That Last Little Spark

**Bam**

Everything had fallen into place perfectly. It looked like Jess had forgotten her run-in with Chase, and I guess she liked what I'd planned for her, but as soon as we sat down, it felt like we were on some awkward blind date. She was playing with the napkin ring and I sat there staring out at the lake.

Finally, right as I gathered up the urge to say something, our waiter appeared. He was actually an old buddy of mine, and he was one of the waiters that you could call in and request, which was great about this particular place. It was because he was a...themed...waiter...I guess. You could ask him to be normal or joke around a little bit or serve the meals in a cool way...or you could ask him to be a tool and pretend he's so sophisticated. And that's what I asked for. First of all, he looked too ridiculous and tacky to even be a waiter in this restaurant. He was wearing an all-white suit, right down to his shoes, and he had a handlebar mustasche that looked completely fake. But the second he opened his mouth, I almost died.

"Welcome to zee Lakeshore Overlook Restaurant. I am your server tonight, Jean Claude. And how are you doing tonight?" he spoke with an over-exaggerated accent. I looked at Jess, only to see the tiny smile on her face growing into a grin.

"Fine." she smiled back at him.

"Eef I may?" he asked me before taking her hand and kissing it.

"Anyway," he set her hand down on the table. "As I was about to say, ze Lakeshore has many, many specials tonight. We have ze lobster bisque or your choice of any of our house salads, and for dinner we offer ze traditional spaghetti or, my personal favorite, ze chicken French! And drinks are two for one tonight, especially our red wine." he winked at us.

"Sounds great." Jess smiled. He kissed her hand one more time before almost waltzing away while we watched him. I heard muffled laughter and looked back to see Jess laughing into her napkin. Her hair began slipping out of the messy bun she had clipped it in and her face was bright red.

"Something wrong?" I asked, trying to hide my own smile.

"Oh come on, don't tell me you didn't notice anything. He's like a bad Elvis impersonator!" she continued to laugh.

"Alright, he's fake. I wanted to do something to make you laugh tonight so I called him and told him to put on a show for us." I admitted. Her laughter suddenly died and her face flushed an even deeper red than it was when she was laughing just a minute ago.

"Really?" she asked. I nodded.

"Really." I smiled.

"Not to sound really mushy, but that has to be the sweetest thing I've heard you say." she bit her lip and smiled at me before looking through her menu.

"Ooh, the alfredo looks good." she licked her lips and looked up as 'Jean Claude' returned to the table.

"Would you like anything to drink, mademoiselle?" he asked, still in his charade.

"Carson, she knows, you can drop the act if you want." I looked up at him.

"You told her? Man, I had a whole thing planned. But I guess we're going with Plan B." he shrugged, set his little book down, reached up and ripped the mustasche off his face. Jess gasped in shock and watched his eyes start to water and his face contort slightly.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Fine." he squeaked before regaining his composure. But he continued wiping his eyes as he spoke.

"Okay, since Bam already told you, I'm not Jean Claude. I'm Carson, and I'll be taking care of you guys tonight, and I wasn't lying earlier about the specials and the deals tonight. Can I start you guys off with something to drink?" he asked.

"You know what I like." I said.

"Never changes." he chuckled and wrote down my drink choice.

"What do you like?" she asked.

"Beer." I smirked. She wrinkled her nose.

"Red wine." she smiled up at him.

"Alright, they'll be right out." he smiled and walked away.

"Wine, margaritas...what else do you drink?" I asked curiously.

"I'll try everything. Champagne, beer...even though I don't really like it..." she shrugged and continued looking over the menu.

"Whiskey? Tequila?" I added.

"No. And before you ask, I've never gotten completely trashed, wasted, hammered, or anything else that means blacking out and forgetting who or where I am." she answered before I even asked.

"You don't know if I was going to ask that or not." I tried to pout.

"Like hell I don't. I can see it in your eyes." she laughed.

"Alright, what else am I thinking?" I challenged.

"That you like an evening of dancing followed by long, moonlit walks on the beach." she smiled lazily to herself before turning the menu over.

"Wow, Bam, I never knew that about you!" Carson had returned with our drinks.

"Yeah, he's such a romantic." Jess teased in agreement.

"You forgot that I also love cozy coffee shops on rainy days, watching chick flicks in my comfy pajamas, and little fluffy kittens." I listed off on my fingers sarcastically as Jess started laughing again.

"I'll be right back to take your dinner orders." Carson chuckled to the both of us before leaning down to me.

"Don't let this one go, got it?" he clapped me on the shoulder and walked away.