Her hand froze as it was reaching for the doorknob, and Auggie waited with all senses on hyper. He didn't mean to shout it out like that, really. He meant to be smooth and cool when he asked her out, and now he probably killed any chance he had with her by yelling across the store.

He held his breath and waited, crossing his fingers for good measure as she turned around to him.

"Sure, I was just heading out to eat. Want to join me?"

He blew his breath out, uncrossed his fingers, but made sure to inject every ounce of casualness into his voice as he answered. "Sure. Give me a couple of minutes to lock everything up?"

Annie nodded, smiling as he bounced – yes, literally bounced through the store, doing something behind the counter at his desk, then heading into a back room. He soon came back out with the same messenger bag he wore yesterday slung across his chest and a ring of keys swinging off his fingers.

"So, where are we going?" he asked as he shut the lights out and pulled the door shut, locking it securely.

"Just a bar down the street that serves food, too. You don't mind, do you? I didn't think to ask if you drank."

Auggie fell into an easy step beside her. "Yeah, I drink. I also run every other day and lift weights. I don't do drugs, and I'm clean."

Annie's eyes widened, but she didn't react to his obvious teasing and flirtation. "Good. I run, too, but on a treadmill. I don't do drugs, and I take a shower every day, as well."

Laughing, Auggie said, "Good to know, but that's not exactly what I was referring to."

"I know exactly what you were referring to, Auggie, but considering we've spent only a total of two hours together, don't you think it's a bit presumptuous to assume – well, what you were referring to?"

Auggie shrugged his shoulders, but didn't answer. Just the fact that they were embarking on their first date cemented in his mind that he and Annie would soon be spending more time together. He was intrigued by her yesterday when she was nearly in tears over her frozen computer, but when she'd hugged him after he fixed it, he knew she was something special. Plus, the fact that he'd caught her several times checking him out showed that he wasn't the only one affected.

Another block down the street, and they were in front of a nondescript bar that seemed to have been here forever. Annie crossed in front of him to open the door, but he got to it first. "Allow me," he said, ushering her in with a hand to the small of her back.

The touch was slight, but it was only the second time they'd had contact since the hug of yesterday, and once they were inside, Auggie left it there.

"Hey, NFL Girl!"

Annie smiled at the greeting, raising her hand to wave back at the proprietor who was busy pouring a pitcher from the tap. She approached the bar, not bothering to make sure Auggie was following, as his large, warm hand was still gliding along her lower back.

"The kitchen open tonight, Hank?"

"It's open every night, darling," Hank replied, setting the full pitcher on the counter for his customer. "And if my memory serves me correctly, you want the fish sandwich, right?"

"That's right. Can you make it two, and a pitcher of what you were just pouring?"

"You got it."

Auggie listened the whole exchange with growing wonder as to who this man was, why Annie seemed to know him so well, and how often Annie visited the place to have a "usual." She led them to one of the booth seats – red leather and shiny wood table.

He waited until the brimming pitcher was sat on the table, along with two mugs, to ask.

"So, NFL girl?"

Annie was pouring the beer out for them and slid one across to Auggie. "Oh, that's just Hank. Nicest guy in the world."

"Uh-huh," Auggie said, not quite convinced as he took a drink.

Annie took note of how he said those two not-quite-words and sighed. "I started coming here in college," she explained. "Hank runs numbers for all the college football games. He asked me if I wanted in on the action, but I told him I didn't follow college football that much, and I usually watched NFL games. Hence, NFL girl."

He didn't look too convinced, though, as he kept his eyes on his beer as he twisted the mug between his hands. Annie reached across the table and placed one of her hands on his. The action moved his eyes up to hers. Even through the thick frames and lenses, she could see his worry.

"Hey, it's a little early to get jealous."

"Jealous?" Auggie asked. "I'm not jealous."

"Would you feel better if I told you he's married to a lovely woman who bartends here on the weekend and has five children?"

Auggie laughed and shook his head, "Okay, I was jealous."

"You have nothing to be jealous of, Auggie. I'm not seeing anyone right now, and if I were, we wouldn't be doing this. I have a strict no-cheating rule," Annie said. And in her mind, she added, well, I would if I dated more regularly, but if I did, I wouldn't cheat on the guy.

"Good to know," Auggie replied as she removed her hand from his and took a drink from her own mug. Since it was so early, the place wasn't too full, only a few other people at the bar or in booths. "I can't believe I haven't been here before."

"Yeah, since your shop is just a couple of blocks away. But if you live out of the city, I guess you wouldn't have seen it."

"No, I live in the apartment above my shop," Auggie said.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I can't drive at night, so I needed a place I could walk to when I close the shop."

"Why can't you –" Annie started to say before stopping herself. She figured it had something to do with his sight, and given how he'd reacted when she mentioned his glasses yesterday, she didn't want to anger him again.

Auggie watched how she stopped talking and suddenly became interested in the color of her beer. He had a feeling she was going to ask him why he couldn't drive at night, but then censored herself. "Hey, you can ask me anything."

"No, it's okay. I don't want to make you mad."

Auggie shook his head. This wasn't going as smooth as he hoped, and they weren't going to get anywhere in what he hoped was a burgeoning relationship if certain topics were considered off topic. "Hey," he said and waited for her gaze to return up to his. "I was born without the sight in my right eye. My left eye was perfectly fine until I hit high school when my vision started to blur. I've been going steadily more and more nearsighted ever since. With the glasses, I can see perfectly well – well, halfway well, actually, but I'm only allowed to drive during the day and in my own car, which has been equipped with a few more mirrors to account for lack of peripheral vision."

She took all the information in and gave him a small smile. "Thanks, but you really didn't have to –"

"Yes, I did," Auggie interrupted. "Though I don't normally go around giving my life story, I wanted you to know."

"Why?"

Cocking an eyebrow at her, Auggie said, "Isn't it obvious?"

Annie's answer was interrupted by the arrival of Hank who sat two overflowing plates in front of them. "Going to introduce me to your boyfriend here, NFL Girl, or are you planning on keeping him all to yourself?"

Annie looked up from the delicious-smelling plank of deep-fried fish sandwich between a large crusty roll to see Hank smirking down at her. "I was going to introduce you, Hank, but you looked busy. This is Auggie Anderson. He owns Geeks-r-Us down the street. Auggie, Hank Matthews, who owns – well, this place."

Hank stuck his large hand out to Auggie, who tore his bewildered gaze off of Annie's face to shake hands. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too, Auggie. Since you're just down the road, you should stop in more often. Though, if you're with our Annie here, I guess you'll be as regular a customer as she is."

As Hank ambled away, Auggie returned his bewildered gaze to Annie, who by this time had picked her sandwich up and was preparing to take a bite. "What?" she asked.

"You did hear him refer to me as your boyfriend, right?" Auggie asked with a smile.

"Umm, yeah, I did," she said, taking a bite of her sandwich.

Auggie, however, refused to let the curious turn of phrase go. "And you didn't feel any urge to correct him. Interesting."

Annie rolled her eyes and waited until she chewed and swallowed before answering. "It's just Hank, Auggie. I didn't want to embarrass him or you by pointing out the fact that we just met yesterday."

When he didn't say anything, she shook her head, "Just eat your sandwich."

"Whatever you say, sweetheart."