“Prove it. Later.”
I blushed and let him help me into the SUV. “You know I can hop in myself.”
“And I like touching you. Deal with it.”
Everything fluttered inside, and I told myself thatwe were taking it slow, even though nothing felt slow. How about we needed to take it slow? That made a lot more sense.
We walked into a nice American restaurant that had a bunch of different plates that you could choose from, and a cool bar. We ended up in a booth near the back, but we could still see most of the rest of the restaurant since it was a horseshoe shape.
“I love it here. They have the best Korean ribs.”
“They also have a quesadilla on the menu. I don’t really know what mood they were going for.”
“Everything and anything.”
“Well, I’m starving, so let’s share a couple of things? Are you okay with that?”
“Oh thank God.” I laughed as I said it, and he just stared at me.
“A couple of guys that I’ve dated in the past never shared things. They only wanted what they had, and never even wanted to trade bites. And I want to taste everything. And I’m not one of those girls who will just order a salad and then steal all your fries. If I’m going to eat, I’m going to eat, but I also want to try it all.”
“I like leftovers, so anything you want, we get.”
“I don’t mind sharing.”
“Then I guess we’re a perfect pair.”
Again that flutter came back.
After we ordered our drinks, with the Korean ribappetizer in between us, we just talked. About everything and nothing. With both of us going at full speed recently with work and life, it felt nice just to sit back for once.
“I still can’t believe I missed the bear completely,” Kingston said, and I laughed into my drink.
“I didn’t even get to really see it. Only a glimpse of it, then I was shoved back into that bathroom. And that woman was mean.”
“Meaner than the bear?”
“The bear just waddled past and didn’t do anything. Although from the way Phoebe tells the story, she frantically ran and got into the first car she saw.”
“Which happened to be Kane’s.”
“Well, that’s a meet cute, right?”
“Damn straight. And I got to meet you that day too.”
“And you barely even noticed me.”
“I noticed you, Claire. But you were Phoebe’s friend, and I figured it would complicate the situation if I hit on you while he was hitting on your friend. What if it didn’t work out?”
Flabbergasted, I sat back in the booth.
“Are you serious right now?”
“Yeah, and then well, I didn’t know what to say. And Phoebe and Kane got serious, and then they broke up, and things just got complicated.”
“And I was too nervous to say anything at all.”
“Well now we’re here.”