Chapter Fifteen Amanda
Chapter Fifteen
Amanda
T he way a woman’s body moves is intoxicating,” Raad said from the other side of the lunch table at the Black Sheep Diner where Amanda had agreed to meet for a first date. “Your curves get me going, you know? I just… wow, I can’t stop looking at them. I didn’t expect all this from your pictures on the app.”
He waved toward her when he spoke about all this .
Amanda wished, with every fiber of her being, that Raad would stop looking at her completely. “Uh… it’s… I don’t know how to respond to that.”
“Most women would say thank you,” he replied as he lifted the top off of the Reuben sandwich he had ordered. “I’m female affirming. Basically a full-fledged feminist because I think you should be in charge. I’d love to be in a world completely run by women. In fact, I’d let you run the entire show tonight if you want.”
“I don’t think saying you can’t stop looking at my curves makes you a feminist,” Amanda countered, though she felt unsure even of her own answer given how confidently he’d said his. “Actually, I don’t think anything you just said qualifies as feminism.”
He furrowed his brows at that. “Most women I go out with are less difficult. Are you going to be difficult, Amanda?”
She swallowed hard at that and picked up her glass of lemonade, taking a long sip. She couldn’t believe she’d agreed to come on this date, and this was how it was going. Especially after that kiss she’d shared with Dominic—what had she even been thinking?
She didn’t go around kissing guys. That wasn’t who she was. It never had been. But there was something about him in that moment that made her just feel the desire to… claim. With her lips. And it had felt incredible in a heart-aching, soul-stirring type of way.
And now she was here. With Raad. Talking about the absolute opposite definition of feminism.
It would be easy to tell him off and get into an argument about politics and feminism and how he was an absolute douchebag, but she genuinely didn’t want to expend her energy on him a minute longer. She looked around the diner, as if an out would be easily provided. One of the girls she’d gone to high school with, Mattie, was standing behind the counter cutting up a pie into slices.
Maybe Mattie could be her out?
Amanda lifted her free hand and waved at Mattie. “Mattie, I’m coming!”
Raad turned around and looked in the direction she was calling. “Who?”
“That’s my friend Mattie. She works here,” Amanda replied, coming up with any excuse she could think of on the fly. “She was just calling me over. Sometimes I help cover shifts when it gets too busy in here, so she probably needs me to work.”
Raad looked around the diner, which was about 60 percent full and clearly had plenty of open tables. “You didn’t tell me you’re a waitress.”
“So what if I am?” Amanda asked as she pushed herself up to standing, her tone confrontative. She had been trying to give him an easy out—or give herself an easy out—but if he wanted to go down fighting, she would absolutely walk the plank with him and toss him overboard. “What’s wrong with being a server?”
He looked uncomfortable, clearly shifting in his seat. “Uh… I guess I’ll just take the check, then. I don’t date waitresses.”
“What a blessing for them,” Amanda said as she flounced off toward the end of the counter where there was a break in it to walk behind.
Mattie looked up at her with a confused look as she stepped behind the counter, but Amanda gave her the look .
Mattie didn’t question a thing, pointing to the extra aprons dangling from a hook on the far wall. “You’re late, Amanda. Hurry up and get drinks for table twelve.”
“On it,” Amanda replied, grabbing an available apron with the Black Sheep logo on it and tying it around her waist. “Thanks.”
“Stop being late, or I’ll have to write you up,” Mattie called out behind her, loud enough that Raad definitely heard her. “Hey, lover boy. Get out.”
Raad stood up and looked confused. “I haven’t paid.”
Mattie shrugged and pointed toward the door. “Your money isn’t good here. Get out.”
Flustered and clearly confused, he left, and Amanda made every effort to not look him in the eye as he did so. Instead, she walked over to table twelve and took their drink order—two cokes and a water—and relayed those back to Mattie.
“Thanks for covering for me.” Amanda placed her apron back on the hook on the wall, and then gave Mattie a quick hug. “I’m absolutely done dating. This shit is for the birds.”
Mattie seemed to freeze and shake the hug off, like she hadn’t expected it. She was one of the younger staff members at the diner, but Amanda had heard rumblings that her life hadn’t been very easy the last few years, so she appreciated the way she’d stepped up for her just then.
“Yeah, I know a little something about that. Don’t worry about it,” Mattie said, heading to another table. “Give it five minutes before you walk out—just to make sure he’s left.”
