Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 207(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41482 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 207(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
“Damn, this is what I call a burger.”
I didn’t hold back my smile after Pope spoke. He’d ordered the Pulp Fiction burger, which was a massive prime rib patty with cheese and was topped with everything you could imagine, and had the “Royale” sauce. The fries had some secret sauce topping them, but really, I thought it was just Miracle Whip and ketchup. But that combination in itself was incredible.
And I’d gone for the Plain Jane, which was just a regular old cheeseburger with the make-it-yourself toppings. And of course, my fries had that secret sauce on the side. Maybe a girly girl would have gotten a salad, but hell, I didn’t care if I got a bunch of crap all over my face. I was getting drunk and was starving.
I was surprised at how comfortable I felt around Pope, given the fact that we didn’t know each other. Or maybe it was all this alcohol I was drinking. Speaking of alcohol… I picked up my glass and took a long drink, the frosty beer refreshing.
I started eating my fries as I watched Pope pick up his massive burger and take a bite. He wasn’t even concerned about dripping sauce on his pristine white shirt, which I found incredibly sexy for some reason. I just assumed a man like him, who looked like him, who clearly had money, would be uptight as hell and worry about his appearance. But he didn’t seem to care as he had ketchup on the side of his mouth after he took a bite.
He picked up a napkin and wiped it off then made this low, pleasure-filled groan. “Goddamn. That’s the best burger I’ve ever had.”
I nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Rocco’s burgers are the best. It’s a shame it isn’t more well-known than it is, but I think, because it’s not in the greatest part of the city, it keeps people away.”
“Yeah, but I’ve had some incredible eats at some of the shadiest restaurants.” He grinned, and I felt my belly tighten at the sight.
I don’t know what it was about Pope, but I felt this pull toward him. And that’s how I should have known to pull back or I’d end up making a fool of myself.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Olive
For the next twenty minutes, we ate our meal and did small talk. We didn’t discuss anything personal, and I wondered if he was conscious of that fact like I was. We mainly talked about how we liked living in the city, how our food was, that Michael and David really seemed to like each other, and I realized Pope was a pretty down-to-earth guy.
This blind date was actually turning out to be pretty incredible, but I didn’t feel any vibes coming from him, none that gave me the impression he was into me the way I was into him.
And honestly, that kind of sucked, because I was really liking him.
“Can I be honest?”
I was mid-bite, nearly finished with my burger, when he spoke. He was done with his meal, was working on his second beer, and had his focus trained on me when I glanced up at him.
“I prefer honesty over bullshit,” I said after I swallowed. Of course, if I weren’t feeling pretty damn loose right now from the drinks, I probably would have had a better filter, especially on a first date.
He grinned. “I like that you don’t mince your words. It’s refreshing, especially when I deal daily with people having their noses up my ass and spouting off their bullshit.”
I laughed softly. “I wouldn’t know anything about people kissing my ass, but I definitely know all about the bullshit part.” I shrugged. We hadn’t really talked about personal stuff, but I still felt like I knew Pope. It was a little unnerving, but I also kind of liked it.
“Count yourself lucky,” he said seriously. He glanced down at his glass. I followed his line of vision to where his hand rested on the base of his glass.
“So what did you want to be honest with me about?” I could only imagine how this would go, how he’d tell me this was nice but he wasn’t looking for anything serious.
“When David brought up the whole blind date thing, the only reason I agreed was because he asked—well, pestered me about it really. I wasn’t interested in finding anyone. I wasn’t interested in dating in general.”
And here it was. Might as well be honest with him too. But not before I finished off this beer and ordered something else to soften the blow.
“I get it.” This kind of sucked, if I were being honest. “When Michael set this up, I wasn’t looking forward to it. My life is so.... hectic right now that getting involved with anyone but myself is kind of a disaster waiting to happen.” I shrugged, looked for the waitress, and signaled her over when she was done with the table she was helping.