“Unhand me, you Jackass!” Sometimes the mind says right out loud what we may be thinking at a specific moment. Had the words actually escaped my lips I can already imagine the astonished looks that would have landed upon me as if I had just openly cursed in church. Which I certainly would not. Instead of speaking, the glare that he received should have been sufficient enough to get the message across, but that didn’t work on him either. Not Abel Salinas. He simply smiled and kept holding his hand around my waist as he continued to guide me in any direction away from prying eyes. In the space between the Men’s & Ladies Rooms, he pressed his luck by lightly swiping his free hand across my chest and smiling even wider before settling with his back against the wall. I couldn’t help to notice the deep dimples in his cheeks were just as prominent as they had always been. I’d like to say I hated him as much as those skinny bra & pantie models on TV, but I wasn’t accustomed to lying, not even to myself.
“Glad to see me, huh.” His voice was deep and soft as he took a chance to whisper in my ear as he held me next to him against the wall.
“And what would make you think that,” I said defiantly, crossing my arms defensively without making eye contact.
“Because you wouldn’t stop staring at me until I made the move to come over next to you.”
“I was staring at the line of people along that side of the buffet table. I didn’t see you. I was trying to decide on what I wanted for dessert.”
“I know what you like,” he said with an unquestionable wink. “Just tell me when and where you want it and I’m all yours.”
“Jackass.”
“Is that a new term of endearment? You know I always liked it when you talk dirty to me.”
“Enough, with the clichés, Abel, just say what you want to say.”
“Okay. Okay. It’s been a while since we’ve met like this.” He took a moment to look me up and down. “So what brought you here tonight?”
“Movie night at home. Alone,” I finally said with a breath. “I wanted something special and this place caught my eye.”
“Sure you didn’t spot me outside and decided I was something special?”
“Boy please. You would say that.” I rolled my eyes. “Something special is take-out. I forgot about the Sunday night church rush. My order is to go.”
“Can I go with you?”
“Do you need to ask?”
“Is that an open invitation?” He moved even closer to me, as if that were even possible. Any closer and he would have been under my skin.
“Nope,” I said pursing my lips and trying to smile kindly. I didn’t want to make a scene, not with all the Sunday-go-to-meeting parishioners mulling about, including the Pastor and First Lady. But I was getting close. “Take your hand off me, please,” I added through clenched teeth.
“Step outside with me then,” he said removing his hand to enfold it with the other behind his back. “That way we can talk more privately.”
“You tend to talk with your hands,” I said plain. “What would all of these people think to see me going outside with you?”
“When did you become so important to think that they would stop with their meals just to see where you were going?” His words were just as cocky as his personality. I wanted to punch him just for the sake of it, but thought better of it because I knew what he meant.
