Page 20 of Screwed

The Blue Plate is situated right on the water and is a mix between upscale and casual. It’s a two-story restaurant with a deck on the lower and upper level so that diners can sit and enjoy the water.

The sun has already set, but there’re bobbing lights in the water and more lights placed along nearby pier posts. Twinkle lights shine overhead, wrapped around the wooden beams of the roof and I smile. The lighting in this place is one of the things that has always made this place feel so magical for me.

I let Arlo check us in with the hostess and we’re seated fast on the second floor.

“I hope that you don’t mind sitting outside,” he says as he pulls out my chair.

“I prefer it actually.”

“Good,” he says, his fingers brushing along the nape of my neck as he moves to take his own seat.

The hostess passes us our menus and lets us know that our waitress will be by shortly before she turns and heads back up front.

“Have you ever been here before?” Arlo asks me and I smile.

“Yeah, I’ve been coming here for my birthday since I was a kid.”

“Really? So then you know the best things on the menu.”

“I actually just always order the chicken tenders,” I admit and Arlo grins at me.

“Should we stick with the chicken tenders then or try something new?”

I know that it’s just a simple question but it feels huge. Do I want to continue with the same thing or am I ready for a change?

I blink at him and my heart rate kicks up. I don’t want to be alone anymore. I’m getting sick of being the third wheel with all of my friends. I want to be happy and in love like they are and I think that Arlo could be that for me.

So that’s why I open my mouth and say, “Let’s try something new.”

He smiles at me and I wonder if he knows that my words have a double meaning.

We open our menus and I start to look over mine.

“What about the wagyu beef sliders and truffle and parmesan fries to start? Then we can share the honey bourbon salmon, steak New Orleans, and the lobster pasta? Or what looks good to you?” He asks.

“That sounds good but I’m not sure that I can eat it all.”

“We can share.”

I nod and set my menu aside as our waitress walks up. I let Arlo order for both of us as I look out over the darkening water. There are a few boats in the distance and I can just make out their lights.

“It’s pretty out here,” he comments and I nod, turning back to him.

“You like the water?” I ask and he nods.

“Yeah, even in New York I had a place overlooking the lake in Central Park. I’ve always loved the beach. Every vacation that I took was to someplace tropical. It was like I couldn’t relax unless I was by the water.”

I smile at that. Growing up along the beach was cool but somewhere along the way, I stopped even noticing the water. I think that I was too wrapped up in work and proving my parents wrong. I was trying to make sure that I was a success so that I didn’t let my grandparents down.

“What about you? Would you rather vacation at the beach or up in the mountains or something?”

“Hmm, I hum as I take a sip of my water. “I don’t know. I can’t even remember the last vacation that I went on.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, we weren’t super well off growing up and my parents were obsessed with saving up for their retirement and stuff. I spent summers with my grandparents most of the time. Going to the beach sounds like fun but I just can’t picture myself in a swimsuit in front of so many people,” I say with a self-deprecating laugh. “Maybe we’d have to go to one that wasn’t so popular.”

Arlo frowns at that.

---