False Pretenses

Part 24

Chapter 23

Gabe led us to an open booth, and to my amusement, let me slide in one side before sitting right next to me.  Now, the closest George could get to me would be across the table.  The waitress came to the table, her expression bright as if she loved her job.  A smile of my own curled onto my lips, until she kept her eyes on Gabe the entire time she talked.  Gabe didn’t even glance towards her, and that was the only reason why I didn’t outright glare at the woman.  His eyes were on the door, his body was slightly tense, and I knew that he was waiting for George to walk through them.

“Two bacon cheddar burgers,” I said, interrupting the girl’s talk of their specials of the day.  “An order of fries and two Root Beers.”

Her eyes drifted from Gabe to me, but the smile on her face didn’t dim the slightest, and all my earlier thoughts made me feel ridiculous.  “What size fries?  Would you like anything on them?”

“Large,” Gabe mumbled, “and just salt.”

The waitress’s hand scribbled on the pad in her hand as she nodded.  “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

“Why’d you get me a Root Beer?” he asked, finally taking his attention off the doors to smile at me. 

I shrugged.  “Heard you mumble something about it while you were eating earlier.”

“I’ve had two burgers already.”

My teeth bit into the side of my cheek.  I knew that he had already had two burgers, which was why I had ordered one for me and one for George. I knew the type of food he liked.  It was hard not to when you worked with someone for so long.  The only reason why I hadn’t ordered George a drink was that the man ordered something different almost every place he went.  I didn’t tell Gabe this.  Instead, I just smiled at him.  “I figure you’d have something to stuff your mouth with while I talk.  It’d keep you from saying anything stupid.”

He laughed, making my small lie worth it.  Lying to him wasn’t something that I wanted, but when he had looked at me with that small smile on his face as if he found something slightly amusing, but cute at the same time, I couldn’t crush his mood. 

“What about ordering just one fry?  You didn’t think I’d want any?” 

“After three burgers?” I joked before shaking my head at him.  “I share with the table.  By the time I’m done with these overly large burgers, I can usually only eat a little bit of my fries.”  This part was all truth.  As much as I loved my calorie-filled food, I could only eat so much before I was full. 

Gabe opened his mouth, but as the diner’s doors opened, he snapped it closed and glanced towards the doors.  If anyone were to look at George, they wouldn’t think that the man owned his own organization of professionally trained killers; they probably wouldn’t believe me if I told them that he had blood on his hands himself. 

His body movements were relaxed, but graceful.  The blonde hair he sported was never combed down.  No matter how much product they tried to put in it, George’s hair never did what they wanted.  His now blue eyes sparkled with amusement and the smile on his face was always flirty.  The jeans he had on looked so worn in that I wouldn’t doubt he had them since he was in college, and the t-shirt he wore was a plain blue that brought out his eyes even more than the contacts I knew he wore.  His eyes weren’t the only thing that the shirt brought out though.  Every time he swung his arms with his steps, his arms tightened slightly, showing me that even if he wasn’t working with Mitch any longer, he kept in shape.

I made a move to push out of my seat, but didn’t get very far as I hit Gabe.  Turning towards him, I stared at him until he finally let out a sigh and stood.  As soon as Gabe was out of the way, arms were around me, pulling me off the ground.  With a laugh, I tightened my grip on George while he rocked us slightly.