Page 9 of Devil in the Details
I popped the cap of my DP and brought it to my mouth, taking a long drink. “The way my week has been going, I’m sure the date will be a bust, so I might take you up on that offer.”
“Don’t you have one more interview?” Michael asked, and I exhaled over-dramatically.
I took another sip from the can and turned around to lean against the counter. “Yeah, but in less than two weeks, I lost my job, got three interviews, failed two of them, and am going on ablind date. Only good thing that came out of all this was the fact that I got a month’s severance from my fucking ex-boss, and I found the last Dr. Pepper in my fridge.”
Michael burst out laughing. “Hey, there’s always that silver lining, right?”
I shrugged even though I knew Michael couldn’t see me.
“Besides, the date tonight might be really incredible.” There was Michael again, always optimistic even in the crappiest times.
“Have you actually seen David’s brother?”
Michael cleared his throat. “I mean, I’ve seen pictures. Like, older pictures, but still. He couldn’t have changed that much. He’s not bad-looking.”
I snorted at that. “Not bad-looking” usually meant he wasn’t good-looking at all.
“Pope’s successful and nice, and I’m sure you guys will hit it off. But like I said, if you don’t, well, you’re still getting a meal at your favorite place.”
I exhaled slowly and finished off my pop before tossing the can in the recycling bin. “Yeah, I guess. I should probably get ready though.”
“Okay, but you tell me the moment you’re home and how it all went.”
I nodded. “Yeah, yeah. You’ll be the first to know how much it sucked.”
Michael chuckled. “You’re so dramatic.”
“I know it.” I hung up the phone and set it on the counter then just stood there for a moment. The burger joint wasn’t anything fancy, so I didn’t have to worry about dressing to impress, which was a little bit of weight off my shoulders.
It had been a long time since I’d been on an actual date, so not having to worry about prepping and primping was always a plus. But still, maybe Michael was right. Maybe Pope wouldexceed all my expectations and make this crappy week turn out to be pretty incredible.
I wouldn’t hold my breath though.
CHAPTER SIX
Olive
I’d arrived at the restaurant twenty minutes earlier than we were supposed to meet. I did that on purpose. Obviously.
I needed to collect myself, to decide where I wanted to sit—which was the table pressed against the wall and where I was facing the front door. I wasn’t really a control freak, but for a blind date, I was going to take that to the next level.
“Can I get you something to drink?”
I glanced at the waitress in her little white T-shirt that said Rocco’s in red across the chest. She was probably barely out of high school, what with her fresh, young face and that innocence in her eyes that spoke of the fact that she hadn’t really seen much of the world.
“Yeah, give me the spiked orange cream shake, please.”
“Sure. Can I see your ID?”
I should’ve been flattered she wanted to see my ID for the drink. I fished in my purse and got it out, showing her. When she handed it back, I shoved it in my wallet and watched her walk away. I’d have just enough time to suck down this drink,giving me a little bit of liquid courage to get through this night. I closed my eyes and placed my fingers at my temples, rubbing slow circles. I was already tired and the night had just begun.
It wasn’t more than five minutes later that my drink was being set in front of me, topped with whipped cream and a cherry. This was pretty much a meal itself, and if I were being honest, I didn’t see myself stopping at just this one alcoholic beverage.
Rocco’s wasn’t just a burger joint. It also had a full bar, pool table, a jukebox pressed against the corner, and a dance floor. It had a retro ‘50s feel to it, with oldies music playing overhead and a lot of the customers more my parents’ age. But their burgers were incredible, their shakes the best I’d ever had, and when they added some hard liquor to them… it made this place my favorite in the whole city.
For the next fifteen minutes, I sat there and sucked down that orange spiked shake. By the time I was slurping up the last of the whipped cream at the bottom, I felt that warm, familiar buzz from the liquor start to make its way through my veins.
I kept glancing at the door, expecting my date to walk through at any moment. I’d never gone on a blind date before, but it almost seemed like knowing more than just his first name would probably be a lot better, and safer. If he weren’t connected to Michael in some way, I would’ve said hell no to this little rendezvous.
