this wave start to fill me after he said that. “We must be having the same type of week.” I leaned in and took a long drink from my shake, looking at him, him looking at me, a connection bouncing between us.
Before long, I realized I was nearly finished with my shake. The waitress set our food in front of us, but instead of ordering another shake, I went with a beer. I probably shouldn’t have been mixing alcohol, but I didn’t think I could take another orange freeze. The things were like a meal in itself.
“Damn, this is what I call a burger.”
I didn’t hold back my smile after Pope spoke. He’d ordered the Pulp Fiction burger, which was a massive prime rib patty with cheese and was topped with everything you could imagine, and had the “Royale” sauce. The fries had some secret sauce topping them, but really, I thought it was just Miracle Whip and ketchup. But that combination in itself was incredible.
And I’d gone for the Plain Jane, which was just a regular old cheeseburger with the make-it-yourself toppings. And of course, my fries had that secret sauce on the side. Maybe a girly girl would have gotten a salad, but hell, I didn’t care if I got a bunch of crap all over my face. I was getting drunk and was starving.
I was surprised at how comfortable I felt around Pope, given the fact that we didn’t know each other. Or maybe it was all this alcohol I was drinking. Speaking of alcohol… I picked up my glass and took a long drink, the frosty beer refreshing.
I started eating my fries as I watched Pope pick up his massive burger and take a bite. He wasn’t even concerned about dripping sauce on his pristine white shirt, which I found incredibly sexy for some reason. I just assumed a man like him, who looked like him, who clearly had money, would be uptight as hell and worry about his appearance. But he didn’t seem to care as he had ketchup on the side of his mouth after he took a bite.
He picked up a napkin and wiped it off then made this low, pleasure-filled groan. “Goddamn. That’s the best burger I’ve ever had.”
I nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Rocco’s burgers are the best. It’s a shame it isn’t more well-known than it is, but I think, because it’s not in the greatest part of the city, it keeps people away.”
“Yeah, but I’ve had some incredible eats at some of the shadiest restaurants.” He grinned, and I felt my belly tighten at the sight.
I don’t know what it was about Pope, but I felt this pull toward him. And that’s how I should have known to pull back or I’d end up making a fool of myself.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Olive
For the next twenty minutes, we ate our meal and did small talk. We didn’t discuss anything personal, and I wondered if he was conscious of that fact like I was. We mainly talked about how we liked living in the city, how our food was, that Michael and David really seemed to like each other, and I realized Pope was a pretty down-to-earth guy.
This blind date was actually turning out to be pretty incredible, but I didn’t feel any vibes coming from him, none that gave me the impression he was into me the way I was into him.
And honestly, that kind of sucked, because I was really liking him.
“Can I be honest?”
I was mid-bite, nearly finished with my burger, when he spoke. He was done with his meal, was working on his second beer, and had his focus trained on me when I glanced up at him.
“I prefer honesty over bullshit,” I said after I swallowed. Of course, if I weren’t feeling pretty damn loose right now from thedrinks, I probably would have had a better filter, especially on a first date.
