Page 40 of The Surprise Play

“Table for two.” Wily holds up his fingers. “And can we get a booth? We’re studying and need to spread out a little.”

“Absolutely.” The girl smiles at him, her eyes big and flirty.

I glance up at Wily’s face, not surprised by the way he’s checking her out as she leads us to a booth.

Ugh. Jocks. So freaking typical.

Although Wily has been breaking a lot of my stereotypes, it’s a good reminder.

He’s still a hot-blooded male who’s into sexy woman. And he can probably get any one he wants.

This weird bubbling sensation inside me can just get lost, thank you very much. Wily is a college student who is paying me to tutor him. Nothing more.

Shaking off my winter coat, I then shuffle into the booth and get my laptop set up before I’ve even looked at a menu. I need to keep this professional, right?

“Here, at least figure out what you’re gonna eat first.” Wily holds a menu out for me, and I force myself to take it. I give it a quick skim and settle on potato skins and chicken tenders with ranch dressing. Yum!

I wonder if they’ll be as good as my dad’s. He’s perfected chicken tenders. The herbs he adds to thecrumb are perfect! And the special dipping sauce he makes… mmmmm! My mouth’s watering just thinking about it.

And there goes my stomach again.

I scrunch over on myself while Wily laughs and gets the waitress’s attention.

“Hey.” He smiles up at her. “Alexis.”

“Hi.” She beams back, dipping her hip, her high ponytail swinging.

And I may as well be invisible.

I should be grateful. Invisible is better than the laughingstock.

Dipping my chin, I mumble out my order when she asks me for it, and then Wily finishes for me…

“She’ll also take a salted caramel milkshake, please, and I’ll grab a chocolate.” He winks, and the waitress blushes as she scribbles down that last note and practically skips away from the table.

“Do you know her?” I ask as we watch her prance away.

Though I’m probably looking at her quite differently to the way he is.

“Nope.” He turns back to face me. “I think she’s new.”

“But you called her by name.”

“I read her name tag.” He winks at me. “People are always nicer to you if you take the time to show a little interest in them.”

I raise my eyebrows, fighting a grin. “I’m pretty sure she’d like you even if you didn’t say her name.”

He shrugs and gives me a tired smile. “A lot of girls do.”

Wow… how can someone say that and not look like anarrogant putz? But he’s just stating it like it’s a fact of life he has no control over.

I tip my head, my eyes narrowing as I study him, but then he puts on a grin like he’s pulling a mask over his face, and I can’t help myself.

“You flirt with a lot of girls.”

“They flirt with me.” He shrugs. “And I’m a friendly guy.”

My eyes continue to narrow, and he lets out a short laugh.