Page 27 of Just for Fun
I snatch the bill from the waitress before she has time to react. My heart beats out of my chest when I press it to my chest, like she is about to wrestle me for it.
“Wow,” Kyle gives me a happy smile. “That’s new.”
“What is?” I snap at him while digging into my bag for my wallet. I take my credit card out and hand it over to the waitress. I follow her when she leaves, hating the way she smirked at Kyle when he reacted at me paying.
“I’m not used to my date paying for dinner for us both,” he explains to me. “It’s usually me who’s paying. This feels… strange.”
I place my arms on the table and interlock my fingers as I stare him down.
“Maybe you need to be more frugal and save your money.”
He busts out laughing, which is the last thing I thought he’d do.
“You think I’m broke?” he asks in between fits of laughter.
That’s pretty much what I’d implied, but now that he said it out loud, I feel embarrassed for assuming.
“I can’t imagine that video games bring in that high of an income.”
To be honest, I know nothing about video games. My brother and his friends play a lot while at the station, and I know that Owen has something setup at his place as well. But that is as far as my knowledge on the subject goes. It sounds like such a childish behavior to me, for grown men to play computer games.
Kyle, as if sensing my silent judgement, just nods in agreement but doesn’t explain himself. That throws me off a bit.
The waitress walks back with my card and hands me the receipt for me to sign. When I go over the charges, my eyes about pop out of my head.
“Oh my God, a steak here is forty dollars?”
“That’s with the three ice teas he had,” the waitress explains defensively. “And the steak was big.”
“And juicy,” Kyle chimes in.
“Well, I never,” I huff. “How much is an ice tea for God’s sake?”
“Four dollars,” the waitress replies.
“Four dollars forone?” My voice comes out high and squeaky. I point at Kyle. “This is why you drink water. I could make you tea to drink for a whole month with four dollars.”
I am absolutely offended as I calculate a tip, but before I have a chance to write it in, Kyle throws a twenty-dollar bill on the table.
“I’ll cover the tip,” he says.
Instead of arguing with him over it, I just sign the receipt and hand it back to the waitress. She picks up the cash from Kyle and gives him the biggest smile. I swear she even pulls at her top to show more cleavage, making sure that he notices. His eyes drop to her chest but only for the briefest moment. Then, he locks eyes with me, and she leaves.
“A twenty-dollar tip is extreme,” I tell him as soon as she is out of earshot. “Ten would’ve sufficed.”
Kyle shrugs like he has no worries in the world. “I’m generous with my tips. And in general,” he adds after a brief pause.
I don’t know why, but I get hot flashes every time this man looks at me in a certain way. Not to mention that I read too much in everything he says, like he is constantly flirting with me. Is he?I doubt it, I decide. There is no way I am his type, and he already insinuated that.
“Okay, well, good for you. I hope you’re just as generous with your savings account.”
He chuckles and nods in agreement but doesn’t otherwise say a word. He stares at me for the longest time, looking like he is debating if he should say anything, but then he changes his mind about it.
“Are you ready to go?” he asks after a while.
I don’t waste any time, instead jumping up from the bench of the booth, knocking my knee against the table in the process.
“Ouch, that hurt,” I laugh when the table jumps, almost knocking over my glass of water that’s half full.
