Page 12 of Why Not Both?

“Woman.”

I eat some more of my breakfast while I consider my options and what next question I want to ask. She’s watching me with that sparkle in her eye, like she’s considering what favour she’s going to ask for when I get this wrong.

“Older or newer?”

“Older. Definitely. Like late nineties, I think.”

I grin. “You’re really no good at the one-word answers, are you?”

“I’m just answering the questions, Spencer. You shouldn’t be complaining. I’m making it easier on you.”

I have one more question. And I need to get this right. She guessed my quote after only two questions. I’m watching her closely.

“Is this your favourite movie?”

She lifts an eyebrow at me. “How is that going to help you figure out what it’s from?”

“It isn’t. I just want to know.”

She take a breath, considering. “It’s not necessarily my favourite. But it is my comfort movie. I watch it whenever I’m sad or sick or just feeling blah.”

“Oh yeah. Like The Dark Crystal.”

“What?”

“My comfort movie. It’s The Dark Crystal.”

She shakes her head slowly. “I don’t think I’ve seen that one.”

I slump back in my seat. “You haven’t? How can you not have seen The Dark Crystal?”

“I don’t know. I’ll have to fix that.”

“We’ll watch it together,” I say. “Give me your phone.”

She hands it over, unlocked and I save my number in her contacts. Then send myself a text with one word. Firecracker. I hand back her phone.

“There.”

She looks at what I’ve done and then bursts into laughter.

“God?”

“I think it was well established by the end of last night.”

She shakes her head as she changes the contact to my name instead.

“You prefer Spencer and not Spence, right?”

My good mood freezes for a second at the shortened form of my name, sending a flash of ice through me. I really hate being called Spence.

Lis looks up. “Spencer?”

But I don’t need to bring the mood down.

“Yeah. I prefer Spencer.”

Her smile eases the tension and we fall back into the easy teasing we’ve been enjoying. We finish eating and I pull out my wallet.

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