CHAPTER 14
972 Words
Nick looked over his shoulder and sat back from the table and Nolan sat back too when he saw Peggy arrive with their food. He watched Nick smile at her, then pick up one of the sandwiches on her plate and tuck in. Nolan looked down at his own offering and his eyes widened. The french dip was huge. It came with a side of fries and the dipping dish had enough jus to drown a battalion.
“Jesus,” he muttered. “You’ve eaten this before?”
Nick nodded and then smiled at his look of surprise. “At least once a week,” she said with a half shrug, as if it wasn't a big deal, though by the look on Nolan’s face she knew he didn't really believe him.
“And you can finish it?”
“I usually take half home.”
Nolan looked down, then picked up one half of it, gingerly dipped it into the jus before taking a big bite. The flavour burst in his mouth was powerful. The warm jus, tender beef, soft bread, melted cheese tasted better than anything he ever had, and he couldn’t help moaning as he chewed it.
He opened his eyes and saw her watching him. Her sandwich hovered by her mouth and her eyes were glued to his lips. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes glazed over, and he knew immediately she was remembering the last time she heard him moan.
“Tell me about your name,” he said as he took another bite and emitted another moan.
She blinked quickly and refocused her eyes on his, then sat back from the table and put her sandwich on the plate. “Huh?”
“Nick. Nicole I guess?”
“Yeah Nicole.”
“Why Nick, and not Nicky?”
“Easier to get job interviews when they think I’m a guy.”
“What?”
“I’m a mechanic. Not a lot of oestrogen in that field. When I called for interviews and used Nicole, I never got a call back. When I left the name Nick, I got a call back.”
“That’s…insane.”
“It’s a fact.”
Nolan shook his head in dismay, then glanced over at the garage. “Nick’s and Rick’s. How long have you known him?”
“About eight years.” She picked up her lunch and continued eating again.
“You and he…aren’t…”
She knew what he was asking, but she was going to make him spell it out. “Aren’t what?”
“You’re not together?”
“We own the business together.”
“You’re not involved?”
“We’re involved in the business.”
“Nick,” he said with a soft laugh and rolled his eyes. “You never dated him?”
Nick looked at him and tried to read his expression or the light in his eyes, but he was pretty difficult to read.
“No, we’re friends. Just friends. The best of friends.”
Nolan listened to her words, the inflection was clear, there was no hesitation, and he saw nothing but honesty in her steely grey eyes. He wanted to ask more, know more, know everything, but he could tell he was on thin ice. This pseudo date, definitely not a date, they were sharing was completely one-sided, and he didn’t want to demand too much because he was sure she would storm out the second she realized what was happening.
“He seems like a good guy.”
“You’re just saying that because he conned me into having lunch with you,” she said, then took a bite of her sandwich and watched him with a steady look.
“So you need to be conned to have lunch with me?”
“I thought I made it clear, I am not interested in seeing you again.”
“Oh you were anything but ambiguous.”
“And yet here we are.”
“You are pretty set on the no-dating thing then.”
“I don’t date. Ever.”
“So it’s not just me?”
She didn’t respond but kept her eyes on him as she finished her sandwich. She took a napkin from the dispenser to wipe her mouth and hands, then dropped it onto the plate and sat back with a stiff saccharine smile curving her lips.
“This was...pleasant.” She reached into her pocket, pulled out a few bills and tossed them onto the table. Nolan looked at his lunch and realized he wasn’t even halfway through, and she was leaving. “We’ll call you with the test results for your car,” she said as she slid out of the book and stood up.
“Nick, wait.”
“Thank you for your custom,” she said with a smile that was anything but warm.
It didn’t reach her eyes, and it was clearly one she reserved for annoying customers. She walked by the booth, and he wanted to reach out for her hand but decided that was not the best approach. He tracked her out of the diner, saw how she waved and smiled at Peggy, a very different smile to the one she offered him, then she hurried across the street to the garage.
He twisted in his seat to see her progress and only looked away when she was out of sight. Nolan looked down at his lunch, his appetite suddenly gone. He put his hand up to beckon the waitress over and asked for a takeaway box for his leftovers. He paid the remainder of the bill, then walked out of the diner. With only a half-lingering look at the garage, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and walked in the other direction.
- Writer
