by Marie Hall
“I see the gears in your head turning. I promise if you don’t like it, I’ll buy you something else. A plain cheeseburger with fries and a Coke at McDonald’s, but this is better. Way better.”
Staring at the burger on my plate, I couldn’t decide where to start first. The bun was almost as big as my face. “You think you can eat all this?”
She had zero compunction about where to start, and picking hers up, she took an enormous man-bite and then grinned. “I ate two of these once, right after yoga. Jamie had to roll me home, but I think Hank spikes these things with crack. They’re that addictive.”
She jerked her chin toward my plate, her eyes daring me to take a bite.
Yellow yolk oozed down the beef, which was a deep brown color. I imagined it was because of the teriyaki glaze on it. Ready to find a bathroom to spit it out of my mouth in case it tasted bad, I took a bite and then froze.
“See,” she singsonged. “I told you, sometimes you have to be willing to try something other than vanilla. Makes life so much more exciting.”
I didn’t answer. I was too busy stuffing my face. More like inhaling my food. Every bite oozed yolk and something creamy and spicy and tangy, and I was tempted to go order another one. By the time I was done, I was licking my fingers.
Laughing, she picked up an orange fry and dangled it in front of my lips. “You ready to try it?”
In my mind, the only potato worth eating was the straight-up plain variety used for baking and frying—nothing else would do. But considering the burger had been such a raging success, I opened my mouth and let her feed it to me.
I chewed but found it lacking after the burger I would forever dub Zoe’s Surprise. “It’s okay.”
“Hmm, well.” She shrugged and slipped one into her mouth. “More for me. So, thought of a name yet?” She winked.
Wiping my mouth, I took a swig of my soda and sat back, stomach comfortably distended. “Yeah, I think I did.”
After a second she lifted a brow. “Wanna share?”
“Maybe someday I will.”
“Fair enough.” Dropping another fry into her mouth, she nodded. “Let’s play a game.”
I cocked my head. “What kind of game?”
“It’s called Truth.”
“Rules?”
The breeze picked up, feathering the fake red petals of the flower she’d tucked behind her glossy black hair. Not thinking, I reached over and tucked a strand that’d slipped across her forehead behind her ear, body humming at the way she shivered at my touch. If laughter were light, the world would be lit up like the Fourth of July from hers. I liked when she did that. Actually, there were a lot of things I liked about her.
“So basically,” she said and flicked her wrist, “you give me a true but weird fact and I’ll do the same.”
“What do I get if I win?”
“You mean if I win.” She grinned. “So if I win, I cook one of my amazing burgers for you. If you win—”
“I can’t cook.”
“Maybe not, but there’s a lot of things you don’t need to cook. So what do you say, you game? And fair warning, I’ve never lost.”
My smile was slow. “First time for everything, lotus.”
Her eyes twinkled. “Lotus, huh?”
“Well, you are covered in them. What do you think?”
Pushing the plates out of the way, she leaned forward and tapped her chin with a long finger and then nodded. “I think I love it.”
“Fact…” I started, scrambling for some fun but useless trivia. I wasn’t exactly a font of information, but I wasn’t telling her that. “The English invented football.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m assuming you mean European.”
I nodded. “Yup, wanna know how?”
“Hit me, frat.” Her eyes sparkled with challenge.
“By kicking around the heads of slaughtered Danish invaders.”
Sticking out her tongue, she grabbed her stomach. “That is twisted and disturbing and I just ate. I think I’ll be checking up on that fact. I’m not sure I trust you yet.”
I held up my hands. “Hey, got taught to me in college. Just passing along what I’ve heard.”
“Hmm.” She tapped the table, leaning in. “Fact. Certain species of butterflies have been known to exhibit carnivorous tendencies.”
“I thought they just ate fruit.” Leaning back, I shook my head. “I think you’re cheating, lotus.”
She laughed. “So says football man. Your turn. Or are you ready to beg mercy?”
“Never. Fact.” Leaning forward, I forcefully tapped the table with my finger. “Certain male bees are born to do one job. Mate with the queen. But those that do die in the act. Proof that women are evil.”
