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smelled like horses, eh? Nice of you to tell me. You know, I would shower before I’d pick you up,” he teased.
    She lowered her head and laughed. That deep, gut busting, laugh that he’d recognized after years apart. She raised her head, her black hair falling back into place, and her soft hazel eyes met his as her laughter died away, leaving her mouth in a sweet smile. “It’s good to see you, Finn . I’m glad I… ran into you.” Her eyes darted away, as if admitting it was more than she wanted to reveal.
    He reached across the scarred wooden table, carved with lovers’ names of long ago, and took her hand. It was cool and soft and fit into his larger one with ease. “I’m glad, too, Liz. Hell, at least one good thing came of working at that god-awful job. Imagine the odds of you coming into that theater while I was working.”
    “Yes, that was quite a coincidence,” she ducked her head again, not meeting his eyes. Something he said seemed to register with her and she asked, “Why would you say ‘imagine the odds’? Aren’t you there most nights?”
    “Well, I’ve been there a lot lately, but I’ve only been back at the theater for six months.”
    “Oh, not since when we dated?”
    Did she really think he’d done nothing but hawk popcorn to kids for the last eighteen years? God, what kind of loser did she think he was? And if she did, why was she out with him? He tried to mask his disappointment in Liz’s low opinion of him.
    “No, Liz, I haven’t been working at the Mine Shaft all this time . Believe it or not, I was able to tear myself away from the glory of concession stands for a few years.” He chuckled as he said it, but Liz picked up on the anger in his voice.
    “Well, I didn’t assume anything. Anyway, what would be wrong with you working at the Mine Shaft all this time? I always thought it was a dream job. See every movie, all the popcorn you can eat...what’s not to like?”
    “Yeah, for a sixteen year old kid, maybe.” He was g rateful she didn’t mention that he’d been twenty when he’d worked there.
    “So what have you been doing all these years?” What was probably mere curiosity in her tone sounded like accusation to Finn and he inwardly bristled. He didn’t have to justify himself to Liz Hampton or anyone else. The choices he’d made were ones that were thrust upon him, and he figured he’d probably do them all again if he had to.
    Except for Dana. He’d definitely choose differently there. Of course, Dana hadn’t really been a choice at all. More like a sentence handed down from some unknown jury.
    He let the feeling slide as a waitress approached their booth to take their drink order.
    “Bud in a bottle,” Finn said and Lizzie nodded her head, indicating the same for her.
    He picked up the menus between them and handed one to Lizzie. “Do you want to order right away?”
    She pushed her menu to the side of the table, away from her. “No, I’m not that hungry. Maybe we could just have a beer and talk for a while? Get something to eat a little later?”
    “That’s fine. Whatever you want.” He made eye contact with her as he said the last, trying to get them back on track. Back to where they were after their initial hug, not to the weird place that bringing up the horses and his working at the theater had taken them.
    “Whatever you want, Liz.” He dropped his menu and took her hand again. He emphasized the “whatever”, trying to make his intentions known. It’d been a while since he’d flirted, but he figured it was like riding a bike.
    He must not have lost his touch completely, because he saw a slow blush rise from her neck to her cheeks. The color made her look about sixteen years old. And innocent. Still innocent. It had driven him crazy with want back then, and if the tightening in his groin was any indication, it still did.
    The waitress approached, carrying two bottles. She put down their drinks, realized they wouldn’t be ordering anytime