Daniel showers like his life depended on it. Tonight had to be perfect. He would show her that he was funny, compassionate, and above all else, interested.

He put on his nicest button-down shirt and buckled a belt around his jeans. It was a big cowboy-looking buckle that Matt kept for square-dancing occasions, but it would do the trick. Daniel styles his hair in the partly fogged up mirror before doing one final check.

Wallet? Check. Country looking clothes? Check. Phone? Check. He grabs Jamie’s car keys on the way out and prays that she doesn’t notice him stealing her car.

Daniel’s already in the driver's seat when Jamie storms out of the house. Through the car windshield, Daniel can tell she is yelling something at him, but is too far away for him to hear over the roar of the rental car engine.

He smiles, and with a single wave, sets the car in reverse. Daniel speeds down the long drive toward the open road. There was nothing Jamie could do now that could stop him.

Carly Jenn’s voice still echoed in his head. The song wouldn’t leave him alone. Daniel plugs his phone into the car and plays it from the radio. It’s always on his mind now. He was pretty sure it would always be stuck in his head. Daniel couldn’t wait to see her again.

He pulls into the only restaurant in town, ironically named Danny’s, and parks. Like the bar a few miles down the road, the parking lot is nothing more than compacted rock and dirt. It was nothing like the big city Daniel had gotten so used to, where everything was cement.

It’s 5:06 pm when Daniel enters the diner. The bell rings above the door when he walks in, and someone from the kitchen yells “Be right with you, sir,”. Daniel smiles. It was her.

The bell rings again, and Daniel turns to see who it is. He’s shocked to see Patrick standing there.

“What are you doing here?” Daniel asks a little too suspiciously. Patrick smiles reassuringly and starts explaining.

“Matt didn’t tell you? Thursdays are date night. We come here every week.” Patrick says. ‘So that’s how Matt knew about Carly Jenn’s shift?’, Daniel thinks. Patrick and Matt must come here every Thursday, and are accustomed to seeing the same people on shift each time.

Patrick’s eyes wander down to the belt Daniel is wearing. “Uh… did you take that from Matt…?” He points down at the belt buckle with a lopsided grin.

Daniel, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious, covers the belt with one hand. It’s not like Matt had a lot of choices to pick from. Before he’s able to say anything to defend himself, a cheerful voice pops up from behind him.

“Here’s your food Patrick. Say hi to Matt for me, okay?” The voice says cheerfully. Daniel spins on his heels to see Carly-Jenn standing there with a brown paper bag full of take-out food. Patrick steps up and takes the bag of food out of her hands, and trades her a fifty.

“Keep the change. And say hi to Muppet for me! I’m happy to look after that rascal anytime!” Patrick says cheerfully. ‘Muppet’? Daniel mouths the word unconsciously. Who is muppet? Her boyfriend? No one would actually name their kid ‘muppet’, right? So maybe it’s a dog?

“Sure thing cowboy.” Carly Jenn jokes back. Patrick winks and walks out of the diner with the big bag of food in tow. They must be close, Daniel figures.

Luckily, Patrick was not in competition with him for Carly Jenn. If he was straight, Daniel would have assumed that Patrick and her were already dating. The thought made him ache with jealousy. The fact that Patrick and Matt were obviously close to her made him a little upset.

“Hello sir, are you dining in or taking out?” Carly Jenn asks him. It snaps him out of his thoughts and back into reality. Daniel was standing here in front of the most beautiful girl in all of Texas, and he hasn’t even said a word yet.

“Hi. It’s Daniel, Daniel Shawford.” Daniel says, and then immediately regrets. She didn’t ask for his name, goddammit! She asked whether you were eating in or dining out, stupid! Daniel back tracks.

“Oh, wait, I mean, I’m dining in. Yeah, that’s what I meant to say. Dining in, m’am.” Oh god, oh god, oh god. Stop digging the hole deeper, Daniel! He was panicking internally. All his thoughts stopped though when he heard Carly Jenn giggle.