“Good idea.” Amanda waited a few minutes longer, then glanced into the parking lot to make sure no one was lingering around. She scurried quickly to her car and set herself in drive, making the decision to head early to the parade route and begin getting set up.
Heart Lake Harbor was already fully decorated with signs for the event and balloons on every post. She’d done most of that last night, but there had, thankfully, been a few volunteers this year who’d agreed to be here earlier this morning to make sure things were in place. All Amanda had to do at this point was check the roster of boats, make sure everyone was here, check in on the judges of the contest, and then tally up their scores after the boats finished the route.
“Add a few extra points to my score, Amanda,” Tanner said, his tone joking, as he walked up to her on the end of the pier. Nola Nation was tied up to the right of where she was standing—Tanner’s pride and joy that he’d named after his wife and Amanda’s best friend. “I put a lot of extra work into her this year. Can you tell the theme?”
Amanda turned to take in the full sailboat for a moment. One end had a yellow goalpost attached to it, and there was fake AstroTurf across the entire deck with game lines painted onto it. Tanner was wearing a Detroit Lions football jersey and had black marker streaks on both of his cheeks. “Uh… volleyball?”
Tanner’s jaw dropped slightly, and he let out a huff. “Seriously? Football, Amanda. We’re the Detroit Lions stadium. Look!”
He gestured back toward the boat, and Amanda laughed because of course, it was obvious, but damn it was fun pretending it wasn’t.
She kept up the ruse and nodded her head stoically. “Oh, I see it now. Yeah, the football game.”
Tanner tossed his hands up in the air as Nola stepped off the boat and headed in their direction. “Nola, do none of your friends know anything about sports?”
“I mean, Evan coaches Zander’s Little League team,” Nola replied. “So Rosie might know about baseball?”
“Amanda didn’t notice the theme,” he replied.
“Yes, she did,” Nola said, rolling her eyes at Amanda and smacking her lightly on the arm. “She’s just giving you a hard time.”
Amanda grinned and let out a laugh. “I mean, it’s pretty obvious, Tanner.”
He was definitely grumpy now and muttered something as he stalked off and left the two of them alone.
“How was your date?” Nola immediately asked—typical best friend who doesn’t forget a thing.
Amanda shook her head and grimaced. “Awful. I hated him. I mean, he was actually very attractive, but his personality belonged in the dumpster.”
Nola shook her head. “Damn. That’s four for four.”
“I know,” Amanda agreed. “I told you I’d go on at least four dates, and I did. And I’m literally never ever doing that again.”
“I’m very impressed that you gave it a try, though,” Nola assured her with a smile. “But I was hoping one would pan out into at least a second or third date. It seems like they all just sucked.”
Suddenly, Nola paused and lifted one brow as she looked past Amanda and then back at her. “Unless… unless there’s a reason these dates all sucked?”
Amanda frowned. “Uh, yeah. The reason is he was an asshole.”
“That’s not what I mean,” Nola continued, her voice dropping to a whisper. “I mean, maybe he is the reason.”
Just as she said it, someone walked up next to them, and Nola’s eyes were glued to him.
“Hey,” Dominic greeted them as he came to a stop next to Amanda. “It looks like a pretty great turnout. Is this what it was like last year, too?”
Amanda hadn’t seen Dominic arriving, but her skin felt hot at his sudden proximity. She cleared her throat and looked around, like she was assessing his question. “Uh, actually… it looks a bit busier than last year.”
The harbor was alive with a vibrant array of colors and themes and over two dozen decorated boats gently bobbing in the water. One small sailboat had been transformed into an “Under the Sea” paradise, right down to the shimmering streamers in shades of blue and green, inflatable sea creatures, and a crew dressed as playful mermaids—shell bras to boot.
Nearby, a motorboat sporting a “disco days” theme caught Amanda’s eye, adorned with people in groovy polyester and a disco ball. For those with a sweet tooth, the Candy Land pontoon boat was straight from a dream, featuring giant lollipops, gingerbread cutouts, and folks dressed as characters from the classic board game.
As Amanda took in all the creative, fun displays, she noticed people milling about, putting the finishing touches on their decorations and preparations. The parade was still at least an hour from starting, but the area was already alive with activity. The air buzzed with laughter, chatter, and a palpable sense of Heart Lake pride.
“Pretty great turnout,” Dominic replied. “Are you on a specific boat this year?”
“I’m on Nola Nation ,” Nola answered him, even though it seemed quite likely that he was aiming his question at Amanda. “Tanner’s boat, of course. He’s very proud about it. I don’t get it, but whatever. Gotta let him have his thing, you know?”
