Free Burned by Amity Hope Page B

wasn’t all that early. It was almost ten, but I was pretty sure I got my point across. Or not.
    I sidestepped her and headed toward my favorite table in the back corner.
    “So you two aren’t going out?” she asked as she scampered along behind us.
    She apparently needed clarification.
    “We’re not. We’re just friends,” I said. I dropped into the vinyl clad booth.
    “Guess not,” Jake told her with a smile. He took the seat across from me.
    “I’ll have the number four,” I said without even having to look at the menu. After working here for several months, I had it memorized. Apparently Jake did too.
    “The number seven for me,” he said.
    “Coffee?” she asked.
    “No,” I said with a scowl. How anyone could drink something so foul was beyond me.
    “Right,” Clarissa said as she gave herself a little smack in the head. “I should know that by now. Orange juice, though, right?”
    “Actually,” I said, “I’ll have a glass of milk please.” Milk went with waffles far better than orange juice did.
    “I’ll have some coffee,” Jake said.
    “Right,” Clarissa agreed. “Is that everything?”
    We both nodded and then she trotted away.
    “Sorry about the…the smell,” Jake said. He gave me an embarrassed smile.
    I laughed because there really wasn’t much else I could do about it. Not until I could go home and shower. “Don’t worry about it.”
    He pulled a napkin out of the dispenser and began to fidget with it.
    “Hey, Jake?”
    He glanced up at me.
    “What did you mean, you guess not? When Clarissa asked if we were dating?”
    The tips of his ears reddened. “Oh…nothing. It’s just that I thought maybe…”
    I raised an eyebrow.
    I waited.
    He fidgeted.
    “Jake, what?”
    He shook his head and dropped the napkin. “Nothing, really. I just thought that maybe after last night, we might want to…I mean, maybe we should try…”
    “Dating?” I finished for him.
    “Yes. That.”
    “Well,” I said, “it’s not that I’d be opposed. It’s more a matter of you never having asked.”
    He smiled as he reached across the table and clasped my hand. “Lanna, will you go out with me? On a date?”
    I squeezed his hand and grinned back at him. “I would love to.”
    “Here are your drinks,” Clarissa said with a puzzled frown. She was gazing at our joined hands. Her gaze flickered to Jake, then me. She set down my glass and Jake’s cup before scurrying off to the kitchen again.
    “Poor girl looked confused,” Jake said. “I hope she didn’t think we were lying to her.”
    An echoing crash and the sound of glass breaking made me jump in my seat. I yanked my hand from Jake’s and spun around to see where the commotion had come from.
    “You damn klutz!” a man shouted.
    Jake flew out of the booth, crossing the short distance to Clarissa.
    “I’m sorry,” a teary Clarissa murmured. “It was an accident. I’m really s—”
    “You should be!” the man shouted again.
    I hoped that seeing Jake and I holding hands hadn’t caused the accident. Clarissa didn’t seem to be able to concentrate on more than one thing at a time. I felt bad, wondering if her confusion had distracted her.
    The rest of the patrons watched in stunned silence as the man scooped some scrambled eggs off his pants and tossed them at Clarissa who was kneeling on the floor. She was trying to scoop up the remnants of food and shattered glass while he continued to shout insults at her.
    “Hey, now!” Jake growled as he stepped between the fuming patron and Clarissa. He pointed a finger in the man’s face. “I saw you crash into her! She was walking by and you stood up without looking to see if anyone was coming!”
    I got up from our booth and knelt down by Clarissa who now had silent tears streaming down her face.
    “I’ve got this,” I said as I put a hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t you go to the restroom and clean yourself up?”
    She emitted a little squeaking sound as she nodded and