Tossing her head back, she laughed. “Evil. Really, vanilla? Just means we’re too hot to handle.”
“You sayin’ I can’t handle what you got?”
She licked her lips and damn if that movement didn’t send a jolt of adrenaline straight to my cock. This game was supposed to be nonsexual, help me to stop thinking about sex. Clearly, I was a hopeless cause.
“Fact.” Her lips twitched as she ignored my question. “Only one in four hundred men are flexible enough to give themselves fellatio. Of course it’s estimated that all four hundred have given it their best shot at some point.”
I was drinking water and hadn’t expected that to come out of her mouth. A couple sitting next to us snorted, obviously listening. Zoe was preening, licking her front teeth, a “so there” look on her face, and I was trying to swallow the water trapped in my throat and not gasp it down the wrong pipe.
“Tell me, cowboy, is it true?”
I was so not going there. Quirking my lips, I shrugged. Some secrets weren’t meant to be shared. At least not in public. But let’s just say… guilty as charged. When I was fifteen and horny as hell.
I was going to lose this game. Zoe had an answer quicker than I could think one up. Time for plan B: evade, evade, evade.
“All that true? You sure came up with those answers awfully quick. I think you’re lying through your pretty white teeth.”
“Ryko’s got a book in the shop full of totally stupid factoids. In between clients I sometimes read it. Fact: the wedding ring goes on the left ring finger because it’s the only finger with a vein that leads straight to the heart. And that, my friend, is how you give a Texas-sized ass-whoopin’!” Grabbing a fry, she shoved it into her mouth.
“All right, you got me.” I tossed a wadded-up napkin at her, which she swatted away. “I guess I owe you.”
“Make it good, cowboy. Your life might just depend on it.”
My grin didn’t fade the rest of the night.
~*~
Zoe
A week had passed since the burger date and things with Alex were only getting better. I was sitting on my living room couch, waiting for Alex to come over. I’d managed, by some miracle, to get Ryko to put me on day shift. Well, it wasn’t really a miracle, more like I’d threatened to cut his balls off and feed them to Candy if he didn’t. He wasn’t happy about his only piercer ditching work at four, but after four years of no me time, I figured I sort of deserved it.
Alex had also managed to get on a morning shift at work, which meant we had the nights to ourselves, and while I was having a ton of fun getting to know him, I couldn’t lie and say that staying away from each other wasn’t hard.
He was laughing and his eyes were sparkling and I’d gone so far beyond the point of no return it wasn’t even funny. Flipping through one of Jamie’s trashy celebrity rags, I patted Xian and waited for Alex to show up.
Jamie was gone for the day, doing only God knew what, and my stomach fluttered because I realized we had the apartment all to ourselves today.
Alex and I didn’t really have plans, but it didn’t matter. I’d be happy just sitting in a padded room with him.
Finally a knock sounded on the front door. I hopped off the couch, issued an apology under my
breath to Xian who’d had to jump off my lap quickly, and breathlessly opened the door. He was leaning against the frame, wearing a Texas Rangers gray workout shirt, Under Armour shorts, and running shoes.
I lifted a brow. “Going running, cowboy?”
Chuckling, he shifted forward, and I moved to the side so he could enter.
“Nah, I was unloading shipments today, so I dressed casual.”
Closing the door behind him, I adjusted my red kimono and fluffed my bangs.
“Looking hot today, Zoe.” He grabbed me around the waist and drew me gently into the crook of his body, making me feel weak and melty.
He smelled like coffee and cologne and I couldn’t stop myself from kissing his neck. Alex shivered but stepped back with a chuckle and a hop, and I couldn’t deny that it sort of aggravated me. Why did it feel like he didn’t want to be close? It wasn’t as if we hadn’t already had sex. And it would be so easy to think he didn’t want to be around me anymore, but I knew that wasn’t the case. Because he was still here, still hanging out with me. Disinterested guys just didn’t do that.
“Hey,” he said, tipping my chin up, “I see the gears cranking. Stop that.”
