"Lima, Ohio," I said with a shake of my head. "So if you think you get jokes about where you live, try living in a town named after a bean."
"A universally hated one at that," Cam laughed. "Well then, another toast. To two people from ridiculously named places."
We toasted again and relaxed as our first course was brought to us. "The chef loves to use lots of fresh vegetables and tropical ingredients," Cam said. "If you're into steak and potatoes, you're in for disappointment."
"I can use a week of lighter fare," I said. "It was so nice of you to come over and say something after those two girls were so disrespectful. Even if they were right.”
“No, they weren't," Cam said casually as he stabbed a piece of Romaine lettuce and took a bite. "They're just jealous. And let me be clear," he said softly, but still with command in his voice. "If you think I asked you to dinner out of some sense of charity or pity, you’re mistaken. I asked you to dinner because I think you're attractive, I'm on vacation by myself, and I was hoping to get to know a pretty woman."
I blinked, then lowered my eyes. "Thank you. I mean, ever since you asked me, I've had that at the back of my mind. I guess it's hard for me to think of myself as anything other than average.”
"With those eyes and that face? You're gorgeous," Cam replied, picking up his fork again. “And I’ll admit, I checked out the rest of the package as you were lying on that lounge chair. But since we’re at a polite dinner, I'll keep those observations to myself . . . for now."
I was about to reply when I was at a loss for words, so I just smiled instead.
Cam grinned and tilted his head. “So tell me about yourself. I guess this is the point in the date where we figure out if you can tolerate my habit of sleeping in on Sundays until noon, or if I can deal with your My Little Pony obsession."
"She-Hulk, actually," I said with a laugh. "Growing up, she just kicked so much ass that I couldn't help but admire her. And she was the total package too, brains and body."
"Good point, but I always preferred Power Girl for female superheroes," Cam said. "Good character."
"You mean giant boobs," I countered, and he laughed, nodding.
"Hey, I was a teenager. And she was a lot more interesting than Psylocke," Cam countered. "Don't tell me you didn't do the same thing."
"Touche," I answered, thinking back to watching the Captain America movie back in 2011. In fact, thinking about it, Cam looked a lot like the superhero. I decided to change the subject. "So why'd you move to Truth or Consequences? You don’t exactly strike me as a desert guy."
"I'm not," Cam said. "Actually, I'm originally from Chicago. I kind of messed around a lot in high school, so the only place I could get in with a decent scholarship was the University of Arizona-Flagstaff. While Flagstaff is hot in summer, it's actually colder than Chicago in winter at times, and after that, I spent a lot of time in really frigid areas. So when it came time to find a new job, I chose going back to the desert. T or C had an opening, and it's a small town, which I appreciate after growing up on the wrong side of Chicago."
I couldn’t help but notice his vague comment about frigid areas, but I dismissed it. If he wanted to be cryptic, I’m sure he had his reasons for doing so. “How many bullets did you dodge in school?" I asked, and he shrugged, a suddenly closed look in his eyes. "Sorry. Guess that's sensitive territory."
"A bit, but that's okay, you didn't know," Cam said. "So tell me about Lima. How'd you get into doing pharmacy work?"
"I had the grades, just not the money for college. But I could afford to do junior college, so I started there. I didn't know what I wanted to do really, and I figured wasting the money screwing around for a degree that wouldn't help me get anywhere was a waste of time, so after I got my associate's in business, I looked at the tech courses the college offered. They had a pharmacy tech course, and I already had the grades that I could qualify for a scholarship. I took it, and that was that. I actually liked my job too."
"I'm sure you can find another one. That's a job in demand a lot, right?"
“Maybe, but not in Lima," I said. "I'll probably end up moving. That was what I spent most of the past three weeks doing, job hunting and stripping down my house. I have a little one bedroom place that I'm renting, one of the former mill houses for a mill that's no longer there. So, I'm looking everywhere I can, and plan on only taking what I can fit in the back of a 98 Taurus."
"Taurus, huh? Ford girl."
I shook my head and took a sip of my wine. “More like used car girl, I’ll drive anything if it gets me from A to B.”