Page 46 of Starting Our Chance

26 Loretta

My stomach rumbledand Duke just had to make a comment about eating a proper meal—breaking the silence that had saturated the truck since we’d begun the homeward journey.

“I just don’t see why it is a big deal,” I huffed. I crossed my ankles on the glove compartment of Duke’s truck in exact mimic to my arms.

“We’re dating now,” Duke growled. “That means that the gentleman picks up the tab—for supper, drinks, the movie, and breakfast.”

“I prefer to pay my own way.” I let the statement hang between us. So what if my chin was thrown in the air?

“And getting into an argument in front of our friends—in a public restaurant I might add—is the way to state your independence?” Duke pushed.

The afternoon sunlight poured into the cab of the truck, but it wasn’t warm. The icy atmosphere had been punctuated by the air conditioner, which permeated the frigid space between us.

“I ate my fucking twelve dollar grape fruit and tipped the bitch fifteen percent!” I lashed out. I didn’t know which was worse, fighting with Duke over paying for brunch in public or the silent car drive—or what had been silent up until five minutes ago.

Just then, Duke cut in front of another car, swerving and taking an exit off the interstate, which he hadn’t been in the proper lane to take.

“Duke!”

“Oh, we’re fine,” he muttered.

It was clear where he was going. A pair of golden arches flew high in the sky, beckoning travelers with the promise of food.

After slamming on the brakes, Duke threw the truck into park. Turning to me, he demanded, “Okay, here is somewhere you can afford, Lore.” A sweeping gesture of his hands punctuated what he said.

I swallowed but forced out, “Unless you are hungry—which I find hard to believe after eating all that food—I’m good. I don’t have to pee, either.”

“That’s a filthy lie, and you fucking know it.”

I bit my lip and stared out the windshield. Hunger was making me ornery, but I had tried to hold back the volley of bitchy remarks. Starvation was a touchy subject with Duke. It was awful that this was our first fight, but that was how the cards had fallen. Loath to tell him how dire my financial situation was, I wracked my brain for any excuse to stay in the vehicle.

“Lore.”

Letting out a long breath, I faced him and admitted, “I hate this. Fighting with you, spoiling an end to an absolutely perfect getaway weekend—this was not how I wanted to end things.”

“Lore.” Duke leaned over to brush a few wisps of hair off my face, tucking them back into the messy bun atop my head. “If you eat, you’ll feel better.”

I nodded, slowly.

“Then we can talk about what is really going on here.” Duke motioned to the air between us.

“You’re right,” I conceded. Fighting was bad, but fighting about food was stupid.

“Well, thank you. Now . . . I don’t dare go in there and buy you lunch. So, I’ll wait here and then we can hit the road and make it home before supper time.”

I shook my head and looked out my side window. I didn’t want him to see the tears that pricked my eyes.

“Lore?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Sure, it is.” Duke brushed a finger down my spine. “Don’t you trust me?”

“With my life,” I said, turning back to face him. I just can’t stand your charity.

His nod translated into a silent “Well-then?”

My gut churned as I said, “I spent my last dollar at the fancy brunch place that fucking Marcus just had to go to.”

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