“It’s okay. My name’s Carly Jenn, it’s nice to meet you.” She smiles sweetly. “Follow me.”

“N-nice to meet you too.” He says, and immediately regrets the stutter in his nervous voice. For once, couldn’t something like this be easy?

Carly Jenn sits him in a window booth near the corner of the diner. Daniel takes his seat and looks down at the menu placed in front of him. He audibly gulps. This menu is full of animal products. He completely forgot that little places like this won’t offer vegan options. He’s doomed.

“What can I get you to drink?” Carly Jenn asks. Daniel looks up from the menu and nervously smiles. You know, like a dumbass.

“I’ll have water, thanks.” Daniel says as politely as possible. Carly Jenn smiles again, and Daniel can’t help but take all of her in. Her short curly hair, and her light brown skin go so well with the yellow shirt she was wearing underneath the apron. And she wore this beautiful gold necklace with a cross hanging off of it.

Was she religious? Daniel stares at the cross dangling just below her collarbone. It didn’t bother him if she was. Carly Jenn didn’t seem to have a problem with Patrick and Matt, so at least she wasn’t the same type of religious as Daniel’s mom.

“Do you need a minute, or do you already know what you want?” Carly Jenn asks. She pulls a notepad out of the pocket of her apron and flips it to a fresh page. Daniel hurriedly looks back at the menu.

“I think I need a minute,” Daniel says as he scans over every hamburger and meat option on the menu.

“Okay, just let me know when you’re ready.” Carly Jenn smiles sweetly. ‘God, she is beautiful.’ Daniel thinks as she walks over to another table in the diner. He couldn’t help but stare a little as she walked away.

When she is out of sight, Daniel refocuses on the issue at hand. He came to a diner full of meals that can’t even be considered vegetarian, let alone vegan. Daniel scans both sides of the menu. The only thing he sees that he could eat is caesar salad. Wait, no- caesar dressing has egg in it.

Carly Jenn circles around to his table again, and Daniel is at a loss for words. Beyond his already nervous demeanor, Daniel was panicking about not making a fool of himself in front of Carly Jenn. Nothing was going well.

“Yeah… not many vegetarian options, sorry about that. The salad is not bad, though.” Carly Jenn seems to notice the problem right away. ‘So she’s vegetarian? She’s beautiful and mindful of animals!’ Daniel thinks to himself.

“Uh… yeah, not many choices. Up in San Antonio, there’s a bunch of vegan places to go to.” Daniel says. He’s trying his best to strike up a conversation. Personally, he makes a habit of never telling anyone that he’s vegan. Daniel doesn’t do it for attention, and he doesn’t like to rub it in either. His eating choices are his own, and they don’t make him better than anyone else.

“Oh, you’re vegan? I’m sorry, I just assumed… well, I could get you some toast, or something, maybe?” Carly Jenn tries. ‘Wow, she is so amazing. Even in such a tough spot, she’s trying to help me out.’

“Yeah, that should be good. I’ll do that then.” Daniel agrees, and hands her the menu. She smiles, and then goes to fill the order. As soon as she is out of sight, Daniel shrinks down in his seat.

This is so hard.

Carly Jenn comes out a few moments later with toast. It has strawberry jam on it, and luckily, no butter. Daniel had planned to invite her out after her shift, but after such a debacle, he was happy to eat the toast and leave.

“Thanks for your help. I’m not used to this…” Daniel says when Carly Jenn sets down his plate. She nods and gives him a smile. Before she can walk away, Daniel starts to speak.

“Oh, uh, I just wanted to say, I saw you singing at the bar the other night. You’re really good.” Daniel tells her. Carly Jenn blushes. Daniel didn’t mean ‘really good’ as in, ‘you could do this as a hobby’. No, he meant ‘really good’ as in, ‘how are you not famous already?’ good. But he couldn’t say that on their first official meeting.

“Thank you. It means a lot.” Carly Jenn tells him before practically running for the kitchen. Daniel blushes. She really is beautiful.