Mister Romance by Amelia Simone (the reading list .txt) 📕

Chase: So, grilled cheese?

Tamra: Ha, ha. I’m already capable of that, thank you very much. Something more complicated than cheese and bread.

My idea of a middle ground recipe might be different than hers, but part of me really wanted to impress her.

Chase: Homemade ravioli?

Tamra: Do I look like Julia Child?

Chase: She did say, “In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”

Tamra: Then I guess what-the-hell?

My lips tilted in a smile.

Chase: That’s my girl. I’ll bring the ingredients and my pasta attachment.

Tamra: It sounds so dirty when you say it like that.

I laughed at her response, and I couldn’t let it go. She hadn’t even seen my pasta maker attachment yet.

Chase: Oh, it is. LOL

Chapter 16 - Tamra

I was looking forward to my belated birthday dinner with Gina and Vicki. We decided to meet up at a local restaurant for pizza and beer instead of going to their house. Gina’s shifty-eyed muttering about needing to air out their kitchen after Vicki’s last cooking adventure kept me from asking more questions.

I arrived before they did and grabbed us a table in the bar. I was reading an article on my phone when I sensed someone at my elbow.

“Hi,” a male voice said.

“Sorry,” I glanced up with a smile.

“Can I please get a Blue Moon?”

“Hi, my name is Matt. Are you here alone?” he asked. Mid-thirties and handsome in that aging frat boy way, he waited expectantly for me to respond.

I shook my head briefly. “No. Well, I guess I’m here alone now, but I won’t be for long. My friends are on their way. We should have three at our table. Can you please bring us glasses of water for the table too?” I asked.

“Oh. I don’t work here. I just wanted to see if you wanted to join me,” he said, gesturing with his thumb to a seat at the bar where a beer was waiting.

This never happened to me. I glanced down at my outfit. Maybe this is what happens when you go out in something other than scrubs? I inspected Matt more closely. No obvious serial killer signs. Then again, if they were obvious, serial killers wouldn’t be a thing. I tried not to gaze too suspiciously at him as I glanced up and down. He was roughly my age, with short, spiky blond hair, beard stubble, and brown eyes that crinkled at the corners. He was dressed casually in jeans and a Dave Matthews Band T-shirt. Gina would kill me for turning him down, but I wasn’t going to bail on my birthday dinner.

“Uh, thanks, but I’m going to wait for my friends. We’ve got plans. Have a nice night.” I gave him a brief smile.

“Well, can we exchange numbers? Maybe we could hang out another time?”

He was persistent, I’d give him that. I wasn’t sure he was trustworthy, but he was cute. Maybe it was the tiny thrill that he asked or Gina’s coaching on taking risks taking hold that made me brave.

“Sure,” I said, sitting a little straighter.

He pulled out his phone and added my contact. As we were finishing, Gina and Vicki arrived at the table. I could tell from Gina’s dancing eyes that she had caught on to what was happening. I gave her my hardest look in return, and blessedly she kept her mouth shut until after Matt returned to his seat at the bar. My thoughts strayed to Chase. While accepting Matt’s invitation was in line with my goals, I’d much rather see where things led with Chase.

“You’ve been busy,” Gina said.

“Hey guys,” I greeted them both, ignoring her comment. While Gina was petite, Vicki was thin and taller than average, easily overshadowing me and Gina. She moved in to give me a brief hug, and I awkwardly returned it.

“Should we leave?” Gina asked mischievously. “I don’t want to interrupt if your birthday wishes are about to come true here at the bar.”

I rolled my eyes. I’d hide the buzz from exchanging numbers until the day I died. “Not likely.”

“What? He was cute. Looks like you gave him your number.”

“You checking him out?” Vicki asked.

She shrugged. “You know me, Vicki. I love all mythical creatures.”

“Mythical creatures?”

“Unicorns, werewolves, and bar hookups that turn out well.”

They took their seats at our high-top table and we discussed pizza choices while they settled in and our real server arrived to take our drink orders. Over dinner, Vicki entertained us with stories about her classes and students.

“I had two guys who didn’t interact most of the quarter, but any time there was a test, suddenly were seated together like bosom buddies. That was my first clue.” She held up a finger, and I almost expected her to twirl a pretend moustache as she continued her deductions.

“My second was that they both wore shorts to class on test days, but what sealed the deal was their constant glancing at each other’s crotches during the test. So many students have tattoos, that I don’t always notice ink, but as I walked closer, both had their thighs covered in notes and kept inching their shorts up to show them off. Like some kind of bad burlesque show.” Gina and I winced, and she continued. “I wasn’t that interested in getting a closer look, but once I did, it was clear they split the key and inked it on their own legs. And now it’s time to change up my exam again. If they weren’t cheating, it was the world’s most awkward seduction.”

I groaned. “What did they say when you confronted them?”

Vicki shook her head. “Denial after denial. One tried to claim they were tattoos. Spoiler alert: real tattoos don’t smudge like Sharpie.”

“More people would learn from their mistakes if they weren’t so busy denying them,” Gina said.

“Exactly. Lying only made me madder.” Vicki fluttered her hands. “But enough about me. I’m getting worked up again just thinking about it.”

Vicki turned her deceptively placid stare on me. “So, I hear that you’ve got a family wedding coming