He reached over and tugged her scarf. “Too easy. I’ll go to one of the labs. I just have to figure out which one, but you shouldn’t wait on me.”
Lisa thought through her schedule. It would be more fun to go if Jason was there, but tonight was really her only option. Midterms were around the corner and the professors were ramping up the workload. “Yeah. I think tonight is the only one that I can make work.” She scooped up her bagel, heading for their table. “And I will keep good notes, but you’d better go. You don’t get to just pass!”
Jason snickered, sliding into his seat. “Yes, ma’am.”
17
Jason held the door to the Piano Bar open, letting Stacey enter first. She looked amazing tonight, dressed to kill in a silky, pale-blue shirt that was open at the front just enough to show off some killer cleavage and dark wash jeans that hugged her curves. When she passed by him her perfume, something sharp and fruity, hit his nose again and he sneezed.
Stacey laughed and flicked her hair over her shoulder. It was loose and fell in thick curls across her back. She grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the door. “It smells good in here, though I was expecting something a little more upscale than barbecue.”
Jason shrugged a little, refusing to feel guilty for bringing her to his favorite place. They hadn’t talked about food much, and while it might not match what she’d been thinking he thought she’d like it if she gave it a chance. He squeezed her fingers. “It’s very upscale barbecue. There are forks and knives and napkins.”
She cocked her head to the side with a chuckle. “And no bibs and moist towelettes?”
“Definitely no bibs. The towelettes are a BBQ standard. I don’t want to get your fingers sticky dancing later.”
He waved at the bartender and angled for a table close to the stage. There weren’t any performers yet, but various instruments sat at the ready. Tonight was a cover band, but they promised a mix of 80s and 90s, and he was interested to see where that went. He hoped Stacey would have a good time. She’d been chatty in the truck, but mostly about the ski resort and the people who worked there, so it’d been easy to be interested. Jason approved of the way the business was moving, expanding their options for year round entertainment and opportunities. Maybe they’d have a place where he could use all of his skills eventually.
One of the servers made her way over, pulling a couple of menus out of her half-apron. Jason found the menus clever. It was a wooden frame that any half sheet of paper could be slid into. The Piano Bar changed their menu frequently to take advantage of fresh specials, and the system let them change offerings easily. They weren’t as cool as the tablet like ones that lit up, but the wooden frames matched the feel of the décor. The server offered the menus and set a third drinks menu between Jason and Stacey.
“Welcome to the Piano Bar, guys. The Fish and Chips tonight is particularly good and the soup of the day is tomato basil. We have a full menu of wines and beers including local brewers and the cocktail of the night is a Strawberry Smash.”
Stacey arched her eyebrows, interest showing in her eyes. “What’s Strawberry Smash?”
The server grinned. “It’s my favorite. It has gin, club soda, lime juice, fresh strawberries, and crushed mint.”
“Sounds good. I’ll have one of those.”
“Right.” The girl scribbled the order down and looked at Jason with dawning recognition. “Wasatch for you?”
He smiled. “Yep. And a fried onion with a side of jalapeño poppers to start.”
“Sounds good. I’ll get those started and give you a few minutes to go over the rest of the menu.”
She left and Stacey shook her head. “Jalapeño poppers, huh? Not planning on a goodnight kiss?”
Jason startled slightly at the question. Wait, what? She didn’t like jalapeño poppers? Who didn’t like peppers stuffed with cream cheese? And these ones were wrapped in bacon to boot. Then he processed the rest of the question. He couldn’t say he hadn’t considered a good night kiss, though he hadn’t counted on one. It was a flexible part of his schedule. “Deal killer, huh?”
She smiled, doing that looking at him through her lashes thing that some girls were so good at. He never knew exactly what to make of it. Daniel had always told him a girl that wouldn’t look you in the face wasn’t really interested. Daniel’s marriage had been something Jason had held up as the kind of relationship he wanted, so his brother’s advice held more sway than some internet forum or most of Jason’s buddies.
