November 23
Amarillo, Texas
Jasmin maintained a brisk pace as she walked towards the restaurant, trying to stay a few feet in front of Kevin.
She hadn’t wanted him to tag along, but she couldn’t really stop him from eating.
The restaurant was within walking distance from the inn they were staying at, so as soon as she was done with lunch, she was going to tour the town by herself again.
It was a little foggy today, but it seemed to be clearing.
The Little Texan was a quaint place, but had so much character.
Very ranch style in its appearance. Long wooden tables with three-seater benches on each side.
The benches were covered in white leather with big, brown blotches that resembled cow-hide.
There were even lassos and bull horns attached to the walls.
She waited for Kevin to sit down, but before she could walk away, he grabbed her wrist.
“You can sit here. You don’t have to eat alone.”
“That’s kind of you, Kevin.” She gently tugged her hand out of his grasp. “But you don’t have to do anything for me out of pity anymore.”
“Jasmin—”
She didn’t spare him another glance as she walked away and found another seat on the other side of the restaurant. Little Texan was a bit of a contradictory name because the servings were meant to cater for people the size of Shaquille O’ Neil and not the average Joe.
She had just placed an order for a burger and fries when she heard someone clear his throat beside her. She looked up and saw two guys and two girls, all appearing to be around the same age as her.
“This is our table,” one of the girls said flatly.
Jasmin made a show of looking around the table. “I don’t see your name on it.”
She rolled her eyes. “We’re regulars here, and we always sit at this table, so unless you want us to call management—”
“Fine,” Jasmin said, shifting along the long bench to get off. She really wasn’t in the mood to have a fight over a stupid table.
Before she even made it to the edge, one of the guys, the blonde one, was already sitting down and shifting towards her. “Stop being a bitch, Megan.” He looked over at Jasmin and smiled. “I can see you’re not from around here. Care to join us for lunch?”
She really didn’t have much of a choice. He had her blocked in. She moved back to her original spot on the other end and he shifted with her so that Megan could sit down beside him. The other guy, the dark-haired one, sat directly in front of her and the other girl sat beside him.
“I’m Brad,” the blonde said, giving her his hand.
She shook it and he went on to introduce the others.
“You’ve already met Megan. That’s April and that’s Antonio…
but call him Tony. He’s in a phase where he thinks denying his entire Mexican heritage will help him land an acting job. I know. It’s dumb.”
Jasmin smiled as she looked around at all of them.
There were very good looking people here in Texas.
The two girls were nothing like the Andys from Vegas, but still very pretty in that girl next door kind of way.
Brad was tall and built like a tank. She didn’t want to stereotype, but he looked like he played football.
He had a warm look about him, caramel eyes with a playful grin.
Very cute. Antonio, on the other hand, was thinner and shorter, and definitely had a face for TV.
Girls would swoon over that one. So while Brad was sexier (body wise), Tony was by far better looking.
It was strange, though. Neither of them had the same appeal as Kevin.
“What’s your name?” Brad asked.
“Jasmintha.” She remembered the trouble Kevin had with the pronunciation and decided to give them an alternative. “You can call me Jasmin.”
“You talk funny,” April said. “Where are you from?”
“South Africa.”
“Oh, you’re from Africa,” Brad said. “I always wanted to go to Africa.”
She’d heard a few Americans say it in that way, like the whole continent was a country.
“So do you guys have lions just walking around?”
She grinned. “Yeah. I actually have a pet leopard. His name is Jeff.”
“Really?”
“She’s messing with you, dude,” Tony said.
Brad nudged her with his elbow and smiled. “Funny.”
A waitress came to the table and delivered their meals and she found it strange that they hadn’t even ordered, but then she remembered that they were regulars here. The burger placed in front of her was massive.
“How do you guys eat this?” she asked. “The patty is bigger than my face.”
She generally chose to eat with her hands, but this burger demanded the use of a fork and knife. They continued talking as they ate, all of them asking her about her life in Africa and her current road trip.
“The weather is much better back home than it is here,” Jasmin said, slicing off another sliver of her huge burger. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the cold. It’s—”
“I just want to be on you,” Tony cut in.
“Excuse me?” Jasmin asked, looking up at him with confusion.
“All I’m thinking about is getting into your pants right now. An Indian and Mexican—do you know how hot that would be?”
