“I didn’t know about Susan, you only talked about your job,” David said weakly. Then Samantha watched as her friend’s husband took a healthy swallow of scotch. Would Larry accuse him of having a drinking problem?
“There was a lot about Larry you didn’t know, wasn’t there?” Toni shot her husband a dark look.
“David says you moved to Virginia five months ago from Idaho. That’s a big change.” Larry said as he shoved an entire piece of bruschetta into his mouth.
“It is,” Samantha smiled valiantly.
“Got tired of potato farming, huh?” He asked with his mouth full. Then he laughed at his own joke, and some of the bruschetta hit the plate in front of him.
She reached for her wine again.
“Whoa, you do really like the sauce, don’t you? Are you sure you don’t have a drinking problem?”
“Hello, here are your entrees.” The waitress began to set down the food. The entire time she placed the food on the table, Larry took the opportunity to slide even closer to Samantha on the booth, until she was shoved up against the restaurant wall.
Samantha longingly stared at the strawberries in Toni’s chicken basil dish and considered stealing one so she could eat it and have a severe allergic reaction. Anything to get herself out of this date from hell. She was going to kill Toni for setting her up like this. When she had agreed to go out to dinner with her and David, she had no idea they were going to spring Larry on her.
Before they started eating, Sam excused herself to go to the lady’s room. Toni sprang up to go with her. As they were weaving through tables, Toni was apologizing all over herself.
“Save it for later. Just let me get through this evening.” Sam said.
When they got to the powder room, Sam ran cold water over her wrists, trying to cool down. Toni looked on worriedly.
“I really am sorry. I just thought it would be good if you got back into dating. After that disaster with Kevin, I thought you deserved to meet a nice guy.”
She and Toni hadn’t spent much time together since they’d grown up in Boise and Toni had moved to Virginia seven years ago, but this wasn’t what Sam would have expected.
“And this is who you decided to set me up with?” It took everything Sam had to keep her voice at a normal decibel. “What’s more, you sprang this on me, you didn’t ask. So not cool.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Toni owned. “I’m going to make this up to you. Maybe I can sit next to him for the last half of the meal, then you get to sit next to David, what do you think?” Toni waggled her eyebrows.
Sam gave a reluctant smile. “The idea has some merit.” She took a deep breath. “Come on, time to go back.”
She dried her hands and they headed back to their booth. Larry was standing up by the time she got back. He had his hand out.
“Oh no, you can sit on the inside,” Sam demurred.
“Nonsense, your purse is there. You take your original seat,” he said.
Shoot. Shoot. Shoot.
Sam slid into the booth. Her plan to sit on the outside, foiled.
“I was worried you ladies would take too long. I know how you are, always talking, then your dinner would get cold.”
Toni rolled her eyes.
David asked Larry about his work, for which Samantha was eternally grateful. Larry boasted about his abilities in the IT department. He went on to talk about how he was able to build a network across the nation, on a shoestring budget.
“The higher-ups really were impressed with me,” he told Samantha. Again, with his mouth full of food.
“That’s nice.” Sam looked back down at her salmon, and took a couple of small bites, anything to block out the sound of Larry’s voice.
As she brought up her fork to her mouth, she was astounded to see Larry’s fork spear a piece of salmon off her plate.
“This is really good, Samantha.”
“Did you just do that?”
“What?” he asked. Obviously, he was confused.
She was pissed. “I would explain how rude you just were, but I don’t have a box of crayons, so you’d understand.”
She heard Toni let out a snort of laughter.
“There’s no reason to get snotty,” Larry glowered at her.
“You mean you understood what I said? Good.”
“Let me clear your plates.” The waitress said. “Is anyone interested in dessert?”
“Not me,” Samantha explained. “I’ve got to go.”
“You do?” Larry practically whined. “I was hoping to get your number.”
Seriously, the man was about as sharp as a marble. But she kept her mouth shut. “Larry, I don’t think we clicked. I’ve got to go.” She grabbed her wallet and threw out money to cover her meal.
“Thanks, everyone.”
Larry didn’t move. “Larry, I need you to move.”
“Oh yeah.” He finally got up out of the booth. “Are you sure I can’t have your number?”
“I’m sure. It just wouldn’t work. But it was interesting meeting you.”
“Well now that I know you’re a ballbuster like my ex, I can’t say the same.”
Samantha smiled. “Something tells me, I would get along with Susan.”
Sam threw Toni one more withering look, then left the restaurant.
Samantha pulled off her peplum top and jeans, thanking God she hadn’t worn anything more provocative to the restaurant. She needed a shower to wash off his kooties. Was kooties even a word? Didn’t it stop being a word after