That sexy drawl rolled over me like sun-warmed honey and made me shiver. “Stop what?”
“Stop thinking I don’t want you.”
“What?” I blew out a raspberry. “Whatever. I wasn’t thinking that.”
“Whatever you say, sunshine.” He tweaked my nose and walked into my kitchen. “I’m starving—cook me some grub, woman.”
“Oh God.” I laughed. “You really are a caveman aren’t you?”
“Did I ever give you the impression I wasn’t?” His eyes sparkled and just like that I was putty in his hands again.
The guy had a way of doing that to me. It was a sickness how much I loved being around him.
Rolling my eyes, I pointed at the rarely used kitchen table. “Sit.”
He wiggled his shoulders. “So bossy. Anybody ever tell you how sexy that is?” He pulled out a chair and then took a seat, tapping his fingers on the table.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Whatever. So…” I opened the fridge. “You ready to be my guinea pig today?”
He licked his lips. “Hmm. Sounds dangerous.”
I flicked my wrist and stuck my tongue out at him, feeling suddenly self-conscious and shy, like Misaki all over again. But he did that to me. He always did that to me. “I’m making sushi rolls. California ones, so it shouldn’t be hard. But it’ll be my first time.”
“I thought all Asians could do that.”
Narrowing my eyes, I glared at him. “Watch it, cowboy. That sounds an awful lot like stereotyping.”
He held up his hands with a tight grimace and then pretended to zip his lips.
I laughed. “Of course we can’t all do that—that would be like me saying all white boys ride bulls and drink beers and bang sorority chicks. And say ‘y’all’ and ‘ain’t’ and drive big trucks with bigger wheels and have red necks.”
Snorting, he shrugged. “Not going there. Anyway, sexy, make me some grub.”
Shaking my head, I grabbed the package of seaweed wraps. I’d called Obasaan yesterday to find out exactly how to do it right, not to mention I’d YouTubed how to soften and properly wrap seaweed around the filling. It didn’t sound that hard. The filling was cake, just Japanese sticky rice with veggies and imitation crab. It was the wrapping I was a little worried about, but I was pretty sure I could figure it out.
The first wrap was pretty awful-looking. And I seriously debated throwing it away, but then Alex’s arms slipped around my waist and he was kissing my neck and I couldn’t help but smile. “Looks good, lotus. I’ll eat that one.”
It actually looked like a deformed green cigar, but he was sweet for not saying so.
“Let me try to make one more.” I heated the seaweed wrap in a dry pan until it was pliable, then set it on the bamboo sheet and spread the filling across it. The second attempt was much more successful.
Once it was rolled, I sliced it with a sharp knife and then jerked my chin at the cabinet. “Can you grab two plates and two small glasses?”
He placed a final kiss on the nape of my neck, then did as I asked. I slipped the rolls onto each plate, grabbed a bottle of sake, and headed back to the table. All of this felt extremely domestic and I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking just slightly the second I thought it.
Why did I feel so nervous?
But I hadn’t needed to worry, at least not about the food, because Alex was devouring the rolls, picking them up with his fingers. I joined him, eating them just like he did, thinking how my mother would cringe if she could see us now. The sake went down smooth and in no time we had the dishes washed and dried and we were heading to the living room to turn on a Netflix movie.
But when we started it, or attempted to start it, the system was down.
“Hmm.” He stared at me. “No movie. What do you want to do?”
That was such a loaded question. I had my feet on his lap and he was rubbing them, his big body stretched out beneath me and looking yummier than the food we’d just eaten. The bedroom was mere steps away, but I knew trying to initiate anything would very likely result in a big fat no. I knew because I’d been trying all week to no avail, a fact that was making me very irritable. Which meant there was only one other option.
“Let’s go to the theater.”
Groaning, he nodded.
Tucking my feet underneath me again, I leaned into him. “We don’t have to, cowboy. We could stay right on this couch, or maybe even…” I didn’t finish the thought, but I was nuzzling his neck. I knew I said I wouldn’t do it, but he was just so damn sexy and I couldn’t help myself.
