Page 30 of Too Much In Common
“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”
“I’ve only been here for a moment.”
Chris held open the lobby door and pondered his next words. If she said no to his request, he could count on their acquaintance staying exactly where it was. They entered the elevator, and he pushed the button for the parking level. No one else was in the elevator. Chris took a deep breath.
“Did she really flip you?” Tian’s question caught him off guard.
“As much as I hate to admit it, yes. I wasn’t expecting her to flip me. Even if I heard she could.” And saw the evidence when she had the brother pinned.
“You outweigh her by a hundred pounds.”
“Less than one hundred pounds. It’s like I told you last week, size isn’t the only factor.”
“So I could learn to take you down?”
“Yes, under the right circumstances, you could.”
“I might have to make that my new goal.”
“Would that mean I’d always be on guard? Expect it when I least expect it with you?”
Tian shook her head. “No. I think I’d like to do it once to prove that I could.”
“If you want to, I think that we would have to do such a thing in the Hasting gym. I’d want you to be fully geared up so you’re not injured.”
“Are you insinuating that I wouldn’t be able to take you down?”
“No.” Although it might take her a while to learn. “I would prefer that we do such a thing in a safe environment. Besides, don’t you want witnesses to your triumph?”
Tian laughed at his remark. The elevators opened.
“That’s my SUV.” He used his key fob to flash the lights and unlock the doors. Chris rebooted his courage to ask the question he’d planned on asking in the elevator. “Would you like to catch a bite to eat?”
“Are you asking me out to dinner?
“Not a date or anything. It’s just dinner.” Why did he say that? It was a date. And he wanted it to lead to others.
Tian looked at him sideways for a long second. “Yeah, I’d like to go to dinner with you. It would give us a good chance to talk.”
“Do you have any place in mind?”
She shrugged. “Not really. This part of Chicago’s completely new to me. I used to live out by the airport. Is there a place you recommend around here?”
“We could go to my brother-in-law’s.”
“Family?”
“No, restaurant. Pizza. His family has owned it for years. He runs it now, mostly. And if there’s not a seat, he’ll let us sit in the back room. They serve the best Chicago deep dish in the city.”
“Have you ever noticed that everyone claims to have the best Chicago deep dish?”
“Most of them lie.” Chris opened the passenger door for her.
As he pulled out of the parking space, she tapped the fluffy pink dice his niece had given him. “Nice vehicle. Is it yours or the company’s?”
“This one’s mine, hence my niece’s gift to her favorite uncle. She kept the sparkly ones for herself.”
He backed out of the garage, passing rows of dark SUVs. Some were company cars, others not.
