As Saffron passed the drinks to me, my arms tensed under the fluid weight. My mouth dropped at the sight of Saffron's order. Saffron took the cardboard cup holder, bent with the weight of three soft drink cups. "Three strawberry shakes," said the girl on the other side. "I mean, I'm sorry about what you saw today when-" "What are you going to do with three extra large shakes?" I said She took us around the diner and waited by the curb. We'll have that for you in a couple minutes." Saffron glanced my way and I shook my head. "Two extra large strawberry shakes," said Saffron. "Welcome to Bettie's, what can I get for you tonight?" said the intercom. It was late-September and that curving wind had a bite. Saffron pulled up next to the big menu and dropped her window. The Chevy took off down the drive-thru lane. But, Saff's smile turned my heart to jelly. I'd been with girls who were skinnier, taller, perhaps a touch more photogenic than Saffron. She was a short woman with olive skin and a dark collar-length bob - she'd cut her hair after her breakup. Smile or no smile, something was off balance.Īll the same, I wanted to peck that little button nose off her face. It was the first time I'd seen her smile since she saw my computer screen today, but Saff's lower lip trembled. Her brown Bambi eyes reflected the lit menu. Its driver yelped an order to the intercom. Saffron took us around Bettie's drive-thru where a Chevy idled next to the big menu. My ass.īut, late tonight, Saffron knocked on my bedroom door and asked me to come with her on a drive. She sat on the couch, watched a show and said little. Saffron caught a glimpse of the videos playing on my screen and suddenly got weird. Maybe I had made just that mistake today. A small disturbance could topple everything. ![]() If there was something between us, it was balanced on a pin. We had made no agreements, set no terms and told no family or friends.īut, it had been nice to have someone to cuddle and make out with. We'd both come out of long-term relationships and neither of us were sure we were ready for something new. For six complicated weeks to today, we'd been something more. We'd been friends a year, roommates for three months. But, neither Saffron nor I were ready to call our thing a thing. Today, Saffron saw something I hadn't meant her to. I was off balance tonight, but not from an alcohol buzz. The inebriated Friday night stragglers were in there, munching on chicken wings, tipsy on cheap beer. The lot was occupied by a handful of lonely cars. "I thought you were taking me somewhere to show me something," I said. She slowed as the car neared the parking lot. "Let me know if you want anything," said Saffron. The city felt like a huge, emptying lot and a swift, curving wind blasted soda cans, paper coffee cups and lawn debris in the places people might have been on warmer nights. It was in turquoise Miami-type on a white background, underlined with a pink squiggle. The Bettie's Diner pylon sign hung over the street in the night sky, huge and neon-lit as we approached.
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