Mrs. Matched | Complete

Chapter Twelve

Per my rules, and Christopher's having chosen the number two, we went into the second restaurant we saw. The way he trailed into the restaurant behind me and the one raised eyebrow gave me the impression Christopher wasn't the type of guy who usually picked restaurants by random number. Still, I'm impressed with how well he's adapting to my strange habits.

I rang the bell on the desk and waited for the host to come out from the back.

"For two?" he asked, holding up two fingers.

"Yes," I replied with a smile. "And if it's possible, could we have a booth?"

The man nodded and picked up some menus as I turned around to Christopher. "I really like the benches." The poor man just nodded, clearly trying to take in the 180 I had just pulled on him.

We followed the host through the dining room until we stood in front of our table. "Will this do?"

"It's perfect. Thanks!" I slid into the booth and set my purse down beside me.

When the host had left, Christopher and I opened the menus. "It seems nice," he said as I reached the page with the hamburgers. "I like the cafe feel it has. Kinda cozy."

I gestured to the paper placemats sitting in front of us. "It seems like it might be a family place. All we're missing are some crayons!"

When the server came over to take our drink order, I told him we just got married and asked him to bring us some crayons. Christopher's face turned beet read as I spoke and he chose to bury his face in the menu.

The waiter glanced at Christopher and chuckled. "Of course, Ma'am. I'll be right back with everything."

"I can't believe you did that!" Christopher said when the waiter was finally out of range. "We are married but we barely know each other. And we aren't children." He buried his head in his hands, but I could still see the red creeping out over the tops of his fingers.

I couldn't help the giggle that escaped, but I picked up my menu to hide my face from his. As usual, the waiter was back with the drinks long before I had any idea what I wanted to eat.

"Are you ready to order or would you like a little more time?" he asked as he set the drinks down in front of us and then handed me a small pack of crayons with a smirk.

"Thank you." I took the crayons and put them on the table beside me. One look at Christopher's closed menu told me I could answer for both of us. "I think we are ready to order."

I picked the second thing on the second page. Some kind of sandwich. And Christopher ordered spaghetti. I'd have to make a note to tell Melody about this, because while she had roped me into the restaurant game many times, I had never let someone else decide what I would eat.

"Well," I said as soon as the waiter walked away. "I'm going to colour. If it isn't too cool for you, you can join me." I set the crayons down in the middle of the table and picked up a blue one.

I look up to see his mouth agape, head shaking back and forth just a little. When he notices me looking, his mouth turns up into a smile. "What's gotten into you?" he asked. "I mean, I met you and you were all shy and precise then then today..."

He shrugged and let his hands fall into his lap. "Today something's different."

I smiled back, his excitement contagious. "Well, today I decided I might as well learn to be me around you. There's no way to move forward without you knowing what you're getting into. So, this is me." I gestured to the colouring sheet partially completed in front of me. "Well, it's not really me all the time. But I do occasionally like adventures. And when I'm on an adventure, I'm usually up for trying anything once."