She didn’t take offense because it didn’t seem like he meant it.
“You have to forgive Tony,” Brad said with a sheepish smile. “He doesn’t realize that some of his comments are extremely inappropriate.”
She could definitely relate to that. “Hot and spicy,” she agreed, looking over at him. “Like jalapenos and chili.”
“My thoughts exactly.” And when he reached over and took some of her fries from her plate, she felt like she had found a kindred spirit. They just seemed to have an instant connection.
“And then you wanna be an actor,” Jasmin continued, “and I wanna be a rapper. We’re actually Hollywood’s next hot couple in the making.”
“You wanna be a rapper?” he asked with fake adoration. “You’re my dream girl. I think I love you.”
“Would you stop encouraging him?” Brad chuckled, nudging her again.
“So we’re going to a Rodeo now,” April said. “Why don’t you come with us?”
Jasmin felt a smile light up her face. “Sure. I’d like that. I’ve never been to one before.”
After paying for the meal, they shuffled off the benches and headed for the door. Brad, Megan, and April walked on ahead, but Tony waited for her and slung his arm over her shoulder.
“So when we get there” he said, “I want you to take tips on riding, but at the same time I want you to take note that riding a bull is very different to riding a stallion.”
She laughed at his frankness. “Do women actually fall for that?”
“What? My Charm?” He adamantly shook his head. “Hell, no. But when I find one that does, I’ll know she’s the one for me.”
“Jasmin.”
She’d been so caught up in the conversation that she hadn’t realized they were passing Kevin’s table and the look on his face was one she hadn’t seen before. Not grumpy, but definitely not happy.
“You know this guy?” Tony asked.
“Yeah, we’re…” She had to put proper thought into describing what they were. “We’re traveling together.”
“Hi.” Tony removed his arm from around her shoulder and extended it to Kevin. “I’m Tony.”
“Kevin,” he replied, shaking his hand. “You guys going somewhere?”
“Yeah,” Tony replied on her behalf. “A Rodeo. You wanna join us?”
He didn’t answer and Tony must have picked up on the tension between them because he looked from her to Kevin then back to her again.
“Should I give you two a minute to talk?”
Kevin opened his mouth to respond but she beat him to it. “It’s not necessary,” she replied with a smile. “Kevin doesn’t like to talk…and he’s already said whatever he needed to say.”
She said nothing more and headed out the door with Tony.
The drive to the Amarillo Civic Centre was a short one.
Going to her first rodeo wasn’t what she’d expected, but it was definitely an experience she would never forget.
Oddly enough, it was an indoor event and the center was crowded, filled with people wearing Stetsons and waving American flags.
Some of the muscled cowboys she saw made her consider moving to Texas permanently.
The excitement that filled the air was contagious and Jasmin couldn’t stop smiling.
They seated themselves on the blue plastic chairs about five rows from the front and she watched in anticipation as they rode horses across the dirt and chased bulls with lassos. It was amazing to watch.
The supply of junk food never stopped and April even convinced her to try her first corndog.
Sometime during the afternoon, Tony found himself another dream girl and was trying, with little luck, to charm her pants off.
Jasmin spent most of the afternoon talking to Brad.
He was a shy guy, and she may have been stereotyping again, but she didn’t expect someone who looked like him to be so reserved.
There were a few stilted moments because he didn’t get her sense of humor, but he was still fun to talk to.
He was a gentleman, offering her his jacket when the temperature began to drop.
He was also very mild-mannered and it did make her wonder how he and Tony got along, because their personalities were on complete opposite sides of the spectrum.
After the rodeo, Tony was still trying with dream girl two and while Megan and April were in the restroom, Brad pulled her to a quiet corner.
“So I wanted to ask you something,” he began nervously. “Um…Tony’s parents are out of town…and he’s having a party tonight.” He rubbed one hand against the other as if his palms were sweaty. “I was…wondering if…you wanted to come…with me.”
This was an odd predicament. She liked him, but not in that way and she didn’t want him to get the wrong impression if she said yes.
So her first instinct was to say no, but the thought of sitting alone with Kevin for the rest of night in awkward silence was enough to change her mind.
Besides, he couldn’t really get the wrong impression; she’d told him earlier that she would be leaving Amarillo the next day.