So why ask me out?”
“Because of that right there. I love your honesty. Your boldness. Not an easy thing to find in someone who I suspect has quite a heart as well. It’s an enticing combination, and one I’d like to get to know better.” He folded his arms on the table. “I could ask the same thing. You don’t trust me, clearly have reservations about being around me, yet this is the second time you’ve agreed to meet.”
She raised an eyebrow and turned to look away, scanning the restaurant for distraction. Kids sat at tables with attentive parents, couples feeding each other pizza, some singles nibbling on thick cheese topped crusts with book in hand. Slowly, Cami returned attention to her companion. “Honestly? I don’t know. You’re right. I don’t trust you, don’t trust many people, if I was going to be truthful. But you do have me curious. Most angles I can figure out pretty quickly. Yours, I thought I knew.”
“And now you’re not so sure?”
She sighed. “And now, I want to know. I’m not one for surprises.” She shook her head. “Look, I have a very close, small group of friends, people I trust.”
“You prefer the animals?”
Her lips curled at the corners. “I guess I do. Animals don’t have agendas, they have only instinct. And that, as long as you understand the animal, is fairly predictable. People, on the other hand, change with the wind, not something I have a lot of patience for.”
He harrumphed. “That’s a jaded view of the world. I’m sorry you’ve been so hurt.”
“It has nothing to do with hurt. Everyone’s been hurt. That’s the whole point.” She shook her head. This is getting entirely too personal . “What about you? I’m assuming you don’t have someone special in your life. Or are you the cheating kind?”
He laughed. “No, ma’am. I am not the cheating kind. There hasn’t been someone special in my life for a while. We can agree on one thing, relationships are complicated things.”
An eyebrow shot up, smile creasing her lips. “Yes, that we can agree on.”
The waitress came to the table, dressed in jeans and white t-shirt, a teenager not older than fifteen. He raised an eyebrow at her, eyes asking permission. Head tilted, she nodded, watching with curiosity as he ordered her favorite pizza without stumbling.
As the waitress turned away and Paul’s attention shifted back to her, Cami smiled. “You did that well.”
“You can’t mean to say I impressed you?”
She chuckled softly. “Maybe. Just a little.” She pinched a thumb and finger together in the air, and leaned forward. “Okay, you have my attention. So who are you, Mr. Paul Schotter?”
“You mean besides the man that tried to stop your dream from coming true?”
“Yes. Besides that.”
“No one special, really. Grew up in Kentucky. I graduated from college with a degree in Business Management. Settled here in Sevierville, and the rest is pretty much history.” A coke was settled down in front of him, lemonade before Cami, and the waitress disappeared. “What about you?”
She laughed. “Well, that was short and sweet. Didn’t tell me much either, don’t think I missed that.” She shrugged. “There’s not much to tell. My father is a prosecutor, successful, respected. My mother, a stay at home mom, aptly overbearing. They expected me to go into law, or earn a doctorate in something prominent. Instead, I majored in veterinarian studies, minored in business, gained enough to help with my dream, and I was done with school.”
“So you always knew you wanted to do this?”
“Always. I tried, for a very short time, to appease them.” She took a swallow of her drink. “It didn’t go well, and just confirmed what I really wanted.”
The pizza arrived, mozzarella cheeses melting across the golden brown deep dish crust over finely chopped onions, green peppers and Italian sausage. Savory Italian spices wafted through the air, and Cami’s stomach grumbled. She
“Because of that right there. I love your honesty. Your boldness. Not an easy thing to find in someone who I suspect has quite a heart as well. It’s an enticing combination, and one I’d like to get to know better.” He folded his arms on the table. “I could ask the same thing. You don’t trust me, clearly have reservations about being around me, yet this is the second time you’ve agreed to meet.”
She raised an eyebrow and turned to look away, scanning the restaurant for distraction. Kids sat at tables with attentive parents, couples feeding each other pizza, some singles nibbling on thick cheese topped crusts with book in hand. Slowly, Cami returned attention to her companion. “Honestly? I don’t know. You’re right. I don’t trust you, don’t trust many people, if I was going to be truthful. But you do have me curious. Most angles I can figure out pretty quickly. Yours, I thought I knew.”
“And now you’re not so sure?”
She sighed. “And now, I want to know. I’m not one for surprises.” She shook her head. “Look, I have a very close, small group of friends, people I trust.”
“You prefer the animals?”
Her lips curled at the corners. “I guess I do. Animals don’t have agendas, they have only instinct. And that, as long as you understand the animal, is fairly predictable. People, on the other hand, change with the wind, not something I have a lot of patience for.”
He harrumphed. “That’s a jaded view of the world. I’m sorry you’ve been so hurt.”
“It has nothing to do with hurt. Everyone’s been hurt. That’s the whole point.” She shook her head. This is getting entirely too personal . “What about you? I’m assuming you don’t have someone special in your life. Or are you the cheating kind?”
He laughed. “No, ma’am. I am not the cheating kind. There hasn’t been someone special in my life for a while. We can agree on one thing, relationships are complicated things.”
An eyebrow shot up, smile creasing her lips. “Yes, that we can agree on.”
The waitress came to the table, dressed in jeans and white t-shirt, a teenager not older than fifteen. He raised an eyebrow at her, eyes asking permission. Head tilted, she nodded, watching with curiosity as he ordered her favorite pizza without stumbling.
As the waitress turned away and Paul’s attention shifted back to her, Cami smiled. “You did that well.”
“You can’t mean to say I impressed you?”
She chuckled softly. “Maybe. Just a little.” She pinched a thumb and finger together in the air, and leaned forward. “Okay, you have my attention. So who are you, Mr. Paul Schotter?”
“You mean besides the man that tried to stop your dream from coming true?”
“Yes. Besides that.”
“No one special, really. Grew up in Kentucky. I graduated from college with a degree in Business Management. Settled here in Sevierville, and the rest is pretty much history.” A coke was settled down in front of him, lemonade before Cami, and the waitress disappeared. “What about you?”
She laughed. “Well, that was short and sweet. Didn’t tell me much either, don’t think I missed that.” She shrugged. “There’s not much to tell. My father is a prosecutor, successful, respected. My mother, a stay at home mom, aptly overbearing. They expected me to go into law, or earn a doctorate in something prominent. Instead, I majored in veterinarian studies, minored in business, gained enough to help with my dream, and I was done with school.”
“So you always knew you wanted to do this?”
“Always. I tried, for a very short time, to appease them.” She took a swallow of her drink. “It didn’t go well, and just confirmed what I really wanted.”
The pizza arrived, mozzarella cheeses melting across the golden brown deep dish crust over finely chopped onions, green peppers and Italian sausage. Savory Italian spices wafted through the air, and Cami’s stomach grumbled. She
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