Chapter 49

"Sure," he replied. "And some sodas, too."
She smiled. "Of course."
"So, what have you been up to over the years?" She shook out her napkin and looked into his eyes. "Were you in Afghanistan?"
He let out a deep breath. Although he had served his country and had gone off to war, it wasn't something he wanted to talk about. "Yes, but I don't want to talk about it."
"Good evening," the waitress said when she approached the table. "My name is Lisa and I'll be your waitress this evening. May I start you both off with something to drink?"
"Just Coke for me," Caden replied.
"Chardonnay for me," Mallory said without looking up from her menu. It was obvious that she only paid attention to people she thought she could easily manipulate.
The waitress looked over at Caden and gave him a wink. "I'll be right back with that."
"Thank you, but I think we're ready to order now, too," he replied, ignoring the wink.
Turning to Mallory, he asked, "So what kind of pizza would you like?"
"Anything you'd like." She waved her hand dismissively and then closed her menu.
"Meat lovers?" he asked, already knowing the answer. He smiled internally but kept his best poker face outwardly.
"Why don't we go with half meat lovers and half vegetable?" she asked in a patronizing tone.
He snapped his fingers, pretending to remember something. "Yes, that's right! You're a vegetarian."
Lisa bit her upper lip, obviously trying to conceal a smile.
Mallory looked at him seriously for a moment, and then a smile broke out across her face. "Oh, you know I am! Stop teasing me!"
Lisa coughed to conceal her laugh. "I'll have that out in just a minute."
"Thank you- Lisa," Caden replied in a deliberate tone, and watched as she walked away. When she was a few tables away and out of Mallory's eyesight, she turned around and smiled.
Caden smirked.
Mallory looked at him for a moment. "So, where do you live in California?"
"Here you go!" Lisa chirped as she set his soda and Mallory's chardonnay on the table. "Your meals will be out in a bit."
Caden took a sip of his soda and turned his attention back to Mallory. "It's not near Hollywood, if that's what you're asking."
Mallory reached over and covered his hand with hers. "Caden, Jocelyn told me that you're thinking of getting out of the Navy. I just thought that you might like to come with me to Hollywood, if you get out." Then she took a sip of her wine, raising her eyes to judge his reaction.
Caden pulled his hand away, but didn't say anything in response.
"Well, here's your pizza!" Lisa set the pizza on a platform in the center of the table. "Can I get you anything else?"
"No, thank you," Caden replied flatly, no longer amused.
Lisa walked away, a bit dejected.
A broad smile spread across Mallory's face, obviously pleased. "Well! This looks fabulous!"
She took one slice of pizza and picked at it with her fork, taking little bites. "Wow! This is really good," she said between bites. "I haven't had pizza in a while."
Caden looked over at her plate. "Looks like you're not having any now, either." He slid two slices onto his plate.
"Oh, Caden! You say the funniest things!" Mallory said in a patronizing tone.
"I didn't think it was funny at all." He took a slice of his pizza and didn't say anything more throughout the meal.
Soon, Mallory sat back and held her stomach. "Well, that was really good."
"You only had one slice." Caden took a bite of his fourth slice and swallowed.
Mallory giggled. "You really don't know anything about the modeling world, do you?"
"Nope," Caden replied, making a popping sound on the p. It was true. He didn't know anything about the modeling world, and he didn't care to know, either.
Lisa walked up and gave Caden a smile. "So, did you enjoy your meal?"
"It was great," Caden replied flatly, no longer in the mood to play games. "Could we get two To-Go boxes?"
"Sure thing. I'll be right back." Lisa disappeared, but came back a moment later with the boxes.
As he loaded the leftover pizza in both of the boxes, he couldn't help but think of Jocelyn. Even though it had only been a day since he'd seen her, he missed her terribly.
Once he paid the bill, he looked up at Mallory. "Ready?"
She nodded. "Sure." Then she walked ahead, leaving the pizza boxes on the table for him to bring.
He sighed and picked them up. Outside, Mallory was waiting by the passenger side of his car. "Want to go for a walk in town to see the lights?"
"You want to go for a walk?" He unlocked the door and placed the boxes in the back seat.
He sighed. "Sure. Why not?" he agreed, but his heart wasn't really in it. "The town square is just a block over. Will you be okay, or would you like me to drive there and we can get out and walk?"
Mallory shook her head, smiling sweetly. "We can walk. It's not far."
"Suit yourself." He locked up his car and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. As they walked, a thought occurred to him. "Mallory, do you ever volunteer around Christmas time or go Christmas caroling- anything like that?"
Mallory looked at him as if he had asked her if she had just returned from Mars. "No."
"Gift wrapping?"
She narrowed her eyes.
"Scratch that," he replied, already knowing the answer to that one. Then another thought occurred to him. "So, who decorated your Christmas tree?"
Mallory sighed, looking around. "Jocelyn helped me."
He smirked, knowing that Jocelyn probably did most of the work. He knew he couldn't compare people, but it was clear that Mallory was nothing like Jocelyn at all. But on the other hand, he didn't want her to be.
When they walked around the corner and into the town square, Christmas carolers were in the center of town singing and a crowd had gathered around to listen. Caden couldn't help but wonder if Jocelyn was among them. But then again, he wasn't sure if he wanted to see her or not. She probably just thought of him as a friend and he had blown it when he kissed her.
"Let's go see," Mallory said, pulling him closer.
Caden was ready to pull away, but was curious to see if Jocelyn was with them. As they stepped closer, the crowd parted and there she was. When Jocelyn looked up, her and Caden's eyes met and held, but she didn't smile, and neither did he. Then Mallory tucked her arm in his and laid her head on his shoulder. He looked down at Mallory and she was smiling at Jocelyn. Now, he knew why she wanted to go for a walk and why she wanted to get a better look at the carolers. Jocelyn looked away and continued singing, unaffected.
Anger welled up inside of him. How could she not feel what he felt? How could she not remember what he remembered? As he watched Jocelyn, he said to Mallory, "You know what, Mallory? I will go to California with you." He now knew that he had no chance with Jocelyn. Going to California with Mallory would get him out of town and away from Jocelyn, at least. Then he turned around and walked away, wondering what he had just done.