Page 30 of The Sitcom Star
“Nah, I take it as a compliment.”
“Your nose is different, though.”
“It is.I agree.”
Adrian waited until the man had crossed the street before laughing.
“I can’t believe you kept a straight face,” he said.
She shrugged.“First time that’s happened to me.Apparently, I don’t look enough like myself.Although, to be fair, my makeup is different on the show.”
“Order twenty-seven?”A man wearing a T-shirt with a chicken on it walked out the door.
“Over here,” Adrian held up a hand.
The sandwiches were brought to their table, along with two pairs of disposable gloves.
Maddie hurriedly took a picture of her sandwich—she couldn’t order something like this and not take a picture.Adrian did the same.She might have spent more time trying different angles and settings, but ice cream couldn’t wait forever.Deciding it would feel weird to eat a sandwich while wearing gloves, she used a little hand sanitizer instead, picked up her food, and dug in.
It was really good fried chicken.The toasted bun and ice cream were also good, and in combination, well, it was a mess, as she’d known it would be.How the heck were you supposed to eat this?
In the end, she opted to dispense with the bun, grabbed some plastic cutlery, and ate the fried chicken and ice cream as though it was a waffle with ice cream.
“How’s the maple bourbon?”she asked Adrian.
Ice cream dribbled down his chin, and he looked fucking adorable.
“It’s excellent.”He took the spoon from her cutlery set, picked up a bite of ice cream, and held it to her mouth.
“That is really good.I’ll have to get that next time.”
Next time.
Wait.Would there be a next time?
She wanted there to be more late evenings with Adrian, whether or not they were accompanied by ice cream and fried chicken, separately or in combination.
She licked her lips, not missing the way his gaze zeroed in on her mouth.
“Goddammit,” he muttered.
“Some bothering you?”she asked innocently.
He looked up at the sky.“You’ll be the end of me.”
“I know,” she said, once again with faux innocence.“But you better keep eating before it all melts.”
He picked up his sandwich and did his best, ice cream dripping down the sides of the chicken and bun.She, on the other hand, was still using her fork and knife, and sitting here on this patio on a warm summer night with Adrian…well, it made her smile goofily, like all was right with the world, even if she was eating a food that some people would say was an abomination.
After they finished eating and cleaned themselves up, he asked where she lived and whether she wanted him to walk her home.
“Sure,” she said, “but you’re not coming up, just so you know.”
“I didn’t expect to.”
She leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek before they started in the direction of her building.“I think I’ll put that picture on my Instagram.The one of the sandwich.Would you mind if I tagged you?”
“Go ahead.”
