The Literary Misadventures of Juniper Rosewood

37- One Man Band

Penny— a middle-aged woman with badly bleached hair twisted into an updo— was none too pleased to see Dalton and I walk into her diner. Dalton caught her expression and winked.

"We'll be here for an hour and twenty minutes, tops," He said, "We have someplace we need to be by quarter to eight." Penny frowned, but she showed us to a booth anyway. The diner was decorated like the sort of '50s American style that I had seen in movies, with pink and turquoise booths and road signs and pinup girls plastered to the walls. The scuffed floor was black and white chequers and quite jarring to look at.

We slid into the booth, and Dalton handed me a menu. I took my jacket off since the diner was quite warm. Dalton's eyes were on me, I could feel them burning into me as I surveyed my menu. Butterflies were starting to unfurl in my tummy. Was I still supposed to get this nervous around him?

"See something you like?" I asked, feigning confidence and not looking up. Dalton chuckled.

"Well, the burgers do look good," He said. I rolled my eyes and looked up at him. He was still staring at me. "But yes."

"Hmm"

Penny came over to take our order, and we decided to share a stack of pancakes. I got a milkshake, and Dalton got a cola.

"So where do we have to be by quarter to eight?" I asked slyly. Dalton's cheeky grin told me immediately that I wasn't going to get a straight answer.

"I'm not telling you!" He said in a sing-song voice that made me chuckle.

"Come on, please?" I whined. Now it was Dalton's turn to laugh.

"Not unless you want to spoil the surprise," He said. I scowled playfully, and Penny brought over a towering stack of pancakes.

"Thanks," Dalton said, but Penny turned on her heel without acknowledging either of us.

"Do we really deserve this kind of treatment?" I asked.

"She'll get over it eventually. I've known Penny since I was a kid."

I took a forkful of pancake and vaguely wondered why I ever ate anything else.

"Oh my God," I said, my mouth full. Dalton laughed and ate a slice himself.

"Holy crap," He said, his mouth also full. His eyes twinkled at me, hidden behind the sheen of his glasses.

"Those glasses suit you," I said.

"I know," He grinned.

"So modest."

༓࿇༓

We finished our pancakes at Penny's and left at half-past seven, so we still had fifteen minutes to make it to wherever Dalton was taking me next. He kept stealing glances at me every few seconds, grinning like a maniac, and I was pretending that I didn't notice. Until the car swerved suddenly in the middle of the street.

"Jamie, eyes on the road, not me!" I screeched, and Dalton laughed.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it," He said.

"Stop flirting, you're going to get us killed," I grumbled. Dalton just smirked at me as he pulled the car up next to the pavement outside the cinema.

"Flirting with you is too much fun. I don't think I'll stop."

"Hmm."

We got out of the car and Dalton took my hand before leading me inside the cinema. I wondered what was so surprising about going to see a movie on a date until he pulled me into the theatre without even buying tickets. The attendant just nodded at him.