We pulled into the parking lot of the Shem Creek Bar and Grill and got out of the car.

“I love this place,” I said as I crunched along the gravel. “Best hush puppies ever.”

“I could eat a truckload of them, that’s for sure. But I’m partial to those little bitty crab cakes they make.”

“Love them, too! And the oysters! I don’t know where they come from, maybe the May River, but oh, man, I love them on the half shell. Do you love oysters? And clams?”

“I do!” Ted said. He stopped and held me at an arm’s length. “Holly Jensen?”

“What? What did I say?”

“Nothing. You’re just a breath of fresh air,” Ted said. “That’s all.”

“Oh. Gosh. Thanks!”

We had to wait a few minutes for a table, but then we were seated in the back room over the dock. The restaurant was bustling, as it always was. A waiter with a tray loaded with platters of fried seafood passed and suddenly, I was ravenous.

We were looking at the menu and there were so many great choices, I couldn’t decide.

“If I don’t get some food right now I’m going to start crying,” I said and then looked up at him. Ted was staring at me. “Not really.”

“It’s okay. My stomach is growling like an idiot and I’m starving, too.”

“It’s the smell. There is nothing on this planet better than the smell of fried shrimp that were swimming this morning.”

“Except for a perfectly grilled steak,” he said. “I know red meat’s bad for you, but oh, momma, there’s nothing better than a big old bone-in ribeye.”

He had said, oh, momma. Really? Oh, momma? He was definitely a nerd like me. I started smiling and thought, Wow, I like him a lot.

“You know, I make chicken that’s so good it borders on the obscene, but I never really got into grilling.”

“Well, I’ll tell you what. Next time we get together, I’ll show you how to grill a steak to perfection, and the time after that, you can make your badass chicken, pardon the language, and I mean badass in a good way.”

“Of course,” I said and giggled. “But what makes you so sure there are more dates in our future?”

“Because I can tell you like me,” Ted said and grinned at me. “Don’t you?”

I couldn’t stop smiling.

“Maybe,” I said and turned red. “Maybe not.”

“Okay,” he said. “We’ll see what we see.”

Our server appeared and Ted ordered two Corona lights with lime and cold mugs, and two fried seafood platters, basically enough food for four people.

“Beer! What a great idea!”

“What do you usually drink?” he said. “I’m sure we can change the order.”

“No, beer’s great. Really! But that’s a lot of food, don’t you think?”