The waitress then chimed in, "Have you folks decided on what you would like to order?"
We all looked at each other nodding, "Yeah, I'm good to order. You?"
Once we all confirmed we were ready to order with each other we started relaying our orders to the waitress.
Samantha went first, ordering the Mexikan Burger.
The steak burgers come with 100% all-natural Angus Chuck and Sirloin beef mix patties served with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, award winning "secret sauce" and a side of waffle fries.
The Mexikan Burger comes with pepper jack cheese and jalapenos.
Mariana was the next to order, she ordered the short stack of butter milk pancakes with chocolate chips and applewood bacon.
Seth ordered the cheese burger, which was the steak burger with a choice of cheese; Amerikan, Swissy, cheddar, provolone, or pepper jack.
Emily ordered a BLT.
Nathan ordered Chicken and Waffles.
The chicken and waffles are whole natural jumbo chicken wings marinated in Chef Dee's special marinade and coated with his secret flour mix then fried to a perfect crisp. Served with a golden brown Belgain waffle.
Layla was next and she ordered a Western omelette with sides of fresh fruit and a buttermilk biscuit.
The western omelette comes with diced ham, peppers, onions, and cheddar cheese.
Lastly it was my turn to order, I ordered the Frinch toast and Chef Dee's Banana Pudding.
The Frinch toast is made with homemade Challah bread dusted with powdered sugar with fresh whipped honey butter.
The waitress wrote all of this down on her note pad before asking, "Is this everything?"
Seeing all of us look at each other and not say anything she said, "Fantastic, these will be out shortly." She then turned and left.
While we waited we continued to make conversation.
Emily mentioned how one of the other teachers was giving her a hard time. The teacher was an older woman who always seemed to have a snide or off comment to just about anything Emily did.
The table had plenty of things to say about that, from curses to solutions, and even funny petty little pranks she could play just to spite her.
But, everyone at the table knew that she was never going to listen or act on any of this. It was said purely to lighten the situation and make her feel better.
It was about this time that the food came out and everyone was finally able to eat.
…
About 10 minutes into our meal I made the mistake of asking a question.
"The omelette looks good, how is it?"
A harmless question, right?
Wrong.
"Yeah, it's really good… do you want a bite?" Layla asked while holding up a fork full of eggs.
See.
Now I'm in a pickle.
Because I don't really like eating after people and I'm kind of a germaphobe. No matter how attractive… nevermind, maybe I can make this work.
I made a motion to my banana pudding, "Only if you want a bite of mine."
I smirked slightly only to realize I dug myself a deeper hole.
Layla laughed a little and said, "Sure~, I like banana pudding." She thrust her fork forward like a sword signifying her victory.
Now my mom didn't raise a coward. So I tried to take a dignified bite, however I could feel my face burning the entire time, which was not a good sign.
Next I scooped up a spoonful of banana pudding with whipped cream on top. I didn't even get the first bite.
Presenting the spoon Layla, with her left hand pulled her hair back and tilted her head to the right to take the bite.
I really felt like we were doing something that should only be done in private. Which I only felt was reinforced by the deafening silence of the table.
I put the spoon on the edge of the small bowl, to go back to eating my Frinch toast.
But I was cut off by Layla saying, "What are you not going to try it too?"
"I was, just later."
"Hmm~. Ok…"
I picked the spoon back up and took a quick little bite.
"Yeah, it's good. Just a little too sweet…" I managed to mumble out just loud enough for the table to hear.
I looked away from the table, the rest of the diner suddenly seemed way more interesting.
I heard a few snickers from the table but I couldn't tell how many were laughing at my embarrassment.
But Samantha was able to get a word in, "Man you really are a cutie, huh, Eli."
"Shut up. I'm not cute." I quietly protest.
Both her and Layla seemed to find that even funnier.
Nathan seemed to come to my rescue by changing the subject.
…
30 minutes later we were all finishing our food.
As it was getting late and we were winding down the conversation Samantha whispered something into Layla's ear.
They then got up and said that they were going to the restroom.
About the time they got out of view I said, "I better go too, it's a long drive back."
I got up and made my way to the restrooms.
The restrooms were located in a corner hallway, the women's was the first door on the right and the men's was the second and last door on the right.
So to get to the men's restroom I had to pass by the women's restroom.
As I was passing by I heard something that made me freeze.
It was Samantha saying, "So why did you bring a guy like, that?"
Layla questioned, "Like what?"
"You know what, like that. Like he is so NOT your type."
"I mean, yeah. But look where that has gotten me."
"Layla, I love you. But you better not be stringing this guy on, on just a whim."
"I'm NOT."
"Then what ARE you doing? He seems like a really good guy and he doesn't deserve to be hurt by your uncertainty."
"Look Sam, I know that, ok?"