***
Callie stood in front of the large, backlit menu and gave Logan a second look. “This is the place?” she asked. She was wearing a dress and high heels. Apparently Logan hadn’t been kidding about there not being a dress code. This place was in-between the water and a parking lot.
“Best seafood on the eastern seaboard. I can’t believe there isn’t a line,” he said.
“It’s a shack… with a neon sign.” Callie said. She gave Logan a long look. She squinted her eyes and studied his face to see if he was playing some kind of practical joke, but he seemed completely serious.
“Yup, and almost everything is deep fried. Is that a problem?” he asked.
“For my appetite, no. For my figure? We’ll see.”
“Hang out here,” Logan pointed to a set of plastic outdoor table and chair sets next to the sign. The chairs were strewn about like someone had left in a hurry, and the tables were still covered in crumbs from previous diners. Callie decided to go with the flow and sat down. She could hear the sizzle of the deep frier from inside the shack. Logan laughed at Callie’s lack of enthusiasm. “I’ll order a plate for two,” he said.
“How romantic,” Callie said flatly.
“It will be like that scene in Lady and the Tramp, except with clam strips instead of spaghetti,” Logan offered.
“We’re already more or less in an alleyway,” Callie joked, she couldn’t help but laugh at the truth of her statement.
“Come on, we’re right on the water. We just saved a relationship from destruction, and we’re alone on a beautiful night. What’s could be more romantic than that?”
“Go order,” Callie said. A roof, a floor? Basic sanitary facilities? What exactly are the prerequisites for a romantic dinner? She watched Logan place the order and admitted to herself that there was a certain charm to eating outside with plastic forks and knives.
A few minutes later, Logan returned with a tray overflowing with every kind of seafood Callie could imagine. There were clams and muscles, lobster rolls, fish and chips, even calamari and scallops. “I thought you said this was for two. I think you could feed a family for a week with all this food.”
“Don’t forget the drink,” Logan said. He pointed to the massive soda that anchored one corner of the tray. “I’m counting on you to eat most of this anyway.”
“Ha,” Callie exclaimed, but then she took her first bite. Heaven. She was in heaven. Their car must have run off the road and now she was in heaven, because this was the best seafood she had ever had. The fish was flaky and tender. The clam strips were delicious and the batter had just the right amount of crunch and salt, and who cared if it was all deep fried? It was blissfully good. Each bite seemed better than the next. Then there was the lobster roll. Light and sweet, it melted in her mouth. It was all perfect. She could have eaten a dozen of them in one sitting. By the time Callie looked up, half the food was already gone, and Logan was smiling at her.
“You know, this might be the first time I’ve seen you eat,” he said.
“That’s not true. We had dinner on your boat, or have you already forgotten?”
“That was different. You picked at that. This you devoured. I like women who eat in front of men. God, if I have to watch another woman eat half a salad and declare herself full.”
Callie looked down at all the fried food. She’d probably be eating nothing but salads for the next week to make up for the meal, so she might as well make it worth her while. “Watch out, you might get what you ask for: a bunch of women with big appetites and bigger hips.”
“I like your hips the way they are, and, if eating like this is the key to your figure, please keep it up.”
The truth was, Callie could barely eat another bite. Ok, maybe she could find room for a few more clam strips. After another several minutes, she took a long sip of coke and declared herself full. “I feel like we’re in high school,” she said. “Eating fast food and drinking soda. It’s nice.”
“Yeah, the high schooler we visited today knocked up his teacher,” Logan said as he took the tray from Callie and popped a fried clam into his mouth and looked Callie over as he chewed. “If you want to pretend to be my teacher, I won’t protest. I’ve always had a thing for women in positions of power.”
“Let me guess, most of those positions are on top of you?” Callie said with a laugh.
“Look at you,” Logan said, “only a few weeks under my wing and you’re already worse than I am.”