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As they left the cinema, the bright sunlight nearly blinded Beth. Her eyes were extra sensitive after spending such an extended time in the dark. She had to blink several times before her vision returned to normal.
Drew stayed close by her side, but made sure he kept a friendly distance. While there was a part of her that wanted to close that gap, she was pleased that he was respecting her wishes. Maybe he wouldn’t make such a bad sub after all.
“Um.” He cleared his throat. “I’m still kinda hungry. That popcorn didn’t really fill me up. Did you want to grab a bite to eat?”
Here they were on shaky ground once more. “What did you have in mind?”
He released the tension in his shoulders, and she realized he must have been anxious about asking her. “There’s a burger joint around the corner?”
“It’s a little early, but I could probably eat.”
And there was that smile of his again—the one that had her stomach all tied up in knots the other night. It was having a similar effect now.
“Lead the way.”
Drew didn’t waste any time guiding her the short distance to a restaurant that looked as if it had been transported through time from the 1950s. There were even little jukeboxes on the tables. A sign right inside the door indicated that customers were to seat themselves. He paused for a moment, taking in their options. “Booth or table?”
“Booth.” Beth was impressed he’d asked.
They settled into a booth along the back wall, and a server came over to get their drink orders and give them menus. After the woman returned with their sodas, Beth and Drew put in their orders. Listening to him rattling off what he wanted to the server made her realize he hadn’t been exaggerating about being hungry. Even if she were starving, she wouldn’t be able to eat everything he’d ordered. Not by a long shot.
“Are you really going to eat all that?” she asked.
He grinned. “Probably.”
They both grew quiet for a few moments. There was an awkwardness hanging between them, and Beth knew it was mostly her fault. She’d placed parameters on their relationship, and now they were both trying to figure out how to navigate without overstepping.
Beth took a sip of her water. “Do your parents live in St. Louis?”
Drew shook his head. “They live on a farm about an hour away, but I have a brother that lives here.”
This was the first time Beth had thought to ask about his family, and to say she was interested was an understatement. “Is he a firefighter, too?”
He laughed. “No. Seth is ten years older than I am, and he enjoys his comfy job at his law firm.”
“So he’s a lawyer?”
“Yeah. Corporate law, mostly. He’s tried to explain it to me, but to be honest, I usually end up tuning him out. While I don’t mind the paperwork that comes with my job, I couldn’t imagine weeding through pages of contracts looking for loopholes and technicalities. Seth loves it, though.”
They both leaned back as their food arrived. Beth had kept it simple ordering a turkey club and fries. In contrast, three plates were set in front of Drew—each completely full. She guessed she had to hand it to him that at least one of those plates contained a salad, even if it looked as if lettuce was a minimal ingredient.
For the next several minutes, they both concentrated on their food. When the conversation resumed, it was Drew who broke the silence. “What about you? Do you have any family in the area?”
“No. I grew up in Ohio, and my parents still live there, along with my brother and sister.”
Drew took another bite of his burger and swallowed. “Are you the oldest?”
Beth nodded.
“What brought you to St. Louis?”
She swallowed before answering. “School. I had no idea what I wanted to do, so I applied to a dozen or so schools all across the country. I got into most of them, but the University of Missouri offered me a partial scholarship.”
“So you came here.” His smirk was back.
“So I came here.” She twirled her straw between her thumb and index finger with a glint in her eye. “What about you? Did you go to college?”
“Community college. I knew I couldn’t join the fire department until I was twenty-one, and my parents refused to let me sit around and do nothing for four years.”
