Page 77 of Exposé

"I was going to pay for that."

"It's a date. Remember?"

I closed the clasp on my black leather purse, shifted my rustic orange sweater sleeves up to my elbows, and took the cup he held out.

"Yeah, but I offered—"

"Nah,I asked you out. I will pay."

I hiked up my brows. "How chivalrous."

The rim of his cup covered a broad smile pulling at his lips. "I try."

I took a sip of mine and puckered at the intense bitterness with a slight caramel sweetness and a hint of mango and pine. "Wow, that's something special."

"I don't think I've had an IPA that tastes like earth before." He frowned, tipping his cup to the side as he eyed the see-through plastic.

"You did ask for aCreepy Crawler.Where else do they live?" I chuckled as we walked toward the carnival games where a child threw a tantrum.

"I didn't expect them to really capture the living environment." He took another sip with a frown, and I let out a dry, amused breath.

"Here, I'll switch you."

"No." He pulled away as I reached my hand out. "This is my beer."

"Okay, I guess you dug your grave; now lie in it." I laughed, and the scent of bratwurst with sauerkraut filled the air, making me lift my nose like a hound.

"That was clever."

"Thanks."

The collar of my sweater slipped off my shoulder, letting the cool evening air caress my bare skin.

Smoke billowed into the air from the food carts.

"Have you eaten yet?"

I took another sip of my beer, then shook my head. "No. I was thinking about hitting that trailer..." I pointed to Brats and Kraut and then moved my pointer to the apple strudel drawing me in. "And then that one."

"Interesting combo..." He cocked his head.

"I get it every year, and it doesn't disappoint." I jerked my head towards the line. "Come on."

"Been to any parties lately?"

I twisted my lips and hid behind my cup. "Nope. Just the one."

Nate tucked his hand in his pants pocket, a teasing smile playing on his lips. "And an eventful one, too."

I raised an eyebrow. "Eventful, as in dodging cops? Yeah..." The man in front of us drew his child in closer as he glanced over his shoulder, his torso twisting in our direction.

Nate leaned in, his beer sloshing in his cup. "I look at it with a positive outlook." His lips stretched into a smile. "It was the most fun I've had in a while—dodging cops and sharing secrets."

"I don't remember sharing any secrets."

A child screamed and jumped up and down with a beaming smile while their mother took the stuffed animal prize from the employee.

"Maybe not. But we'll see what happens after apple strudel."

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