Page 16 of Just Another Meet Cute

The day dragged on like it was stuck in honey. Ice cubes melting on the sidewalk. Linh getting ready on a Tuesday. The mall date with Mom was fun, but I was still pretty much a jittery mess by the time I left to meet Ian the next night.

Luckily, I had to circle the block three times before I was able to find Shamrock Patio and another two rounds to actually find parking. By the time I was finally able to squish Linh’s car between a Jeep and SUV on the next block, I was too annoyed to be nervous.

The restaurant was on the corner of a regular neighborhood street, but cars were parked everywhere.

It was a tiny little building with a huge covered patio surrounding the three sides.

There were at least a dozen old picnic tables spread out.

In the back corner, there were a few green metal tables with three or four chairs around them.

And almost all the chairs were filled with people eating and drinking.

I dodged a couple sitting in the front with their two kids. The little boy was playing on an iPad while his little sister leaned backward in her chair. She giggled as the fan behind her whipped her black hair around her face.

As I squeezed past her and the fan, my hands dropped to my thighs so I could hold down the front of my skirt before I accidentally flashed someone. It definitely wouldn’t be the first time.

A bead of sweat ran down my back, and I was tempted to take off my chunky maroon cardigan. It was a bit warm tonight, and I knew I was a little overdressed. Okay, a lot. But I couldn’t take any chances today. I needed the Lucky Outfit to work its magic.

Usually I wasn’t the superstitious type, but something good always happened when I wore this outfit. It was luckier than a leprechaun wearing a four-leaf clover shirt and a horseshoe necklace.

First time it worked its charm was in my calculus class last year. I completely forgot to study for the test, which would have dragged my average from a B ? to a C. Luckily, Mr. Barnes had a flat tire that morning, so class was canceled. Not so lucky for Mr. Barnes though.

Next time I wore this outfit, Mom and I were out at dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant, when I spotted Darren Criss—my all-time celebrity crush—a few tables over.

He was munching on some drunken noodles and sipping Thai tea.

I left the restaurant with a hug and selfie with him.

And I didn’t make a complete fool of myself over my gushing, or at least that’s what Mom told me.

Finally, the last time I wore this outfit, I left my wallet at home and was running on a nearly empty gas tank when I miraculously found a ten-dollar bill on the pavement right next to my car.

From then on, this outfit was forever dubbed as the Lucky Outfit, and I never went anywhere important without it.

But it had to be exactly the same. Right down to the star necklace and worn cowboy ankle boots. Once I wore sandals because it was hot, and Dad came to pick me up from school instead of Mom. And then our car broke down on the way home.

Longest. Afternoon. Ever.

I didn’t want Ian to think all this effort was for him.

If I had dressed with only him in mind, I would have worn my rattiest sweats and T-shirt.

Instead, I put on the high-waisted flowered cream skirt and black tank with the thick straps.

Add the cardigan, along with the necklace and boots, and I was dressed and ready to do battle.

Now if only I knew where my opponent was.

My eyes skimmed all the tables, but I still didn’t see Ian anywhere. Was I early? It was already past seven. Maybe I got the time wrong or he changed his mind. Maybe the outfit was working already.

I started to text him, when I heard someone in the back of the crowd call out, “Two steaks and a pork chop coming up!”

That voice sounded familiar. I edged around the crowd and found Ian standing behind the grill with an empty plate in each hand. The front of his hair was a little damp and stuck to his forehead. He rubbed his right forearm against his face, but all he did was make the ends stick up in funny angles.

“Uh, Ian?”

He flickered a glance over his shoulder at me. “Hey.”

Then Ian visibly froze and turned to look at me again. Longer this time. His gaze went from the top of my head down to the tips of my cowboy boots before going back up again. I noticed that he lingered a few additional seconds on my legs, and I fought the urge to shift back and forth.

When he finally glanced back up at my face, Ian turned red, realizing that I was watching him. With an embarrassed cough, his head snapped away. I couldn’t help blushing a bit, too. He annoyed me, but it was still nice to be admired.

The power of the Lucky Outfit was strong today.

Clearing my throat, I took a couple of steps closer to him. There were big containers of steaming corn and mashed potatoes along with a basket of small biscuits. “What are you doing?”

He grabbed a ladle and plopped a scoop of corn onto each of the plates. Then a scoop of mashed potatoes for each, before topping it with a biscuit. “Sorry, I thought I’d be done by now, but the crowd today is crazy. Must be because of the nice weather.”

