Patrick blushed slightly. He was so adorable. No wonder Pam was on cloud nine. “You know Pam?” Patrick asked. He finished pouring water into their glasses. “Sure I do,” Sarah said. She extended her hand to his. “I’m Sarah Smith.” Patrick’s eyes lit up. “Oh, blimey. Of course you are. Pam’s mentioned you and Erin to me multiple times.” He shook her hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Sarah.” He looked over his shoulder. “Pam’s really busy right now in the back. As I’m sure you’re aware, Saturdays are a bit crazy for us.” He smiled down at her again. “But I’ll make sure Pam stops by to see you before you leave.”Kurl, who’d been absorbed reading the menu, suddenly slammed his fist down on the table. He glared in agitation at Patrick. “Look, we’re starving here, dude. Can we cut the chit chat and get our order in?” Sarah’s eyes bulged in alarm. “Um…” Sarah began, noticing Patrick’s extreme blush. “This is Patrick. He happens to be a friend of a friend.” She patted Patrick’s arm. “So be NICE to him, Kurl!” she hissed. Kurl furrowed his eyebrows. He stared in dismay at Sarah. Finally he turned his fierce gaze back to Patrick. “Okay, fine. Is our waiter coming over here soon?” Sarah frowned. What the heck was Kurl’s problem? He was acting like such a jerk! Patrick nodded. “Yeah, here he comes right now.” Patrick squeezed Sarah’s shoulder. “It was great meeting you.” “You, too!” Sarah said, smiling warmly.As Patrick walked away, their waiter appeared.”Good evening, Mr. Mayor.” The waiter then turned to Sarah. “Good evening, Miss. I’ll be taking care of you tonight.” He quickly rattled off the specials. Kurl held up his menu. He pointed a finger at his order, assuming the man couldn’t read. “I’ll have the lobster. And bring me a blue glass.” He handed the menu back to the waiter.The man simply nodded his head. Sarah smiled up at the man. “The scallops look good to me, thanks.””Anything to drink?” the waiter asked.Sarah studied the menu. “A mint tea will be fine.” After the man departed, she turned back to Kurl. “You don’t have to be so rude to the staff.”Kurl shrugged his shoulders. “They can handle it.” Sarah sighed. She wasn’t going to further press the situation. Instead, she changed the subject. “What’s a blue glass?” Kurl reached across the table to take her hand again. “Alcohol,” he snickered. “Since I’m under twenty-one, I must subtly use other means to get what I want. And the staff here know that.””Ah, interesting,” Sarah said.Kurl checked his phone, then quickly pocketed it. “Look, by the time dinner and dessert roll around, the alcohol will mostly be out of my system. It’s a win-win for us both.” His eyes dropped down to stare at her revealing dress that was visible above the table. “Besides, a guy like me needs liquid courage to handle you in that extremely enticing work of art.” Sarah giggled. While Kurl was still somewhat of a jerk, he was trying to be civil. At least to her. “Tell me about college life,” Sarah said. She leaned back in her chair, causing her dress to press more tightly against her body.Kurl was having a hard time focusing on her face. His eyes kept straying downwards. “College. Well, it’s good. Tons of work, though. My major is brutal.” Sarah adjusted one of the straps on her dress. That act alone seemed to cause Kurl’s eyes to widen a bit more than they already were. “So what are you studying? Ballet for jocks?” she teased.Kurl took a few moments to respond. He didn’t seem to hear her question. But then his eyes focused back on her face. “I’m taking Political Science and Government. I’m prelaw. I want to follow in my parents’ footsteps and become a partner at a major law firm.” He stroked his fingers over hers. “At least, becoming a lawyer will be my backup plan if I don’t land a leading role in one of my cousin’s films.” He winked at her and kissed her hand again.”Oh, right,” Sarah said. She rubbed her fingers against his. She heard him catch his breath. Guys sure were easily affected by physical contact. “When does the filming begin for your cousin’s next movie?” she asked. Again, it took a moment for Kurl to respond. His eyes were still glued to her dress. “Uh, sometime next year.” He sipped his water. “It takes them awhile to gather the necessities. They have to finalize the schedules and budget. Confirm the launch date. Hire all the people to direct, shoot, edit. The usual.” He waved his hand in the air. “That’s nice,” Sarah said. She let her eyes skim across the dining room again. There were a lot of older couples, mostly her parents age and older. She recognized an elderly couple who lived a few houses down from hers.As her eyes moved from table to table, she suddenly saw something that stopped her heart. No way. It wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be…Bent????