“I wouldn’t say deal killer, but you might have to negotiate more strongly.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
The silence drew out for a few minutes, broken when the server returned with their drinks. The speed of service was one of Jason’s many favorite things about the place. He glanced at Stacey. “Do you know what you want?”
She nodded, turning to the server. “The Cobb salad, but with the dressing on the side, no croutons and no cheese.”
Jason gathered the menus and offered them to the server, glancing at her name badge. Sarah. “The rib plate with fries for me and the coleslaw. Thanks, Sarah.”
She added more scribbles to her order pad and tucked the menus away. “Back in a few.”
Stacey stirred the drink, sniffing it before taking a sip. “Mm. It’s not bad.”
Jason picked up his beer, but didn’t take a drink. He was getting mixed signals from Stacey and he wanted her to have a good time. “I guess I should have told you a little more about what this place was like.”
Stacey chuckled and took another drink. “It’s a possibility that I should have asked more as well. I did look up the Piano Bar online, but the one I found is located downtown and is very formal. You should have seen the menu.” She gestured to the stage. “It also had pianos, which I don’t see here.”
Jason picked up his beer. Sarah had already popped the top, since the Wasatch was never bottled with a screw on lid. He heard the disappointment in Stacey’s voice and scolded himself for not having made sure he was taking her expectations into account. He’d brought her to one of his favorite places where he was comfortable, but hadn’t considered that she wouldn’t be comfortable here. She never seemed out of place at the company BBQ parties where the food and booze was similar, so he hadn’t considered she’d expect a formal kind of date.
He just didn’t know her that well. But that’s what dating was for, wasn’t it?
He set the drink aside and turned his chair, taking both of her hands in his. “I get that it’s not what you expected, but it’s still nice. And I can see you think this is awkward and weird, but aren’t first dates always kind of awkward?”
It took a moment, but she smiled. “I guess so.”
“So can we put aside all of that, get to know each other better, and just have a good time?”
She twined her fingers between his, giving his hands a squeeze. “I think so.”
Lisa shivered and pulled her coat tighter around her as she hiked across campus. The tall dorm towers stood in the distance like a beacon of warmth and security. She really couldn’t wait for spring. Her parents had sent pictures of their vacation in the Bahamas and she was so jealous of white sands and hot sun.
The phone in her jeans pocket started vibrating and she fished it out, pausing under a pool of lamplight to look at the screen. An IM message notification hung at the top of the screen, Jason’s name at the top. Lisa hesitated, though she wasn’t sure why, and then tapped the app open.
*Hey you. How’d the star gazing go?*
*Starry.* Lisa smiled as she tapped out the word. *The telescope is amazing, though the view for the naked eye wasn’t bad either. The notes came in really handy and I asked about what happened if you couldn’t make one of the lab days. She says you’ll miss out on the telescope, but you can go out with someone who has already done the lab and turn in a time stamped picture as proof you did it.*
She hit send and started walking again. It was too cold to stand there
and text, and he might not even text back, especially if he was still on his date. He wouldn’t text her on his date, would he? Curiosity was too strong to deny. She started tapping again.
*How’d the date go?*
The phone didn’t buzz again until she reached the doors to the dorm.
*Still going. She’s been in the bathroom for the last fifteen minutes. I have a sister so I get being a girl takes longer, but seriously what do women do in there?*
Lisa couldn’t keep herself from laughing. *She’s prettying herself up. Or she’s about to go out the window.*
*I hope not. I think she’s got my valet ticket in her purse.*
Lisa stepped into the elevator and the service to her phone cut off, as it always did. The ride to the tenth floor seemed to take forever. She had to get off of the elevator and most of the way to her room before the ‘no service’ bar cleared.
