Mending by J. B. McGee

hard to look cool and not show just how excited he was to see her.  He carefully watched her every move, which only turned him on even more.  He shifted his stance and crossed his legs.
    She tossed several things into her purse and bounced out of the car.  It was just a moment before she was standing inches front of him.  This was because there wasn’t a lot of space between cars.  Bradley had purposely not moved to make her come around to him.  He knew that he had to be careful to not cross the boundaries of the friendship, but he yearned for her close proximity. 
    He reached out and gently put his finger around a tendril of hair that was framing the side of her face, the little piece of hair that was usually fairly straight.  He pulled it a little closer, “I like your hair like this.”
    She blushed causing him to grin.  He hoped that if things continued to go this well that it wouldn’t be long before she would give into the whole ‘let’s be friends’ first thing.  He was willing to play along, but he wanted her, only her, so badly he could barely stand it.  He pushed himself up off the car and put his hand in the small of her back. “C’mon, let’s eat.  I’m starving.”
    She looked up and smiled at him as she softly spoke, “Okay, me too.”
    The hostess seated them in a booth towards the back of the restaurant.  It wasn’t too busy since it was a weeknight.  Because of the timing, they had luckily missed the dinner rush.
    Bradley waited for her to pick a side and he climbed in to the opposite side so he could drink in her beauty for as long as he could.  “How was your drive?”
    “It was nice.  Have you ever been to Aiken?”
    “I have.  It’s beautiful.”
    She smiled as she recalled her memories with Sam.  “Yeah, I stopped there to take a quick bathroom break.  Sam and I went to Hopeland Gardens to see the Christmas lights last year.” 
    “Oh yeah?” He had never been to Christmas at Hopeland Gardens, but he had been to a wedding at The Rye Patch, which was an adjoining winter colony home adjacent to the gardens.  It was a beautiful place with ponds, old hardwoods, ducks, and flowers.
    Gabby responded, “Mhmm.”
    “Did you like it?” He leaned onto the table dying to be closer to her. 
    “I did.  I was thinking it might be nice for us to meet there one day.”  Gabby all of the sudden looked sad. “That is, if it’s not too far for you?”
    “Not too far.”  He winked at her.  “I would like that very much.”  Oh, she had no idea how much he would like that.  He could imagine the sun glistening through the canopy of trees causing those gold speckles in her eyes to twinkle.  He curled his finger over his lips. “But let’s not wait until Christmas.”
    Gabby’s eyebrows arched.  He couldn’t help but grin at how adorable she was when she got excited.  “Okay,” she replied quietly. 
    The waitress walked up to the table asking what she could get them.  They had not even looked at the menus.  He got the same thing every time he ate at Steak and Shake, so he didn’t need to look.  But, he wasn’t sure what she wanted and he really liked ordering for her.
    He glanced to the waitress and back to Gabby nodding.  “Do you know what you want?”
    She shook her head in affirmation back at him. “I get the same thing every time I come here.”
    Bradley looked back up to the waitress. “Then we’re ready.”
    Bradley ordered The Western BBQ and Bacon Cheeseburger and a Turtle Caramel Nut milkshake.  Gabby shook her head smiling as she looked on at him ordering.  He could see it out of the corner of his eyes.  Bradley glanced over and gave her a puzzled smile.  He would have to ask her what was so funny about his order when the waitress walked away.   
    When it was Gabby’s turn to order, her cheeks were red and she inhaled sharply.  “I’ll have the same, but no milkshake, please.”
    The waitress rattled the order back off to them both