An Unexpected Hunger by C. Rosa Page B

had seen that face before, only it came in the form of a ten year boy. Suddenly, I had started to feel so guilty for reacting the way I did.
    * * *
    I added one more coat of mascara to my lashes when my phone rang. It was Ricky.
    “Hi , Ricky,” I said, sounding as upbeat as possible.
    “So…tonight’s the night, huh?” he said.
    “What is it? Don’t tell me someone called out because I just called-”
    “No, no one called out,” he replied. “I just wanted to hear your voice and say that I’m sorry for what I said to you in the car that day. You’re right. I am an asshole, and I hope you have a good time with what’s his name tonight.”
    “What’s his name?”
    “Yeah, you know who I mean…chinos.”
    I laughed in a way that only Ricky knew how to make happen. “Ricky, you’re not an asshole…although you can have asshole-ish tendencies,” I teased. “And I’m sorry, too. I didn’t mean to upset you either.”
    “So does that mean your going to cancel your date?”
    “No!”
    I heard the doorbell in the background.
    “I gotta’ go. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”
    “Lex?”
    “Yes?”
    “ Can I pick you up?”
    “Sure.”
    I hung up the phone, surprised at how much I was looking forward to seeing him.
    * * *
    Ethan drove for a good forty-five minutes until we finally arrived at the restaurant. He opened the car door, pulled my chair out and in for me, and even ordered us a very nice bottle of wine.
    I looked around the restaurant, feeling a little uneasy. It reminded me of Danny’s restaurant all the way from the linens on the table to the very impressive menu.
    “Wow…this place is amazing,” I said, taking a sip from my wine glass.
    “I’ve eaten here once before. I had the same waiter. He was really good.”
    “Where I work they’re called waiters. I’m pretty sure here they’re called servers.”
    Ethan laughed. “ How did you end up working there? You always loved to cook. I remember you were the best one in Mrs. Stilts Home Ec. Class.”
    “Yeah, those were the good old days.”
    “Seriously…why aren’t you working in some fancy restaurant?”
    I swirled my glass, watching as the wine dribbled down the side. This wine had good legs, as Danny use to tell me.
    “I did…up until about six months ago. But, I had to leave and come home for a bit. Get some things situated.”
    I did the counting in my head and calculated that today was the very last day of my chastity promise, as Mia called it.
    “Where were you coming from at the airport?” I asked.
    The waiter brought us our meal, carefully setting each plate in front of us. We both ordered the same thing: herb roasted lamb chops with a balsamic reduction served with a summer vegetable medley.
    “I was visiting my dad in Texas. He moved there after he and my mom divorced.”
    “I’m s o sorry for not recognizing you. I hate flying and had taken something for the flight. I was a little out of it.”
    Ethan smiled, his pale blue eyes sparkling with the light of the candle on the table. His face was clean-shaven tonight, and the button down shirt and black pants he wore were doing a good job of showing off his toned frame. He was far from the kid that passed me funny notes in class, but I could still make out some semblance of his boyish charm.
    Turns out, he started law school near Philly in just a couple of weeks, and he even volunteered in the hospital once a month. He didn’t have one single tattoo, rarely drank, and his last relationship was a year ago with a girl he dated for three years.
    I ate every last bit of my lamb, every bite melting in my mouth . It felt good to be around that kind of food again. Burgers and fries at the Mug weren’t exactly palate stimulating.
    The car ride home seemed to go by a lot quicker , and I discreetly checked my phone, a little disappointed when I didn’t see a call or text from Ricky.
    When we finally made it bac k to my mom’s, I saw Nick’s car parked in the driveway.