Page 11 of Controlled Burn
He was standing just inside the entrance waiting for me, and he recognized me right away. “Caleb?” he asked hopefully.
“Yep, that’s me.”
“Great. I could have got us a seat, but I wasn’t sure if you would prefer a table or a booth,” he said with a nervous laugh.
“Either is fine really,” I said, and I waited for him to choose, but he seemed a little unsure which to pick. I got that. I hated making choices when what I picked affected other people. That was why I’d always hated it when people asked me to choose the restaurant, but one of us was going to have to pick, and it looked like it was going to be me.
“A table will be fine,” I said.
The hostess led us to our table and handed us both menus.
He looked at the menu, then back up at me. “I’ve never eaten here, so I’m not sure what’s good. Do you know?”
“No, I haven’t eaten here either. How did you pick this place for our lunch if you hadn’t eaten here?” He’d suggested this place right away, so I’d assumed it was a place he ate often.
“Oh, well…” He let out another of those nervous laughs. “My best friend suggested it. To be honest, the whole idea was his. I’ve never used a dating app before.”
“Oh my gosh! Same,” I exclaimed. “I never use apps!”
“It’s nerve-wracking, right? Like, what if your date turns out to be a serial killer?” he said. “Not that I think you’re a serial killer.”
“That’s exactly what I said. I told them I would probably end up shoved in some guy’s freezer. I mean, not yours, of course.”
“Of course not. Especially since I don’t have a deep freeze.”
We both laughed, and the server walked up just then. It took us a second to stop laughing, and we both apologized to him.
“No problem. It’s always good to see people having fun,” he said. “My name is JT, and I’ll be your server. Have you eaten here before?” We both shook our heads, and he continued. “Well, we’re glad to have you give us a try. I can give you a chance to look at the menu, but our lunch special today is our chicken quiche with fresh fruit.”
“I love a good quiche. I’ll just have that,” I said.
Cole handed him his menu. “Me, too, so I’ll have the same.”
“So, here we are, a couple of hopefully non-serial killers having quiche for lunch,” I said with a grin.
“Well, I’m definitely no serial killer. I can’t even stomach mouse traps.” He gave an exaggerated shiver.
“Same here. I even let spiders live.”
His face wrinkled up. “Nah, I could be a serial spider killer. They terrify me. But seriously, tell me how you ended up on this totally non-lethal lunch date.”
“You know how it goes.” I shrugged. “I was complaining about how hard it was to meet guys, and they pointed out that everyone uses apps nowadays. And now here I am.” I held out my arms in a what’re you gonna do gesture. “How about you?”
“Pretty much the same. In the past, I usually dated guys I met at work, but I moved here about six months ago when I took this job, and now that I’m working in the admin office, meeting someone at work isn’t really an option.”
I nodded in sympathy. “Yeah, that would be tough.”
Our food arrived then, and we spent the next hour talking while we ate, getting to know each other. We had so much in common it should’ve been perfect, except it wasn’t. I really liked him, and I had a feeling we could be really good friends. But there was zero chemistry. It was like having lunch with myself.
Fortunately, we both realized it, so we were able to have a great time with no pressure. He even liked to read romance, so I invited him to come to the book club. He was new in town, and it would give him a chance to meet people.
It might have been a disaster as far as a date went, but I’d made a friend, and neither of us died, so I was calling this a win.
Chapter 5
Keith
“So, how is it working out with Samuel as chief?” Fox asked.