of anything stepping down and getting his hands dirty, and yesterday… well, Gabe, you looked borderline-homeless in that get-up you had on.”
He tried to restrain a laugh, but he failed miserably.
“I do what I can,” he said. “I pitch in where I’m needed, skipping around from time to time. We have the school competition now, the soup kitchen in Desden, the street team, and the park crew. I try to mix it up. It keeps life interesting.”
“And how long have you been doing this? Running the Raddick Initiative, that is?”
He tilted his head. “Really? I would’ve thought someone like you would’ve done your research.”
Someone like me? I didn’t know what that was supposed to mean. I wasn’t entirely sure I liked the assumption, but I took it as a compliment anyway.
I allowed myself to sit there and ponder his meaning for so long that Gabe leaned forward to catch my gaze. “You all right there?”
“Yeah,” I said, trying to think of the best way to respond. “To be perfectly honest, I didn’t do my research, and I’d never even heard your name until they ran the article on the front page of Thursday’s paper. I’ve only learned a little about the program since Lashell hosted the assembly at school on Friday, and I know nothing about RI except what she and Carla have told me. That’s not much.”
I tried to distract myself from his fixed st are by looking down at my hands, but that didn’t last long.
“I started the Raddick Initiative six months after I left Iraq,” he said, and the corner of his lip twitched as he reached for his coffee. “It was never in the plans to start the program so early in life, but I had a wake up call, and I realized that if I wanted to do it, it had to be now. So Lashell and I teamed up when I got home, and RI is heading into its second year.”
“That’s great.”
“I knew what I wanted,” he said, trying to shrug it off as something that wasn’t nearly as impressive as it was. “I’ve always known.”
“So the Raddick Initiative was always in the cards?”
“Always,” he said. “I never doubted it.”
“And the military?” I asked, leaning forward. “What happened? Was that your wake-up call?”
A slight nod put an end to that discussion very fast, and the faint twitch at the corner of his lip made me think that maybe I ’d pressed too far. See, that’s what I hated about shared meals. I always found a way to put my foot in my mouth.
“Well, whadaya know?” I said, finally meeting his stare again. “You’re not half-bad, Raddick.”
“Careful,” he said, taking a sip from his mug. “Compliments are dangerous. You wouldn’t want to feed into my big, fat, celebrity ego, would you?”
“No,” I said . “I most certainly wouldn’t want to do that.”
I checked my cell phone for the time. Even though we hadn’t ordered anything but our drinks, I couldn’t fathom the idea of sitting there any longer. No doubt I’d say something else to make the morning more uncomfortable than it already was.
“Listen, I should go.” I dug a few bills out of my purse and set them aside on the table. “But before I do, can I get your number?”
“My number?”
“Or e-mail address,” I said quickly. “My editor really wants that interview on her desk sometime this week. And… you know what? Forget it. My dad says you’re a really busy guy and that your schedule is jam-packed. I didn’t even ask you to do the interview. I just assumed you would, and like an idiot I sat here rambling on and on—”
“Hey, take a breath,” he said, reaching across the table to lower my hands for the second time that morning. The moment his fingers touched mine, there was an unexpected spark, a tiny snap that exploded between our hands—something took me by surprise and set my heart off on a wild cadence. I think Gabe felt it, too, because he jerked his hand away and examined the finger where his skin had touched mine.
“I’ll do the
He tried to restrain a laugh, but he failed miserably.
“I do what I can,” he said. “I pitch in where I’m needed, skipping around from time to time. We have the school competition now, the soup kitchen in Desden, the street team, and the park crew. I try to mix it up. It keeps life interesting.”
“And how long have you been doing this? Running the Raddick Initiative, that is?”
He tilted his head. “Really? I would’ve thought someone like you would’ve done your research.”
Someone like me? I didn’t know what that was supposed to mean. I wasn’t entirely sure I liked the assumption, but I took it as a compliment anyway.
I allowed myself to sit there and ponder his meaning for so long that Gabe leaned forward to catch my gaze. “You all right there?”
“Yeah,” I said, trying to think of the best way to respond. “To be perfectly honest, I didn’t do my research, and I’d never even heard your name until they ran the article on the front page of Thursday’s paper. I’ve only learned a little about the program since Lashell hosted the assembly at school on Friday, and I know nothing about RI except what she and Carla have told me. That’s not much.”
I tried to distract myself from his fixed st are by looking down at my hands, but that didn’t last long.
“I started the Raddick Initiative six months after I left Iraq,” he said, and the corner of his lip twitched as he reached for his coffee. “It was never in the plans to start the program so early in life, but I had a wake up call, and I realized that if I wanted to do it, it had to be now. So Lashell and I teamed up when I got home, and RI is heading into its second year.”
“That’s great.”
“I knew what I wanted,” he said, trying to shrug it off as something that wasn’t nearly as impressive as it was. “I’ve always known.”
“So the Raddick Initiative was always in the cards?”
“Always,” he said. “I never doubted it.”
“And the military?” I asked, leaning forward. “What happened? Was that your wake-up call?”
A slight nod put an end to that discussion very fast, and the faint twitch at the corner of his lip made me think that maybe I ’d pressed too far. See, that’s what I hated about shared meals. I always found a way to put my foot in my mouth.
“Well, whadaya know?” I said, finally meeting his stare again. “You’re not half-bad, Raddick.”
“Careful,” he said, taking a sip from his mug. “Compliments are dangerous. You wouldn’t want to feed into my big, fat, celebrity ego, would you?”
“No,” I said . “I most certainly wouldn’t want to do that.”
I checked my cell phone for the time. Even though we hadn’t ordered anything but our drinks, I couldn’t fathom the idea of sitting there any longer. No doubt I’d say something else to make the morning more uncomfortable than it already was.
“Listen, I should go.” I dug a few bills out of my purse and set them aside on the table. “But before I do, can I get your number?”
“My number?”
“Or e-mail address,” I said quickly. “My editor really wants that interview on her desk sometime this week. And… you know what? Forget it. My dad says you’re a really busy guy and that your schedule is jam-packed. I didn’t even ask you to do the interview. I just assumed you would, and like an idiot I sat here rambling on and on—”
“Hey, take a breath,” he said, reaching across the table to lower my hands for the second time that morning. The moment his fingers touched mine, there was an unexpected spark, a tiny snap that exploded between our hands—something took me by surprise and set my heart off on a wild cadence. I think Gabe felt it, too, because he jerked his hand away and examined the finger where his skin had touched mine.
“I’ll do the
Similar Books
