The Life of Jezebel Firetongue

26

Jake and I went to the restaurant the next day, dressed in the stylish clothes we had worn the night before. I had made the reservation the other night, saving it hastily under the name 'Darby Winnicker." Jake heard me make it, but did not inquire about my motives. That was always Jake's strong suit, how he knew to leave well enough alone.

We parked in the small parking lot and headed in, my mind still swirling from the odd encounter with the blond girl. Who was she? Where had she gone? Why was she here? The questions swirled frantically through my head, and Jake had to nudge me out of my confused reverie. "You okay?"

"Fine. Never been better," I mumbled hastily. The boys had noticed my absence, and I quickly wound a story about a bathroom trip that turned into a journey down the photography wing. Luckily, they bought it.

A bored woman in her late thirties greeted us when we walked in. "Do you have a reservation?"

"Darby Winnicker," I replied robotically, my eyes searching the space behind her for the strange girl. This had been the first place I'd seen her, and my best hope of finding her. My search was fruitless.

"Right this way!" A perky hostess with an incredible amount of teeth and gums materialized before us. She led us carefully to our table, a booth in the far corner of the restaurant that put me in a perfect place to survey the place. Before she left, the hostess gave Jake a flirtier smile that I happened to catch, and brushed his hand ever-so-subtly as she handed him his menu. Jake, ever the gentleman, returned her smile with a look in his eye that seemed to read, 'Sorry, it won't work out.' Her smile faltered before she quickly saved her dignity with, "Your waiter will be out right away!"

A laugh bubbled out of my mouth as Jake went to look at his menu. It made Jake jump and look up at me, completely bewildered. "What?" he asked.

"You and your ladies. It's ridiculous."

"Excuse me, my ladies?"

I waved a hand at the retreating hostess. "Her, the women from the other night. You're just a charmer, aren't you?"

Jake shrugged and went back to his menu. "I know this sounds crazy, but most people actually tend to like me."

"Is that so?" I smiled and shook my head at him. "Probably because you don't follow them around."

He shrugged. "I'll give you that." I glanced around again, and Jake put down his menu to stare at me. "What are you looking for?"

A piteous excuse flew from my lips. "The waiter. I'm hungry."

Jake chuckled. "The hostess said she'd be here in second. Relax."

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I suppose I should."

"Hi guys!" We looked up to see a young woman with blond hair cut into a short bob grinning down at us. Well, at Jake. "What can I get you guys to drink this evening?"

Jake gave me a weary look as I suppressed a giggle. "A coke and-"

"A cream soda," I announced, spotting it on the menu.

The waitress examined me with her eyes, and apparently deemed me as non-threatening. "Coming right up!" she trilled, tucking the notepad into her pocket. "If you need me, just call for Sandy." Then she strutted away, sashaying her hips in time to the click of her heels.

I burst into excessive laughter. "And what would you like cutie?" I mocked in my most sultry voice. Fluttering my eyelashes, I imitated the waitress' forced pout and reached for Jake's hand. "Oh, yes, I'll get you a coke," I teased.