*I didn’t think the Piano Bar had valet service.*
*The one downtown does.*
Lisa held her phone in her teeth and fished her keys out, unlocking her door and pushing it open with her foot. She dumped her bags at the foot of her bed, kicking the door closed before sitting at her little desk. *There’s a Piano Bar downtown?*
*Yep.*
*I am so very confused.*
Lisa pried her boots off with her toes, which were freezing, and curled her feet under her. The dancing dots let her know Jason was typing, but it seemed to take forever before the screen filled with words.
*We started at the other Piano Bar, but Stacey didn’t like the food. Or the ambience. Or the music. So we ended up leaving there and coming to the fancy Piano Bar, where she likes everything. And is still in the bathroom.*
*Huh. That must be some fancy bathroom.* Lisa reread the words, trying to interpret whether Jason was happy or unhappy with the development. Tone was so hard to tell in text, but there weren’t any emojis and Stacey hadn’t liked his favorite place. That sounded like a really awkward date. *How can she not like the music at the Piano Bar? You said they did GNR covers.*
*Yep. Tonight they were doing ZZ Top. We bailed when she told me Sharp Dressed Man was her dad’s favorite song.*
Lisa rubbed the arch of her foot, trying to warm it up. ZZ Top was Jason’s favorite band and he loved “Sharp Dressed Man.” It had to hurt to be compared to some girl’s dad. Some guys would have cancelled the date for less, but not Jason. *I’m impressed you’re still hanging out after that.*
*You’re the one who keeps encouraging me to try things out of my comfort zone. Dueling pianos…not as bad as I thought they’d be.*
Lisa laughed, the sound echoing in her little space. She had no problem reading the tone in that text. *Look at you, growing as a person.*
*It happens. Gotta go. The fancy bathroom has released her. Cya in class.*
18
Lisa held her bagel between her teeth, trying to zip her coat, juggle her backpack, and dart across campus at the same time. Having a midterm in the testing center on the morning of Valentine’s Day was stupid. The campus was plastered with red and white and pink as a reminder to everyone who wasn’t dating that it was the holiday all about romance. She’d seen flowers and chocolates and balloons and that was just in class and at the food court. Jason had seemed amused but fairly indifferent to all the glitz. The breakfast conversation had all focused on a new urban fantasy release he’d just finished and hated. Privately, Lisa could admit that she loved it when he got on a tear about a book. He was usually pretty easy going, but when something pushed a button his rants were pretty glorious, and this one had been good enough that she was having to run so she wouldn’t be late for the midterm.
As she ran, she wondered when and if he’d find the Valentine card she’d stuck under his plate when he went for a coffee refill. It felt kind of stupid. They weren’t in a relationship and Valentines were kind of for little kids, but some of the girls in the dorm had been playing with an online Valentine creator last night and Lisa had been pulled into the frivolity. The card was in the shape of the ZZ Top logo which she’d covered with gold and silver glitter. Inside was a picture of one of the truly crazy looking fuzzy guitars and the words ‘Happy Valentine’s, Sharp Dressed Man’ written in gold foil across the strings. She’d made it on a whim and hadn’t signed it. She hadn’t even been sure she was going to give it to him until the moment she’d shoved it under his plate, and then it was already done and there was no way to take it back when panic struck. He’d either think she was insane or that it was hysterical. Maybe it was a very good thing she wouldn’t see him again until next week.
Lisa rushed into the testing center, tossing the last bite of bagel into the trash and fishing out her student ID. Even the check in desk had big paper hearts joined by a gold streamer of tiny cupid angels on it. She signed in and got the packet for the midterm. She felt confident about this one. It was just trig, and she held one of the top scores in the class already. She picked out a seat and slipped into it, setting the packet on the desk and reaching into the front pocket of her bag for a pencil. Her fingers brushed paper, and she hesitated. She never kept paper in the front pocket; that was for pens, pencils, and markers. Very aware that she wasn’t supposed to have notes in the testing center, she pulled out the paper and the pencil she’d been going for.
The little card featured a good looking man in his mid 50’s dressed in medieval chain mail. A white tabard with a red cross across the breast of it fit over the armor, belted at the waist. He carried a two handed sword which glowed with ancient magic. Across the bottom were written the words: Amoracchius isn’t my only love sword.
