Page 150 of Off Camera
“Thanks. So do you.” I touch his tie and the scruff of his beard. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going so dressed up?”
“It’s a surprise.” He kisses me one more time then leads me to his car, opening the passenger-side door. “But I’ll give you a hint. You’ve been here before. Both places, actually.”
“Intriguing.” I adjust my dress under me when I sit, trying to avoid any wrinkles. “You have my attention.”
“Finally,” Reid says once he rounds the car and slips into the driver’s seat.
We make small talk on the drive, catching each other up on our days. He asks if I’m ready for the road game in Minneapolis. I ask how the Titans players are spending their bye week. It’s easy and light and exactly how it always is with us.
I don’t even realize he’s shifting the car to park until he’s unbuckling his seatbelt and turning off the ignition. I look out the dashboard and burst out laughing.
“Why the hell are we at this shitty sports bar again?” I ask.
“Why not?” he tosses back.
“Does the offer to hold back my hair if I get sick still stand?”
“Of course it does,” Reid says. “But maybe we avoid the mozzarella sticks tonight. Just to be safe.”
We’re ridiculously overdressed for the location, and everyone stares at us when we walk in. Reid rests his hand on my lower back as the hostess leads us to a booth, and I shrug off my coat before sitting.
“People are looking at us,” I say.
“People are looking atyou,” he counters, settling across from me. “I’m an afterthought.”
“Not to me you’re not.”
Reid smiles and leans back. “Feel familiar?”
“This is the booth I sat in the night we met. The terrible memories of that date haven’t escaped me that easily.”
“You were sitting there. And I was—” He lifts his chin to the bar, the line of stools in the same positions as the last time I was here. “Sitting about ten feet away over there.”
“You must have thought I was the world’s stupidest woman.”
“No.” He shakes his head and pushes his glasses up his nose. “The opposite, actually. I kept trying to sneak glances at you to see what you looked like.”
“When I walked up and asked if I could sit next to you, you were more interested in your phone than you were in me.”
“So I wouldn’t say something that made me sound like an idiot. The most beautiful woman in the world was six inches away from me, in my space, and I was trying to play it cool.”
“You were my knight in shining armor,” I tell him. “My hero.”
“Well.” Reid puffs out his chest. “I’m happy to have been of service.”
We both order whiskeys and a plate of nachos to share, knocking our glasses together when the drinks come out. He gets the bartender to turn on the Orlando Blazers basketball game and moves to my side of the booth so he can wrap an arm around me while we watch the second quarter.
After a questionable plate of wings, our server brings over a slice of cheesecake and two forks. Reid cuts off a bite and holds it out to me.
“To not being allergic,” he says, and I grin.
“And to good company,” I say, leaning forward and eating the dessert. “This cheesecake is the best thing about this place.”
“Really brings the average up to at least a C.”
“What else did you have planned?” I ask. “You mentioned another place.”
“Right.” He dusts off his hands and grabs my coat. “Ready for the next stop?”