Dominic nodded with a smile. “Fair. Detroit Lions theme?”
Nola nodded her head then pointed her gaze at Amanda. “See? He got it right away.”
“I’m not on a boat,” Amanda informed him while rolling her eyes at Nola. “I’m helping with the judging.”
“You’re a judge?” Dominic asked, his brows raised. “So you’re going to help the Jack-O’-Lantern win, right?”
Amanda laughed and shook her head. “Jack’s boat is on its own. I have no say in the judging. I just tally the scores and announce the winner.”
“Well, get ready to announce the Jack-O’-Lantern as the winner because I spent all last night helping him turn it into a haunted house,” Dominic informed her as they stepped away from Nola and he pointed her toward Jack’s boat. “You’ve never seen anything spookier.”
“It’s July, Dominic,” she teased, following him and giving Nola a quick wave goodbye. “Don’t you think it’s a little early for Halloween?”
“We can’t choose when the ghosts of our past haunt us, Amanda,” he replied, and she could hear the joking in his words but felt a shiver of seriousness all the same. “Embrace the haunting.”
“Oh, God,” she joked back. “Is this your way of telling me that your house is going to be all decorated for Halloween in gore and guts?”
Dominic waved a hand dismissively. “Gore is cheap. Anyone can buy red food dye and cornstarch. For Halloween, I do it up for suspense and thrill. I can promise to have you shaking by the end of the night.”
She swallowed as she looked up at him, and he seemed to register what he was saying as he said it.
He quickly course corrected. “I mean, if you want. Like a good shaking. Fun shaking.”
Amanda tried not to snort out a laugh, but she couldn’t stop it entirely. “A fun shaking. Wow, what a promise. I’ve never had a guy give me a guarantee like that.”
Dominic’s cheeks were tinging pink. “Wow, I really painted myself into a corner here, didn’t I?”
She placed a hand on his forearm. “I’ll let you off the hook.”
“Thanks,” he replied, his eyes boring a hole into her hand on his arm. “Uh… how was… how was your date? You had a date today, right?”
Amanda let her hand drop, but wished she hadn’t. She wanted to keep touching him, even if it just meant her hand on him. After the way things had gone the other day, though, she knew it wasn’t fair to him. It wasn’t fair to her, either, frankly.
“I wouldn’t call it a date,” she said. “I left halfway through.”
A concerned gaze cropped onto Dominic’s face. “Are you okay?”
She looked away, shrugging her shoulders noncommittally. “I’m fine. I’m not not fine. He was just an asshole. A really good reminder why I don’t date. Why I shouldn’t date.”
She whispered the last half of that sentence, and she didn’t miss the fact that Dominic stiffened slightly at those words. Her mind flashed back to the moment she’d told him he’d never date someone like her, and the look of hurt on his face after she’d kissed him and then verbally taken it back like that. A pang of pain took up residence in her chest and she looked away from him in an attempt to shake it off.
“I’m sorry,” Dominic replied quietly, and the gentleness in his voice was like a soft blanket wrapping around her shoulders. “You shouldn’t have experienced anything less than perfect on that date.”
She tried to muster up a wry grin. “That’s not how dating works in this day and age, you know.”
“I guess I don’t know,” he admitted. “It’s been a long time since I’ve dated. This postdivorce dating world is completely foreign to me.”
Amanda looked up at him, and she wanted to say something. She wanted to apologize for kissing him. She wanted to ask to kiss him again, which was a wildly new feeling she still couldn’t wrap her head around. She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and just hug her body to his, but it felt like there was a valley between them.
“I should… I should probably get back to the judges’ table,” Amanda finally said. She placed a hand against his chest and tried not to let it linger, but she failed almost immediately.
Shit, she really had to stop touching him.
Dominic placed his hand over hers, holding her palm against him. “Okay.”
They stood like that for a moment, not moving. Amanda could feel her ribs expanding with every breath she took, and it felt like she’d forgotten how to exhale. She was going to float away on this cloud until he finally dropped his hand and let her go.
She swallowed hard at the break. “I, uh… I hope Jack-O’-Lantern does well.”
“Thanks,” he replied. He stepped back, closer to the boat. “I’ll see you around.”
Amanda wanted to ask him to stay, but she didn’t dare. She just nodded instead and gave a half-hearted smile that she didn’t mean at all. “Good luck, Dominic.”