“Zo,” he growled, keeping his hands clenched tight on the couch cushion.
“Ugh.” I shot to my feet.
He grabbed my hand before I could disappear back into my room to lick my wounds. “I swear, Zo, I swear I want to. I’m trying to prove to you I’m different now.”
Those words went a long way toward smoothing ruffled feathers. I gave him a peck on the cheek, if not exactly cheerfully, before marching into my room to change. “Give me about thirty minutes to get sexy for you.”
He groaned again and I won’t lie, it was nice knowing he was as frustrated as I was.
An hour later we were standing in line for the movies. The sun had set about thirty minutes ago. There was something almost magical about Austin at night, the sights and sounds and smells. Lights twinkled all along downtown. I wanted to watch the latest romantic chick flick but didn’t think that would help my sexually deprived mood, so I wound up just agreeing to watch his zombie flick. If that didn’t quell my horny, nothing would.
We were in line waiting for popcorn when I remembered my mom’s phone call last week. “Oh.” I tapped his bicep. “Mom called me, invited us to an intimate…” I air quoted. “…get-together at the lake house in a few weeks. Wondered if you’d like to be my date?”
It didn’t escape me that it would be our actual and official first date around my family.
His brows knit and I felt bad for him, but obviously not bad enough because I still wanted him there. “I know they were kind of brutal last time, but they’ll behave. They won’t have a choice next time because they’ll be trying to impress the crowd. Don’t send me off to the firing squad alone.”
Laughing, he hugged my shoulders. “I wouldn’t dream of it, lotus. I’ll be there. Just give me the exact date so I can ask for the day off at work.”
Smiling, I leaned up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.
After ordering our popcorn, he turned to me. “Oh and since we’re asking—Ryan and Lili are getting married in about three months. Wear red. You look hot in red.”
I smacked his chest, pretending to be outraged at his audacity, but in reality I was bouncing around on the inside like a kid in a candy store. The mere fact he thought we’d still be together in three months was pretty
damn cool. He just chuckled, like always.
“You jerk. You think just because you order me to I’ll jump at the chance to be your date?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
The laughter in his eyes dimmed when I didn’t return his smile and he cocked his head. “I was just kidding, Misaki, I didn’t mean—”
Sticking out my tongue, I poked him in the ribs. “I’ll totally go, frat. But next time, just ask. Cavemen stopped being sexy after the Ice Age. Sheesh.”
The movie was lame, but I didn’t care because every time our fingers brushed in the popcorn bag, my stomach would quiver and I’d start to snuggle into him. I pretended that the gory stuff bothered me because it gave me an excuse to cuddle in close. And Alex seemed only too happy to hug me tight to his side and drop one kiss after another onto my head.
We exited the theater, and he was reenacting his favorite scene of the movie, waving his arms over his head and droning in a loud voice, “Brains. Mmmm… Sexy. Asian. Brainssss…”
“Eww. Stop it.” I swatted his hand, laughing.
But he didn’t return the laugh; Alex had suddenly stopped moving and was standing still as a statue.
Groups of people bumped into our backs because we were blocking the exit. But Alex was just staring ahead with a look on his face that could only be described as cold.
His jaw was tight, his neck stiff, and his gaze unswerving. I followed the direction of his eyes and noted an older woman standing beside a car parked on the side of the road, its door open. Her skin was flawless-looking, though her hair was definitely more gray than blond. She was beautiful in a classic sort of way.
Then, with a swift shake of his head, Alex jutted out his jaw, draped his arm across my shoulder, and guided me in the opposite direction of my car.
“C’mon, Zoe. Let’s go get ice cream.”
Something about the way he said that made me realize the woman, whoever she was, was off-limits. The curiosity burned me alive, and it was excruciatingly hard not to ask, but somehow I managed to keep the questions at bay. He’d tell me eventually. I really believed that.
When he dropped me back off at my apartment later that night, he was so distracted I wasn’t sure he even realized if he kissed me good-bye or not.