“Hello,” I say trying to keep my tone even. I offer him my hand because it feels like the right thing to do. God, he really is cute. His eyes are honey brown and framed by dark lashes. He’s built long and lean like a runner with smooth creamy tanned skin and a strong jawline. Shana told me he was cute, but I wasn’t expecting this.
“Man, you’re really beautiful.” His words and the smooth tone of his voice give me goosebumps as his fingers wrap lightly around mine. That line, that corny little line isn’t one I think most guys could pull off in the way he just did. It feels genuine, nice, like he’s as taken with me as I am with him.
“Thank you.” I smile. Oh sweet God, what am I doing here? He reaches behind me and pulls the door open and I nod a thanks and take my seat. The second I get into the car my eyes lock on Shana, who's peering at me through the mirror with a giddy look on her face. Then Lucas shuts the door and walks around the car to join me in the backseat.
“You've met Kyle before,” Shana says, gesturing to her boyfriend in the driver’s seat. Kyle turns his head and smiles.
“Yeah. It's great to see you again,” he says.
“Likewise.”
We pull away and I’m forcing myself not to play with the hem of my shirt as I sit quietly looking out the window. Traffic is light and the car moves fluidly toward the highway. I know I should be making small talk with Lucas but I'm having a hard time looking at him. He wasn’t supposed to be this damn hot and it’s making me nervous.
I end up fiddling with my shirt anyway, but it's something to distract me from the fact that my heart feels as if it’s trying to tear out of my chest. Goodness, I need to breathe before I embarrass myself.
“So, Shana told me a lot about you.” His voice seems to echo in my ears and I swear I almost jump.
“Same here,” I say. “I hear you’re an art major too?”
“Yes, fine arts. You?”
“Art studies.” He smiles.
We continue exchanging small talk as we make our way down the road toward the restaurant. I learn he will be a junior this year and was raised in a town about two hours away with his father and younger brother. His parents were divorced and something about that fact makes him feel a lot easier to talk to. I guess it’s because I know he understands how much family drama sucks.
“Hope you guys like Mexican,” Kyle says as we pull into the parking lot of a huge restaurant with the name Margarita’s displayed on a large sign above the door. I'm starting to relax a little bit more, though pricks of awkwardness continue to crawl up my spine. This feels so weird but if I settle into the date, it might actually go well. The parking lot is pretty full, but once inside, we are surprised to see that there are only two people waiting. A bubbly hostess with red hair and matching lipstick greets us cheerfully. Due to the size of our party, she's able to seat us right away, which elicits eye rolls from a couple sitting on the bench next to the door.
The guys take the lead following the hostess as she winds us through the restaurant. Smells of cheese, beans, and spices permeate from the tables as light music plays through the room. I’ve never been here before but it feels familiar. The textured walls, deep archways and splashes of burgundy and cream colors reminds me of the restaurant my parents used to take me to as a kid whenever dad had a taste for “real tacos” as he called it.
“So, what do you think?” Shana whispers as we make our way toward the window side of the room, “He's cute, isn't he? I told you.”
“Yeah. He really is,” I say. A squeaking sound leaves her mouth as she hugs one of my arms right as the hostess begins to slow her pace, stopping at a booth.
“Will this be okay?” she asks.
“Yes, perfect,” Kyle says, looking at us all for approval. We all nod and slide into the booth. Once settled, we begin quietly flipping through the menu. In this setting, I’m finally beginning to feel at ease. Maybe it was just blind date jitters. I’ve so got this. Just as I have that thought, Lucas looks over and smiles at me, causing me to blush. Jesus, I’m a child.
A few minutes go by and our waiter comes to take our drink orders. We bounce between having group and side conversations, landing on one about how Kyle and Lucas met each other freshman year.
“We both had a thing for the same girl,” Lucas says, looking across the table at Kyle. “Until we found out she was dating both of us at the same time.”
“Oh shit,” Shana says. “How did you find out?”
“Well, I was spending the night at her place and in walks this asshole.” Kyle nods to Lucas with humor in his expression. My eyes widen as I slowly drop my menu, causing both guys to laugh.
“Right,” Kyle chuckles.
“Oh wow,” Shana says before looking up at the waiter who’s balancing our drinks on a large round platter.
“How did she handle that?” I look at Kyle as he thanks the waiter and puts his glass of Pepsi in front of him.
“She didn't have a choice but to fess up.” He says as he opens a straw. “She was caught red handed. She thought I was going out of town but I ended up canceling my trip at the last minute because my father broke his ankle skiing. Instead of calling her to let her know I was on the way, I wanted to surprise her. So I’m standing there with flowers, wine, and damn condoms when Lucas walks out of her room in a towel.”
“Goodness. But you two became friends after that?” I look back and forth between the guys in disbelief. The last thing I’d expect of two guys in that position is friendship. At the very least, they’d maybe suffer through an awkward nod in class or something, but friends?
“Yeah. We had a few choice words before we realized how much of a liar she was. So I told her to go to hell and offered to buy Kyle a drink. He agreed, then we both left.”
“Damn. That's insane.” Shana shakes her head. The table goes quiet for a beat as we all look over our menus again. I feel even more impressed by Lucas than I was a moment ago. No way in hell could I have been so adult about that situation. I grip the flimsy plastic menu and scroll over all the food options, zoning in on a chicken quesadilla. The picture shows a really golden crisp tortilla and it's making my stomach growl. Just as I raise my eyes to see if anyone else is ready, my phone vibrates in my purse.
I ignore it, then it vibrates again, which awards me a glance from Lucas. My mother was always strict about us checking our phones at the dinner table, and even though I’m a grown ass woman now, I still feel a little shame when I slide my phone from my purse and read the screen. My heart drops when I see it's a text from Jordan.
Jordan: About this weekend.
Curiosity floods me as I stare at the words but the sound of Lucas's chuckling brings me back to reality. No, I'm not doing this to myself. I'm on a date with a great guy. I’m not going to let thoughts of Jordan mess with my head.
Though tempted, I don’t respond. I slide my phone back in my bag and turn to the group. The waiter appears in front of us and we take turns ordering our food. By the time she returns to refill our drinks, my phone has vibrated three more times. What the hell?
“You gonna get that?” Lucas nudges me with a smirk as my phone buzzes a cadence in my purse, shouting to the world that someone is calling. I glance from him over to Shana and Kyle, who are deep in a debate about the difference between Pepsi and Coke. I nod and slide from the table.