5. Lucas

5

LUCAS

I can tell by the look on her face that it's bad. She obviously doesn't want to talk about it, but it pisses me off knowing that some man hurt her. She's trying to act like it wasn't a big deal, but obviously it was. I see right through her.

I take the last bite of pie and push the empty plate aside. "I think you should let me be your rebound guy."

She leans back in her chair and crosses her arms over her chest. "I won't be good company. I wasn't joking about that." I put my elbows on the table and lean toward her. "I hang out with cowboys and horses all day long. I'm sure you're definitely going to be better than that."

She wants to give in. I can tell by the way that she's looking at me that she's thinking about it. "I don't know," she answers.

"Come on. We can have some fun and you can get your mind off things."

She uncrosses her arms, and I can see the fierce expression on her face. "I don't need a pity date."

I almost choke on the drink of water that her friend had set in front of me. "Pity date? Honey, have you looked at you? People are going to see us together and they're going to wonder what you're doing with me. If anything, you're giving me the pity date."

She seems to laugh at that. "If nothing else, you're good for my ego."

"So go out with me then."

She tilts her head to the side and looks at me. "When?"

I try not to let myself look too excited, but I can already feel my heart racing triple time in my chest. "Now, tonight, tomorrow, whenever." She seems to think about it. "I'm not going to have you come all the way back over to Whiskey Run tonight, and I have to work now."

Her friend that was with her last night stops next to us. It’s obvious the other women have been listening to us, but I don’t mind. I like that Becca has people looking out for her. "Actually, I need to stick around for a while, so if you want to take a lunch, it would be fine. We've got it covered here."

Becca looks at me hesitantly. "I mean, you just ate pie. Do you think that you would want to eat lunch now?"

I give her my best smirk. "I might as well tell you now because you're eventually going to find out. I'm always hungry."

She nods and takes a deep breath. "Okay. We can go over to Red's Diner."

I stand up quickly, afraid that she's going to change her mind. I pull my wallet out and lay a twenty on the table. She tries to give it back to me. "No that's way too much. The pie is on the house."

I shake my head. "That pie was worth the twenty dollars for sure. I'm not taking it back."

She rolls her eyes, hands the money to the woman behind the counter, and then tells them that she'll be back. I hold the door open for her and then follow her out. We walk next to each other down the block toward the diner. She points out a few places as we walk by. My hand is swinging between us, and at one point, our hands brush against each other. I freeze, and she does the same.

We both look at each other, and she lifts her hand and wraps it around her waist quickly. I smile as if the move doesn't bother me, but it does. I would give anything to hold her hand right now. She points out the diner, and I open the door to let her walk through. We go straight to a booth and sit down and barely get the menus open before the waitress arrives.

"Hey there, Becca and hey there..." The woman looks at me. I barely have to look at her to know that she's interested. I can tell by the way her voice dropped a little when she was talking to me. But the only person I have eyes for is Becca.

"I've never been here before so what do you suggest?" I ask Becca.

"Everything is good. What about a burger and fries? They have really good shakes here."

I don’t care what I eat. It doesn’t even matter. I’m just happy to be sharing a meal with her. "That sounds perfect. Is that what you're having?"

She shakes her head and looks at the waitress, and her face flushes a little. "No, I'll probably have the salad."

"Have a burger with me."

She looks surprised when I suggest it, but she nods, and I place the order for both of us. When the waitress walks away, I start to ask Becca questions. I feel like I can't get to know her quickly enough. Everything she answers she asks me a question too. We go back and forth for a while, and when our food arrives, I decide to ask her the one thing that I've been wondering about.

"So what are you looking for in a guy you want to date?"

She doesn't look at me. Instead, she looks at her plate. "I'm not looking."

"Fine. What are you looking for in a rebound guy?"

She seems to think about it. "Probably the exact opposite of my ex-boyfriend."

Finally, we're getting somewhere. "Okay. What's the opposite of him?"