Page 61 of Indigo Sky

But she wasn't looking at me. Her eyes had dropped to the table, and the tip of her pointer finger drew circles over the beige laminate surface as she chewed at the corner of her lip. It would seem that talk of parents scraped the surface of a touchy subject for her, and I teetered uncomfortably on the possibility of asking her for more details or not.

I swallowed, bringing my attention back to the menu. "What about you? Are you close with your family?" I asked quickly, then immediately kicked myself for being so bold.

"Not really," she replied, then swiftly pulled the menu from my hands.

I gawked at her as she smirked. "I was still looking at that."

"Well, I wasn't finished whenyoutook it fromme," she fired back, looking satisfied.

"You—"

"Sorry for making you wait, kids." A waitress bounded over to stand beside our table and practically threw another menu down in front of me before pulling a notepad and pen from her apron. "I'm Birdy. I'll be your server today. Can I get you started with something to drink?"

"Uh," I stammered, turning the menu right side up. "I'll just get a water, thanks."

Kate smiled at the waitress. "Can I get a Diet Coke?"

Birdy nodded, scribbling on her pad. "Water and Diet Coke … got it. Do you know what you're ordering, or should I give you a couple of minutes?"

Kate ordered a double cheeseburger and fries, and I was ashamed to admit I was relieved she wasn't planning to eat something dainty while I embarrassed myself by scarfing down a meatball hero and loaded waffle fries.

Birdy pulled her bright red lips into a wide grin, took the menus from us, and promised it wouldn't take long for our food to come out. And I was reluctant to admit I was relieved about that too. Because as much as I liked being out with Kate,especially this casual side of her, I was also aware of the time, and I still needed to shower and grab my suit before heading to Midnight Lotus.

"So, tell me something about yourself," Kate said, folding her hands beneath her chin.

"What do you want to know?" I leaned back against the cushioned booth.

She rolled her eyes up to the Tiffany-style lamp hanging above the table. "Um … are you still a virgin?" Her gaze met mine, her teasing eyes twinkling with amusement.

I barked with a laugh that was maybe a little too loud. "Oh my God, you remember that?"

"Revan," she said, her round eyes softening as they held mine, "I remembereverythingabout that night."

I tipped my head, curiosity ablaze in my mind. "Why?"

"Why didyourememberme?"

I huffed a chuckle as I turned away, rubbing my hand over my bearded chin. I couldn’t look at her under this kind of pressure. Not when I knew my cheeks were bright red and my heartbeat could be heard in fuckin’ China.

“I mean, you, uh … you kinda left an impression,” I muttered, remembering those moments when her body had straddled mine … and the one when she had kissed me beneath the parking-lot lights.

“Yeah, and why is it so surprising that you left one on me too?”

I couldn’t help it—I scoffed. “Come on,” I grumbled, scratching the back of my head and wishing I didn’t look so much like a street rat. “You don’t have to—"

“Oh, trust me, I’m not trying to flatter you,” she said, huffing a laugh. “And, yeah, I get it. You probably think I have my pick of all kinds of men, right?”

Realizing the lightheartedness of the conversation had, at some point, disappeared, like a fucking fart in the wind, I looked back at her, startled. “I didn’t—"

“You didn’t have to say it for me to know what you meant.”

She avoided my panicked gaze as she looked toward the mix of jellies, salt and pepper shakers, napkin dispenser, and ketchup bottle at the end of the table against the wall. She reached out to turn the ketchup’s label outward as she gnawed at the corner of her lip.

I flattened my palms against the table and spoke slowly, carefully. “Kate, I didn’t mean to offend you. I was only saying we met years ago. I wouldn’t have blamed you if you—"

“Do you know you’re the only man I’ve ever asked back to my place?”

It was a rhetorical question because how could I have possibly known that? Yet, still, I stammered, “I, uh … I—"

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