“Done?”

Grabbing the plates, Ian brought them over to a picnic table nearby and handed it to them. He came back and grabbed another empty plate from the side. “Yeah, I help out Mr. Alan a couple nights a week for Steak Night. We stop taking orders at seven though, so we’re catching up now.”

I nodded even though his explanation still made no sense to me. “Should I wait for you to finish or—”

A tall man with a nice smile came over and dropped a steak on a plate. “Ian, you didn’t tell me that you had a date today.”

“This isn’t a date,” we both said in unison.

I frowned at how quickly he agreed with me. I mean, it’s true that we weren’t on a date, but did he have to be so adamant about it? Maybe the Lucky Outfit was losing its powers.

Looking thoughtful, Ian chewed on his lower lip. “Actually, Mr. Alan, Nina’s here to help.”

“I am?”

As he grinned at me, I could practically see the devil horns sticking up from his dark hair. Especially as he held up the fork like a pitchfork and pointed it at me. “Remember I told you I needed some convincing? Well, helping us out would get you a ton of points for that.”

I narrowed my eyes at him as Mr. Alan watched us curiously. “Yeah … I don’t mind helping. Do you need me to take orders? Wash dishes?”

Mr. Alan laughed. “No, sweetie, the customers order inside and clean up after themselves. All you have to do is help Ian fill these plates with the sides and bring them to the tables.”

“Okay, that doesn’t seem too bad.” Sweeping my hair over one shoulder, I leaned over the picnic table toward Ian. “Why don’t you fill the plates and I’ll serve it to the tables?”

He scooped up the corn and dropped it on one of the plates. “Are you sure you can run around in that skirt?”

“Excuse you.” I waited until he finished loading up the plate before grabbing it from him. “I could run laps in this skirt.”

His eyebrow rose, but he nodded. “Ah, another one of your many talents? Well, that goes to the third picnic table on the right corner. For the lady in blue.”

I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him. “Okay.”

We worked as a team for the next half an hour.

It wasn’t that bad. Like Mr. Alan said, all I was really doing was delivering the food to the right tables.

Everyone got their own drinks and utensils from inside and cleaned up after themselves.

And I’d slip the tips they handed me in the tip jar by the rusty keyboard in the corner.

When the last order went out, Ian shut the empty containers with a loud snap and wiped at the sweat on his brow. “And we’re done.” With a sigh, he sat down in the seat across from me. His foot propped up on the chair in front of him.

“Not yet.” Mr. Alan suddenly appeared at our table and dropped two plates with a sizzling steak in front of us. “You can’t not feed your lady.”

“I’m not his lady.”

“She’s not my lady,” Ian said at the exact time.

“Either way, a girl’s still got to eat. Especially when she’s been working so hard.” He gave me a quick wink and held up the half-full tip jar. “Consider it my treat since I got extra tips because of you. The customers barely give us anything when it’s just ol’ Ian here helping me.”

I laughed as Ian glared at the older man. When he turned his glare on me, I pretended to be absorbed in my steak. Which wasn’t that hard. It was medium rare with a crisp blackened edge, exactly the way I liked it.

I didn’t realize how starved I was until I took my first bite. Oh God. I forgot how delicious steak could be. So soft and almost buttery. We didn’t eat much beef anymore because of Dad’s high cholesterol. Mom even tried to make us vegetarians at one point, but I had to draw the line somewhere.

Closing my eyes from the delicious bliss, I let out a heavy sigh and dug in. Within minutes, I was almost done with my piece while Ian barely ate a third of his. “So how do you know Mr. Alan?”

Ian took a long sip of water before answering me.

“He was my piano teacher for two years. And he grills here for Shamrock. They buy all the food, and he cooks it for them in exchange for the tips. Last year, I started helping each week for some extra cash until I moved, but now I help him for fun whenever I’m in town. ”

“So you don’t get any money?”

“Nah, I don’t need it.” He glanced over his shoulder and leaned toward me. “At least not as much as Mr. Alan does. His mom is in a fancy nursing home in Florida that he pays for.”

My hand paused for a second. “Oh, that’s … nice of you.”

“I can be nice, you know. Sometimes.” Ian gave me a mock insulted look. “But it’s my turn to ask questions. How did you and Ryan start dating?”

“Uhh …”