The absurdity of the card sank into Lisa’s mind. She knew immediately what series was being referenced and that only Jason would have thought of it or been able to get it into her bag, though she had no idea when he’d managed that. She let the card fall back into her bag and put her head on the desk, her shoulders shaking with the laughter she couldn’t give voice to.
Now that was a Valentine’s card.
Jason sat in his truck watching tiny wispy snow flutter from the sky. It was Valentine’s Day. He had a nice date planned with a hot girl who loved to make out in his truck. So why was he sitting out here watching the snow fall instead of knocking on her door?
Because he wasn’t really looking forward to the whole thing. The dating was fine, but it wasn’t… it wasn’t enough. If he had a “things he wanted in a girl” list Stacey checked all the boxes. But a handful of dates over the last two weeks had shown him how often they ran out of things to say and how much more fun they had in a group. It wasn’t like she was shallow or wasn’t nice, either. She was nice, but they were very different in what felt like all the wrong ways. She was a champagne and strawberries girl, and he was a beer and peanuts guy. He wanted more than someone who looked beautiful on his arm. He wanted someone who would eat the fried onion with him and laugh at his awful jokes.
The realization sat heavy in his stomach. He was great with having Stacey as a co-worker and a friend, but he couldn’t keep dating her. Jason sighed and banged his forehead on the steering wheel. He knew what he needed to do, but he couldn’t be the giant jerk who broke up with her on Valentine’s Day. He would have to be the jerk who broke up with her on President’s Day instead.
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, straightening it as he got out of the car. The snow settled on the shoulders of his sports coat, which he wore over a dark violet button-up shirt and dark washed jeans. It was as dressed up as he got unless he was attending a wedding or a funeral.
Jason climbed the stairs to the door and knocked. It opened almost immediately, which meant she’d been waiting. Stacey stood there in a red dress that hugged her form and ended a few inches above the knee. A lacey white shawl draped over her shoulders, her hair and makeup utter perfection. Despite all of his brain’s objections his libido was certain this was a great idea. Stupid hormones. He swallowed and offered her his hand.
“You look amazing.”
Stacey smiled, and he was again struck by her sharp perfume. “I was hoping you’d notice.” She picked up a small matching clutch from an end table by the door and took his hand, letting him escort her out the door and through the snow.
He opened the door to the truck and, realizing she was going to have trouble in the skirt, lifted her up to the seat. Stacey giggled at the assist and leaned over to kiss the top of his head. She paused, brushing her fingers through his hair. “You have sparkles in your hair, Jason.”
Jason’s hand dropped to his back pocket where the ZZ Top card rode next to his wallet. Even without a signature he knew Lisa had given him the card. It cracked him up every time he looked at it, but the damn glitter got everywhere. “It’s Valentine’s, right? It’s the day for hearts and sparkles.”
He wasn’t sure why he didn’t want to tell her about the card. Maybe because it felt like the kind of thing she wouldn’t understand. The card and flowers he had for her were Hallmark and purchased from an actual florist, not a grocery store floral department. How could he explain the joy of a crazy, glitter covered card from a friend?
She laughed and scooted further into the cab, allowing him to close the door.
Jason took a deep breath of the snowy air, making his way around the truck to his side. It was going to be a long night.
Lisa handed over a wad of crumpled dollar bills in exchange for two medium-sized pizza boxes. It was more than she usually gave for a tip, but she imagined that Valentine’s Day for pizza delivery guys had to be really busy with a side of suckage. She waved as he left and padded back into the dorm, her stocking feet shuffling across the tile floor with a pleasant whoosh whoosh. It was quiet at the dorm, where folks were divided into three camps. There were those who were out with their significant someone, those who were watching movies in the basement and getting their Valentine hate on, and those—like Lisa—who were doing their own thing in the spirit of ignoring their singleness.
Discovering You (Miller Lodge Romance Book 1) Page 8