Filthy Beast(72)
“You weren’t always this smooth talker?” she asks, smiling slightly.
“Believe it or not. Back then, there was this gorgeous girl, lived down the street from me, Becky Carmichael. God, I loved Becky so much I could barely breathe. You know how that can be, when you’re young. It’s the most intense feeling in the world.”
She smiles slightly and nods. “You’re almost stupid for it.”
“You think it’s the most important thing in the world.”
She laughs a little. “I felt that way for Robert Smith.”
I pause. “The guy from The Cure.”
She cocks her head. “The what?”
“Never mind.”
“He was a boy that went to my school. Couldn’t get enough of him. Long eyelashes.”
I grin at her. “Sounds like my Becky. Anyway, one night, my best friend Jimmy tells her that I have a crush on her, and dares her to kiss me. For whatever reason, she agrees, and we all meet in the back of this place, over by the bathrooms just out there.” I gesture toward the main room.
“Did you kiss her?” she asks.
“I did,” I say. “And it was the most incredible thing. Didn’t know what I was doing, but I was doing it. And as the kiss was ending, I heard a click and a laugh, and when I looked over, it was Jimmy, holding his father’s camera.”
“He didn’t!” Sadie says, laughing.
“He did,” I confirm. “And he got it developed and gave it to me years later. And I still have that picture.”
“No way,” she says, laughing.
“I do, I swear it. I’ll show you one day.”
“Okay then,” she says, shaking her head and smiling. “That’s a good story.”
“Your turn now,” I say, leaning back and sipping my drink. “Tell me about your first kiss.”
She laughs a little. “No way. It’s embarrassing.”
“Can’t be more embarrassing than mine. Besides, I bet you were a little flirt back then.”
“Hardly.” She smiles and fingers her wine glass. “I didn’t kiss a boy until I was sixteen.”
“Really?” I raise an eyebrow.
“Hard sometimes, being in my family.” She gets a little quiet and doesn’t elaborate.
I don’t push her. I get a glimpse of those depths again. I know there’s more to her than what’s on the surface, and I want to get to know her, but I know I have to be a little more delicate.
Our meals come soon and we fall into more comfortable small talk about our lives. She tells me about growing up with her family and going to school, and I tell her about what this neighborhood was like when I was young. We laugh a lot and things are surprisingly comfortable. The tension is still there, lingering beneath the surface, but she quickly loosens up and I can tell she forgets all about being annoyed.
Soon, our meals are finished, and we’re leaning back, stuffed to the brim.
“What did you think?” I ask her. “Best food ever, right?”
She nods. “And enough to feed a horse.”
“Easily. Two horses, I bet.”
She grins. “I like it here.”
“I’m glad. I love this place.”
I’m about to ask her something else about her life when suddenly the door opens. I’m expecting the waitress, but instead it’s a man I don’t recognize, tall and thin, wearing a suit and an overcoat.
Sadie turns to look at him. “Reginald?” she asks. “What are you doing here?”
“Excuse me, Miss Sadie, but it’s time.” He nods at his watch.
She narrows her eyes. “We just finished. We’re having a nice time.”
I feel a thrill run through me.
“I’m sorry, Miss Sadie,” Reginald says. “But your parents expect you promptly at ten.”
She looks surprised. “It’s that late already?”
Reginald nods. I check my watch, and sure enough, two hours slipped past without us realizing.
“Well, then,” I say, knowing when it’s time to let things take their course. “We should say good night.”
She nods and stands up. I can tell she wants to say something, but I don’t give her the chance.
“I had fun,” I say.
“Thanks,” she says awkwardly. We’re both aware of Reginald watching, his disapproving stare making her squirm a little.
I just ignore him. “Call me sometime. I had a good time.”
“Okay,” she says, pausing. “Good night.”
“Good night.”
She glances back at me as Reginald sweeps her away, taking her out of the room. I watch her leave and feel disappointed. It doesn’t occur to me until she’s gone that I never gave her my number.