Page 11 of Penn

By the time Hearth plates the meals, my stomach is rolling with anticipation, as if I hadn’t eaten in days. I set the table andpour Hearth another glass of wine. I start to refill my glass too, but before I can, she pops open a beer and slides it in front of me.

“Writers notice things, too,” Hearth says with a wink.

“I betyoudo especially.” I grin.

“I do. I notice all the things.”

“What do you notice?”

“You mean besides the fridge full of beer?” She arches an eyebrow.

“Touche.” I chuckle. “This looks incredible by the way. Thank you for cooking.”

“It’s my pleasure.” She holds up her wineglass, and I clink my beer bottle against it. “Dig in. I hope you like it.”

The first bite of ribeye is heaven on earth, and my eyes roll back with a sigh. “Amazing. Wow. You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to try this.”

“Glad I could lure you over to my rescue with the smell of my grilling.” Hearth giggles.

“Yeah. Your mom gave me hell for not taking you to the hospital, so, thank you for that.”

“Yeah…that’s my bad.” She takes a long, long sip of her wine.

“Can I be kind of direct for a minute?” I ask, feeling emboldened by the steak or the bit of alcohol, or maybe I just feel at ease enough around her already.

“You have no idea how much I would appreciate that,” Hearth says graciously, making me relax even more.

“You wouldn’t let me take you to the hospital. You wouldn’t look at yourself for the longest. Are you always so…”

“Stubborn?”

“Your word,” I smirk.

“I don’t think I am, though. I am normally kind of a rule follower. I’m following every order my PT gives me.”

“Oh? What are your limitations?”

“No real limitations. Just that I have to do the exercises she tells me. Every day.”

“And you never miss a day—” I hedge.

She nods, proudly. “That’s right.”

“—stubbornly.”

“Hey!” She reaches across the table and swats at me. “It’s dedication, not stubbornness.”

“I’ve learned the two can go hand and hand. When you’re committed to something, you’recommitted.”

“You’re making me sound like an insane person.”

“I definitely don’t mean it like that.”

“Yeah.” She pauses. “So what about you, do you commit to certain…things?” She blushes fiercely.

The answer is yes, but the things I commit to are very few and far between. I’m committed to my career. I’m committed to my goals. I was committed to visiting Hearth as often as possible. I hesitate to bring that up though, wondering if she’s still salty about that.

“Certain things, yeah.”

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