Free Revive Me by Charity Ferrell Page A

stench of stale cigarettes and old socks hit me. I held my breath and quickly rolled down the window.
    “I was thinking we could get something to eat first?” he asked, getting into the car and looking over at me.
    “Sounds good.” I was curious what he had planned for us. I didn’t see Reese as the romantic date night guy, but hey, I never thought I’d be out getting wasted alone, either.
    “Pizza cool with you? I know this killer pizza joint.” I nodded, and the car’s engine slowly stirred to life after a few turns. “Damn, you’re easy to please,” he laughed, grabbing a pack of cigarettes from the cup holder. He brought the entire package to his mouth and slid one out with his teeth. “You mind if I smoke?”
    I’d always hated the smell of smoke. I’d been lucky enough that neither of my parents smoked, and I’d never picked up on the habit. Tony Higgins dared me to try one during a game of truth-or-dare freshman year. I’d stuck the bitter stick in my mouth, inhaled gently, and nearly choked while everyone cracked up in laughter around me. It wasn’t a good experience, and I’d always liked Tony for that.
    “Go ahead,” I grumbled, rolling down the window further and wishing I’d backed out. Why was he so persistent for me to go out with him? I’d noticed the girls he hung out with at school. They were nothing like me. “But you know that stuff will kill you, right?”
    “We all have our vices, sweetheart,” he said, a flicking his lighter open. The end of the cigarette burned orange. “We all have our vices.” His words hit close to home. Yes, we did. “I’ve got some kick ass jams in here,” he said, hitting the volume button on the radio as rock music came through the speakers. “This is my friend’s band.” I nodded, wincing at the loud screaming, and I knew I’d have a headache by the time we got to dinner. Reese either didn’t seem to notice or care, because he kept his eyes on the road and bobbed his head to the beat.
    He pulled into the parking lot of a building with a giant pizza sign at the entrance. I hopped out, adjusted the bottom of my shorts, and shut the door. “I’ve never been here before,” I commented. He grabbed my hand and led me through the entrance.
    “They have the most bomb pizza in town,” he said, opening the door for me, and we walked into the busy area. Tables were spread throughout the middle of the room and large booths lined the windows. Red and white-checkered tablecloths covered each table with containers of Parmesan cheese and spices stacked in the corners. I followed him down the middle aisle, passing full tables, as we tried to find an empty one. I spotted a few waitresses, all of them wearing tall, white chef hats with checkered aprons as they scurried around with drinks and pizzas in their hands.
    “Found one,” Reese called, pulling my hand, and I stumbled forward as he charged across the room and fell down into the hard booth. He dropped my hand, and I sat across from him. “What kind of pizza do you like?”
    I shrugged. “Whatever is fine,” I answered, scanning the menu and the variety of choices. The only topping I preferred on my pizza was chicken, but I didn’t have an appetite, so I wouldn’t be eating much anyways.
    “Babe,” he said slowly, and I looked up from the menu to him. “Tell me what you want. Don’t be shy. This is our date, so we can get to know each other, and I think knowing what kind of topping you like on your pizza is very important.”
    “Can we do chicken?”
    He clapped his hands together, grabbed my menu, and placed it at the edge of the table on top of his. “Chicken it is.” He waved his hand over to the waitress standing to the side and she sauntered our way.
    “Hey Reese,” she greeted, her voice sweet, and her bright pink lips smiling at him, as she pulled out a pad from her apron.
    “What’s going on, Molly,” he replied, looking at her briefly before putting his attention back on me.