Page 88 of Sergeant O'
“I don’t know what I want anymore.”
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Brian
By the time we pulled into the diner lot, I was still turning her words over in my head.I don’t know what I want anymore.
She hadn’t promised me anything, but she hadn’t shut the door either. For the first time, I let myself think maybe she was starting to picture us as more than just a fling.
Inside, the place smelled like coffee and bacon, same as it always did. I held the door for her and couldn’t help brushing my hand against her back as she passed, just to remind myself she was really here. With me.
We slid into a booth by the window. She opened the menu and looked it over.
“You going to branch out today?” I asked, teasing as I glanced through the selections.
She set the laminated sheet down with a smirk. “Not a chance.”
Good. Predictable was fine. The only thing I wanted her to change was the part where this ended in four days.
Still, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tease her.
“Hope you brought your money,” I sing-songed as I continued perusing my choices.
She reached into the front pocket of her shorts and pulled out a fifty-dollar bill, waving it at me with a smirk.
“I did. I’m buying today.”
I didn’t even look over at her when I declared, “No, you’re not.”
“Brian, I have the same exact amount of money as I did when we left the bank last Friday.The same. You can’t keep buying everything.”
“Yeah, I can.”
She stuffed the money back in her pocket and muttered, “Well, you’re not today, so deal with it.”
“We’ll see.”
The waitress came over, and before she could even ask if we wanted coffee, Jade told her, “Iget the check today. No matter what he says, donotgive it to him.”
I pointed to my chest and mouthed, “Give it to me.”
“Brian O’Shaughnessy!”
I ignored Jade’s ire and told the waitress again, louder this time, “Give me the check. I tip better.”
“Oh my god, no he doesn’t!”
The server just smirked and said, “How about if I throw it in the air and let you two fight for it?”
Jade cracked her neck and rolled her shoulders while she looked me in the eye with a devilish grin.
“That sounds like a great idea.”
The other woman nodded with her pen poised against her pad of paper. “Now, what can I get started for you?”
We placed our orders, still exchanging stern looks across the table, but before the lady even walked away, we’d erupted into laughter.
That’s what I loved about being with Jade. It always felt easy.
