Too Close

Chapter Ten

"Let me get the barbecue turkey burger with pepper jack cheese and bacon? You look like you like bacon on your burger." Gianna turned to look at Miles, who watched her the entire time they stood at the register.

"Bacon is cool." Miles said through a chuckle.

"Okay, add some grilled onions, jalapenos, and no mayo." She finished.

"Why no mayo?" Miles asked.

"Because it's disgusting." Gianna said in an evident tone. She even scrunched up her face thinking about the spread.

"Alright." Miles shrugged his shoulders, following her lead. He told Gianna that he'd only try this place again if she ordered for him. "You want something?"

"No, I'm good." She tried to assure him but Miles wasn't having that.

He smacked his teeth, "Get something."

Gianna slightly rolled her eyes before quickly looking over the options on the menu. "I'll get a cookies and cream milkshake. No cherry or whipped cream." The girl at the register nodded as she typed it into the machine.

Miles thought she was a picky person but he didn't press her on it. "That wasn't so hard was it?" He said making her side eye him. Once Miles paid the bill, they went back to their booth. Gianna dug in her purse to grab a five dollar bill and two ones to cover the cost of her milkshake. She tried to give it to him, but Miles stared blankly at her.

"Put that up." He waved her off. Miles would never let her pay for anything, especially if he was right there with her.

Gianna sighed while putting the money away. "Don't think you gonna keep telling me what to do now." She looked his way and Miles chuckled.

"We'll see." He told Gianna making her raise one of her eyebrows. Miles quickly changed the subject while waking up his MacBook. "So what's up with your story? You got any ideas?" He looked as his screen displayed the impromptu idea he had himself.

Gianna opened her laptop and typed in her password before speaking. "No, not really." She said truthfully.

"We got something in common." Miles thought aloud.

"Really?" As much as she tried not to, Gianna still held Miles on a pedestal when it came to writing.  She didn't think that successful writers like him suffered from writer's block.

"Yeah, my manager asking me for something new, but I don't have shit. The block floating around ain't it?" Miles said making her giggle. Gianna was slightly surprised at the reaction she gave. That's definitely not what she told her brain to do.

"You don't have anything at all?" She asked him, but Miles thanked the worker for bringing over their food before he responded. Gianna watched as he bit into the burger and studied his face as he chewed it. "What do you think?"

Miles waited until he was finished to respond to her. "It's hot." He complained while drinking his sweet tea. "I'on like it." Miles told her, making Gianna's mouth open slightly. Miles laughed at her facial expression. "I'm just playing, it's good. Spicy as hell." Miles picked off all of the jalapenos. He wasn't a fan of spicy food like Gianna clearly was.

"Is it better than what you ordered last time though?" Gianna teased while taking both the lid and straw off of her cup. She went inside of her purse to grab one of the plastic utensils she kept in there. Her sisters always said it was extra as hell that she carried them around with her on a daily basis, but it came in handy all the time. Miles saw her pull the spoon out of her purse but he didn't ask any questions.

"It is." He assured her. "How did you find out about this place?"

"My parents' house isn't far from here and when I was in high school I'd come here all the time. But it wasn't until I started college that I found out they stay open passed eleven. It's a decent substitute since there are no Waffle Houses in Seattle." Growing up in the south, Gianna loved going on late night, early morning trips to Waffle House with her friends and family. When they moved to Seattle in her junior year of high school, she was sad to find out that there weren't any around for thousands of miles. So every time they visit Winston-Salem, she makes sure to stop before they go back home.