Shoe Strings

get
out of my kitchen.”
    “Jeez, you’d think a guy could do a girl a favor without
getting his head chopped off.   The
least you can do is feed me for lugging that thing over here.   I’ll even eat it at the bar like a
regular customer.”  
    Two steps into the bar area and he came to a dead stop.   Just opposite the bar sat Angelita,
laughing like a beautiful angel with Bryce Jenson, of all people.   He felt little kernels of jealousy
sprout in his belly.   What the hell
could Bryce have said that was so damn funny?   And how did he get her to sit down with
him for lunch?
    Must be the fancy clothes and lawyer talk.   Jesse looked down at his ratty t-shirt,
trunks, and flip-flops.   If she
wanted a man with a high dollar wardrobe, he was out of the running.   He’d hocked all his banker clothes years
ago.   He filled a plastic cup with
ice and tea, grabbed the sports section from a paper abandoned on the counter,
and sauntered around the bar to perch in front of the TV and within earshot of
their table.   Normally he’d wander
over and shoot the breeze with Bryce, but he thought he’d learn more by playing
it cool.
    He’d just taken his seat when Kerri Ann emerged from the
back.   She rolled her eyes at him
and practically growled when she glanced behind him where Bryce and Angelita
sat talking.   She blinked her big
green eyes a few times, as if deciding what to do, and then slowly walked to
where Jesse sat at the bar.
    “What can I get for you, honey?” Her voice sounded overly
loud and strangely sweet.   She only
added to her odd behavior by dancing her fingers over his arm.
    “What the hell are you doing?”
    “Nothing, sugar.   Can’t I feed you for your troubles like you suggested?”
    Jesse sat up on his stool and stole a glance over his
shoulder to see what Kerri Ann kept flicking her eyes to see.   “Did you bet Bryce you could be nice to
me or something?”
    “Do I have to have a reason to be nice to you?”
    “Lately, you do.”   He folded the paper he hadn’t read and set it aside.   “How’d they hook up?”   He motioned with his head toward the
intimate table for two.   “And why do
I think it has something to do with your crazy behavior?”
    She scowled at the table and then leaned down to speak
quieter.   “Bryce is making new
friends, I guess.   Do you know her?”
    “She’s dad’s new renter.”
    “So she’s just visiting?” Kerri Ann asked with her brows
raised.   “Where from?”
    “Atlanta.   Why do
you want to know?”
    She straightened and put that look on her face that let
Jesse know she was lying.   “I like
to know about my customers.   I
thought maybe we had a new resident in town.   Although she looks too fancy to live
around here.”
    “Fancy’s one word for her.”
    Kerri Ann eyed Jesse suspiciously.   “If you know her, what are you doing
sitting over here?”
    Jesse shrugged and tried his best to look innocent.   The last thing he wanted was for Kerri
Ann to know was how badly he’d struck out with her.   “Didn’t want to interrupt.”
    Kerri Ann laughed.   “Let me guess.   You’ve
already hit on her and she turned you down.”   When he only frowned at her, she shook
her head.   “Christ, Jesse.   You’ll never change.”
    When she turned and walked down the bar to help another
customer, Jesse noticed Bryce leaving.   He waited what he thought was a respectable amount of time before
turning and plopping into Bryce’s vacated chair.
    “We meet again.”   Why, as the corners of her lush mouth folded downward, could Jesse feel
his competitive juices start to flow?
    “Please don’t ruin the best meal I’ve had in ages.”   Her dark eyes made a quick assessment of
his attire.  
    A snob.   He knew
it, but couldn’t figure out why it tickled him so.   “Mind if I join you?”
    “As a matter of fact, I do.”   She scraped the last bite of pizza
through her salad dressing and plopped it into her mouth.   “And I’m done.”  
    She sure was.   There wasn’t a crumb left on either plate.   He loved a woman who wasn’t afraid to
eat.   “I wanted to apologize for my
behavior yesterday.   I was rude and
I’m sorry.”
    She looked shocked and then her eyes narrowed.   “What’s the catch?”
    “Excuse me?”
    “You don’t want to make it up to me by buying me dinner or
sharing a sunset drive into the woods?”
    Boy, was she jaded.   “Would you have agreed if I’d