Under the Viaduct by H. Anderson (first e reader txt) 📗

he buckled his seatbelt, she asked, “Where to?”

“Well, like I said, this was only a partial paycheck. I was thinking somewhere cheap, like Danny’s? Is that okay?”

“Danny’s is perfect. I love their breakfasts.” Kaylee turned the car around and headed for the street. She glanced over at him, noticing that he’d taken his beanie and gloves off. His hair was adorably messy. “You smell great.” Crap. That wasn’t what she’d meant to say. Like, you usually stink, but tonight you smell okay, she thought. What a stupid thing to say.

“Thank you,” he didn’t seem to mind her careless comment. “Kelly let me clean up in her trailer and Jorge spritzed me with cologne as I tried to escape.”

“That was nice of them.” Why was she being so awkward?

“Yeah. They’re nice people.” He turned in his seat to face her. “Thanks again for helping me get this job. It feels really good to be a productive member of society.”

She smiled, feeling a little more at ease, yet still worried that it bothered him to have to depend on her for so much. “You’re welcome.” She pulled into the parking lot at Danny’s and parked close to the entrance. She got out before Blayne had a chance to come around and open her door.

They were seated in a booth hidden from most of the other tables. Blayne slipped his coat off, folded it in half, and set it on the seat next to him.

“That’s a nice shirt,” Kaylee said as she slid across from him into the booth. “Is it new?”

He looked down at the blue, long-sleeve button-up. “Yeah. I, uh, stopped at Walmart to cash my check and they had these shirts on sale for practically nothing.”

“The color really brings out your eyes.” She refused to be embarrassed for telling him that, it was true, his blue eyes popped next to the color of his shirt.

“Well, thank you. You look great, too.”

The waitress stopped at their table. “Hi, I’m Amy. Can I get you guys something to drink?”

“Water, please,” Kaylee said. “With a slice of lemon.”

“Same, but without the lemon,” Blayne said.

Kaylee opened the menu to the breakfast page and searched for the best deals. “What are you going to have?”

“Probably a burger. If I recall, they have pretty good ones here,” Blayne said. “What about you? Still sticking with the breakfast-for-dinner idea?”

“Yes. You can’t go wrong with breakfast food.”

“Or a hamburger.”

“True.”

The waitress reappeared. “One water with lemon,” she set the glass in front of Kaylee, “and one without. Are you ready to order?”

Blayne nodded to Kaylee, so she went first. “I’ll have the two-egg special, with bacon.”

“How would you like your eggs?” Amy asked as she scribbled on her order pad.

“Over-easy,” Kaylee said.

Amy looked at Blayne and smiled wide, cocking a hip out. “And, how about you?”

“A bacon cheeseburger,” he glanced at Kaylee then back at the waitress. “No onions.”

“You got it. I’ll bring that right out as soon as it’s done.” Amy turned and sashayed away from their table.

They sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. Blayne looked at the table tent for far too long, and Kaylee looked around at the wall decorations.

“I have an idea.” Kaylee broke the silence. “Let’s ask each other questions to get to know each other better.” Blayne held up a hand and opened his mouth, but Kaylee hurried to finish before he could speak. “If I ask something you don’t want to answer, just say ‘pass.’”

“Okay,” he said slowly. “You ask first.”

She crooked her mouth into a mischievous smile. “Do you have any tattoos?”

“Nope. I could never afford one and now I don’t want one.” Blayne matched her smile. “Do you have any?”

Kaylee swallowed, trying to keep the embarrassment at bay. “It…it was my one act of rebellion against my parents’ wishes—when I turned eighteen. They still don’t know I have it.”

Blayne’s eyebrows rose. “Where is it? And what is it?”

“That’s two questions, but I’ll let it pass. It’s on my side,” she pointed to the right side of her torso, “and it’s…well, I’m a little obsessed with Harry Potter, so it’s a symbol from that.”

“The Deathly Hallows?” Blayne asked, surprising her.

“You know Harry Potter?”

“Of course I do. I read all seven books when I was in elementary school. I watched the movies over and over up until I left home.”

“The books are better,” they both said at the same time, then laughed.

“What’s your favorite book in the series?” Kaylee asked.

“That’s a tough question, but I think it’s probably The Prisoner of Azkaban. I love the whole Sirius angle. What’s your favorite?”

“Prisoner is second on my list. My favorite is The Goblet of Fire. That’s when things start to get real, in the graveyard, when Cedric dies.”

“Yeah. That’s a good one.”

“I could talk about Harry Potter all night, so I’m going to move on to the next question so that doesn’t happen,” Kaylee said. “What’s your favorite color?”

“It changes day to day. Today,”—he stared into her eyes—“it’s golden brown, like fresh honey glinting in the sun.”

Kaylee’s eye color was strange and nobody had been able to pinpoint it before. Blayne had described it perfectly.

He continued, still looking in her eyes, his voice sounding silky. “What’s your favorite color?”

Kaylee tried to tear her eyes away from his but couldn’t. Words stumbled out of her mouth in awkward waves. “It’s always been the same.” He’s going to think I’m copying him, she worried. “…since I was little, my room was…” Her eyes still locked with his. “Blue. My favorite color is blue.”

Blayne’s mouth twitched. He reached toward her face. His fingers barely brushed her cheek, when the waitress interrupted. He pulled his hand away and turned to face her.

“Be careful,” Amy said, “the plates are hot.”

The spell broken, they looked at Amy and both said, “Thank you.” Kaylee spread her napkin on her lap and started mushing up her eggs, adding salt and pepper.

Blayne slathered his burger with ketchup and took a big bite.

Kaylee took a small bite of eggs and, after swallowing,