realizing he’d never sat on a vinyl bench in a restaurant booth. He hoped his expression didn’t betray how completely out of his league the situation made him feel. They sat across the table from Dan and Lacey.
Dan draped his arm across the bench, and when Lacey scooted in close, he gave her an affectionate kiss on the cheek as she opened her menu.
Hakim wondered if he and Shelby would ever be that comfortable together.
Shelby laid her crutches on the floor next to the booth and slid next to him.
Hakim caught a whiff of her perfume. Subtle, and feminine, but not too flowery, Just like Shelby . He tilted his menu toward her. He could feel her heat where their thighs touched.
The waitress arrived at their table. “If it isn’t Shelby Walker and Lacey Barton.” She put a hand on her hip.
“Shannon!” Shelby jumped up, balancing on one leg to hug the small blonde woman. “I didn’t know you still worked here.”
“Yep. Been almost ten years. I should own the place by now, right?” Shannon raised her eyebrows at Hakim. “So, who’s this?”
“My friend, Hakim.” Shelby slid back into the booth. “Hakim, this is Shannon Price.”
“Pleased to meet you, Miss Price.” Hakim reached over to shake Shannon’s hand.
“Handsome and polite. Shelby, you sure know how to pick ’em. So, Hakim, have these girls told you about all the trouble we used to get into?”
“No, however I would be very interested to know what Shelby was like when she was younger.” Hakim smiled at Shelby. Her smile in return caused the increasingly familiar warmth to spread in his chest.
“Wow. Where should I start?” Shannon asked.
“Of all the people in this town, I bet Shelby is the most famous for the scrapes she got into,” Lacey said with a wave of her hand. “She’s a local legend. We could be here all night telling you stories.”
“Food first, childhood memories later,” Dan complained. “I’m starving.”
“Some things never change.” Shannon winked. “What can I get you guys?”
“Does everyone want pizza?” Shelby asked, glancing around the table.
They all agreed and placed their orders.
Hakim leaned across the table toward Lacey, feeling Shelby’s softness where his arm brushed hers. “I would love to hear about Shelby Jo as a child.”
“I’ve got a great one for you.”
“Nothing embarrassing, Lace,” Shelby pleaded.
“All right, all right.” Lacey paused and spread her fingers on the table, taking a deep breath before she began her story. “So, we were about eight, and the rodeo was in town…”
“Lace,” Shelby groaned.
The edges of Lacey’s mouth rose, but she kept speaking. “The guys who bring the animals had this one really mean bull. I mean, this thing was huge. Things are different now, like more regulated, but back then, a rider would get extra points for riding one of these enormous bulls. So they all wanted to draw him. The bull was so dangerous he couldn’t even stay penned up with the other rodeo animals, so Burke let them keep it out in his corral.”
Hakim smiled at Shelby’s mortified expression.
Shannon set the drinks and salad on the table. “Oh, my gosh! I’d totally forgotten this story. Your pizza’s almost up. Don’t finish ’til I get back!” She twirled and hurried toward the kitchen.
“Okay, after school, a bunch of us got off the bus at the Walkers’ and went home with Shelby to check out the bull,” Lacey continued. “We were too scared to even get close to the fence. The bull wasn’t doing anything but standing in the corral chewing its cud. It didn’t so much as look at us, but we were still terrified.”
Hakim bent forward, not wanting to miss a word, and using the excuse to graze his arm against Shelby’s.
Dan shook his head and laughed. “We yelled at the bull to get its attention. But nothing happened. We threw stuff at it, and finally, we all got to daring each other to go inside the pen and touch it.”
“Shelby was the
Dan draped his arm across the bench, and when Lacey scooted in close, he gave her an affectionate kiss on the cheek as she opened her menu.
Hakim wondered if he and Shelby would ever be that comfortable together.
Shelby laid her crutches on the floor next to the booth and slid next to him.
Hakim caught a whiff of her perfume. Subtle, and feminine, but not too flowery, Just like Shelby . He tilted his menu toward her. He could feel her heat where their thighs touched.
The waitress arrived at their table. “If it isn’t Shelby Walker and Lacey Barton.” She put a hand on her hip.
“Shannon!” Shelby jumped up, balancing on one leg to hug the small blonde woman. “I didn’t know you still worked here.”
“Yep. Been almost ten years. I should own the place by now, right?” Shannon raised her eyebrows at Hakim. “So, who’s this?”
“My friend, Hakim.” Shelby slid back into the booth. “Hakim, this is Shannon Price.”
“Pleased to meet you, Miss Price.” Hakim reached over to shake Shannon’s hand.
“Handsome and polite. Shelby, you sure know how to pick ’em. So, Hakim, have these girls told you about all the trouble we used to get into?”
“No, however I would be very interested to know what Shelby was like when she was younger.” Hakim smiled at Shelby. Her smile in return caused the increasingly familiar warmth to spread in his chest.
“Wow. Where should I start?” Shannon asked.
“Of all the people in this town, I bet Shelby is the most famous for the scrapes she got into,” Lacey said with a wave of her hand. “She’s a local legend. We could be here all night telling you stories.”
“Food first, childhood memories later,” Dan complained. “I’m starving.”
“Some things never change.” Shannon winked. “What can I get you guys?”
“Does everyone want pizza?” Shelby asked, glancing around the table.
They all agreed and placed their orders.
Hakim leaned across the table toward Lacey, feeling Shelby’s softness where his arm brushed hers. “I would love to hear about Shelby Jo as a child.”
“I’ve got a great one for you.”
“Nothing embarrassing, Lace,” Shelby pleaded.
“All right, all right.” Lacey paused and spread her fingers on the table, taking a deep breath before she began her story. “So, we were about eight, and the rodeo was in town…”
“Lace,” Shelby groaned.
The edges of Lacey’s mouth rose, but she kept speaking. “The guys who bring the animals had this one really mean bull. I mean, this thing was huge. Things are different now, like more regulated, but back then, a rider would get extra points for riding one of these enormous bulls. So they all wanted to draw him. The bull was so dangerous he couldn’t even stay penned up with the other rodeo animals, so Burke let them keep it out in his corral.”
Hakim smiled at Shelby’s mortified expression.
Shannon set the drinks and salad on the table. “Oh, my gosh! I’d totally forgotten this story. Your pizza’s almost up. Don’t finish ’til I get back!” She twirled and hurried toward the kitchen.
“Okay, after school, a bunch of us got off the bus at the Walkers’ and went home with Shelby to check out the bull,” Lacey continued. “We were too scared to even get close to the fence. The bull wasn’t doing anything but standing in the corral chewing its cud. It didn’t so much as look at us, but we were still terrified.”
Hakim bent forward, not wanting to miss a word, and using the excuse to graze his arm against Shelby’s.
Dan shook his head and laughed. “We yelled at the bull to get its attention. But nothing happened. We threw stuff at it, and finally, we all got to daring each other to go inside the pen and touch it.”
“Shelby was the
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