The Girl Who Would Be King(16)

"Uh yeah, I'll have a Pepsi and a water…Lola?"

"Oh, yeah, Pepsi for me too."

"Okay, two Pepsis – any apps?"

"Yeah, yeah, Lo, how 'bout the appetizer sampler?" I just nod my head okay, my heart skipping beats in my chest, because I love that he’s calling me ‘Lo’. It sounds so natural, so intimate; nobody has ever called me ‘Lo’ before, except Delia, but it sounds totally different when he says it.

When the appetizer sampler comes I eat all the chicken tenders and Adrian eats all the crab and calamari and most of the wontons. The shrill waitress, Kimmy, arrives just as Adrian polishes off the last of the crab and she sets down a giant plate of shrimp pasta, just as she takes away the appetizer plate. The pasta actually looks pretty good even though the shrimps make me wanna squirm. My ‘rainforest burger’ looks pretty boring in comparison, but it tastes good.

"You really like seafood, huh?" I say between giant bites of my burger.

"Oh man, I totally love it. Ever since I was a kid it's been my favorite food. My mom practically raised Felice and I on fish tacos, y'know? I’m always kind of dying to get out of Vegas; head to some coast where the seafood has gotta be better than the desert, y’know? I heard about this place in Malibu where they literally catch the shit in the morning and whatever they catch is the special for the day because it's so fresh, y'know? I mean, imagine how good seafood that fresh has gotta taste?"

"Yeah, I guess. I don't really like seafood too much."

"Really? Well, I guess that's not that weird, a lot a people don't like seafood. You're totally missing out though."

"Well, to be honest I haven't tried it that much, it's just the idea of it, I don't know, it seems kinda icky."

"You should totally try it then. Here.” Adrian stabs a bit of shrimp and winds his fork around some pasta and holds it out to me. I'd had shrimp once before and hated it, but somehow it now seems like the adult thing to do, to try new things. I don’t want Adrian to think I’m someone afraid of things. Because I’m not. Also, it seems kind of romantic, so I take the bite and chew. To my surprise, it isn't awful.

"What do you think?"

"It's okay. I like the taste, but it's a little…rubbery maybe?"

"Yeah, shrimp can be that way; it's one of the reasons to get it super-fresh – the better the shrimp, and the better it's cooked the less rubbery it will taste. I'll get some good shrimp one of these days and cook you an awesome meal with it, then you'll totally come over to the dark side with me." I giggle a little bit but think it makes me seem way stupid so I stifle it. A kid at the table next to us starts screaming and I crinkle my nose.

“You don’t like kids, huh?” Adrian says without sounding judge-y.

“They’re okay, I guess. I do prefer the non-screamy ones.”

“Nah, I can tell you don’t like them.”

“Sure I do, sort of,” I stammer. I can’t imagine ever wanting to have kids, though, I guess, technically that’s not what he’s asking me. I know that, like Delia, if I have a daughter one day she’ll take my power, probably kill me for it, and I’m just getting used to having it. There’s no way I’m going to be willing to part with it anytime soon.

“I grew up with Felice and a whole mess of step-brothers, so I guess I feel pretty used to screaming. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“No. It was just me and Delia, I mean, my mom.”

“That sounds nice too, I mean the idea of things being calm and quiet sound like bliss. Plus, less sharing.”

“My mom and I were never close, ‘oil and water,’ she used to say.”

“Used to?” he pauses. “Did she pass?”

“Yeah. Yeah, she passed.”

“Was it recent?”

“Yeah, it was.”

“I only ask because, I mean, I’m not trying to be nosy, but you know you’re only 16, and obviously on your own, did you just run off?”

“Yeah, it was pretty sudden, her death, I mean, and I don’t have any living relatives, so I just hit the road. Figured I’m old enough to take care of myself,” I pause, as the conversation is giving him more information than I want to. I try to reverse out of it. “It’s working out pretty well so far,” I say, smiling at him.

Yeah, it is.” We share this long moment of silence before Kimmy breaks in on us again.

“How ‘bout some dessert, you two?” Adrian nods at me and so I look at Kimmy.

“Sure. What’ve you got?” We decide to split a brownie sundae of sorts and when Kimmy finally leaves the table, Adrian changes gears.