Once she arrived, her hands seemed a bit shaky; she was most definitely still on edge as she placed the hot dishes in front of each of us.
When she got to mine, though, somehow the tacos slipped off the plate—and right into my lap. I looked down to find a hot mess of red sauce saturating my crotch. And then came the burn.
Hot.
Hot.
Hot.
Sigmund broke out into hysterical laughter. “Not exactly the fire crotch you wished for from her, is it?” he whispered.
* * *
Felicity
Track 4: “Rock the Boat” by Aaliyah
My heart raced. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry.”
Instinctively, I grabbed a cloth napkin and began wiping his lap. When it hit me how inappropriate that was, I whipped my hand away.
“Felicity, it’s really all right.”
Before Leo could say anything more, I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a towel. Taking it over to the sink, I wet it and added some dish soap.
“Gino, I’m going to need another order of the snapper tacos. The last one accidentally fell…onto someone. I’m so sorry.”
The chef didn’t look too happy, but what choice did I have but to ask him?
I took the wet cloth back to Leo’s table and handed it to him. “Again, I’m so sorry.”
“No need to apologize. It was funny, actually,” he said, placing his hand gently on my wrist.
The contact sent an unexpected blast of arousal through me. “It’s not funny to me.” I pulled my wrist away. “I’ve put in another order. And it’s on me. Not on you this time. By on me, I mean I’ll cover the cost.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
I walked away again before he could say anything further.
When I returned to the kitchen, I took a few moments to compose myself before Gino announced the replacement snapper tacos were ready. Sweating, I took the plate off the counter and headed back into the dining room.
Placing the plate down carefully in front of Leo, I refused to make eye contact with him, instead looking over at a smirking Sig.
The rest of the evening, I did my best to avoid the table of doom altogether. I suppose that made me a terrible waitress, but I couldn’t risk making an even bigger fool of myself. Sometimes when I’d glance over at them, I’d notice Leo’s eyes on me. He must have felt sorry for my pathetic ass tonight. Yes, this was my first shift, but I was mostly nervous because I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him since he’d asked me out that day at his house. And now, seeing him on a date with a gorgeous girl was jarring. But that’s the way it goes, right? You snooze, you lose.
The following morning at breakfast, Mrs. Angelini seemed to sense that something was bothering me.
“Is everything okay, Felicity?”
I put my coffee mug down. “Why do you ask?”
“You haven’t said a word all morning. How did your first night at the restaurant go?”
“Oh.” I shook my head. “It was…weird.”
“Why is that?”
“You know the neighbors across the bay? They dined at Jane’s last night.”
“The handsome boys from Britain? What’s wrong with that?”
“Well, for one, I dropped a hot plate of tacos on Leo’s crotch.”
Her mouth dropped. “You what?”
“Yeah. It was a total accident, but nevertheless awful. I ordered him a replacement and left the tacos off their bill, but after they’d gone, there was a mound of cash on the table. They left me a huge tip.”
“That doesn’t sound like a bad thing.”
“It’s not. But…”
Mrs. Angelini’s brow furrowed. “Did something happen when you went over there for tea the other day? You never filled me in. I feel like I’m missing part of the story.”
I exhaled. “They were on a double date last night with two gorgeous women. It threw me off, particularly because Leo asked me out that day at their house.”
She frowned. “So, you agreed to go out with him, and now he’s dating someone else? The nerve!”
“No, no. That’s not it. I told him I wasn’t interested.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You did?”
I hesitated. “I find him extremely attractive and charismatic. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to get involved with someone who’s only on this side of the Atlantic for a few months. That would be a recipe for disaster.”
“But he’s not looking to get involved. He just wants to have some fun.”
Her response shocked me a little. It also made me doubt again whether I’d made the right decision.
“That’s not my thing.”
“Fun isn’t your thing?” She chuckled.
“I like…fun. Just not with charming men who are leaving the country.”
“That’s fair. You’re trying to protect yourself. I understand.” She got up to pour herself another cup of coffee, then looked back at me. “You know, one of the biggest regrets I have about my youth is that I always played it safe. Henry was the best thing that ever happened to me, but I always wished I’d had a bit more fun before getting married.”
“You think I should’ve said yes to him, even though it can’t go anywhere?”
She stirred her java. “I do see your point in telling him no, and I certainly don’t want you to get hurt. But I also recognize that you take life very seriously—too seriously for someone your age.” She tapped the spoon. “You’ve hidden behind your schoolwork and other obligatory things for as long as I’ve known you. But you’re only young once. This is the time in your life to make memories you can look back on when you’re old like me.” Returning to her seat, she said, “You have plenty of years to worry about monogamy and stability.”
“You’re not making me feel any better.”
“I didn’t mean to make you feel bad about your decision. I just want to see you have some fun. That’s all. You deserve it, Felicity. You’ve worked so hard. And you’re about to embark on law school, where I’m sure you’ll bury yourself in the books for another few years. Before you know it, your twenties will have flashed before your eyes. So maybe take this summer to let go a little.”
My head felt like it was spinning. “I appreciate the advice.”
After breakfast, I continued thinking about everything she’d said as I retreated to my room to organize my June planner. I was a total planner nerd, collecting various notebooks and stickers to organize my time. When I looked at some of the entries for this month, it hit me that there was not a single “fun” thing. Every item listed was some obligatory thing I needed to get done before leaving at the end of the summer: doctors’ appointments I needed to get in, items for school I needed to purchase. This only supported Mrs. Angelini’s argument.
I closed the planner and shoved it in my drawer, deciding to go outside and get some sun. I was fair-skinned and needed lots of protection, but I tried to make a point of getting at least fifteen minutes of good sunlight each day for the vitamin D.