Page 29 of Mother Parker
“What? I look like shit, don’t I?” he grumbled, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek because I didn’t want him to think I was making fun of him.
“No, no! It…it, uh, looks good on you,” I said.
He huffed and placed one hand on the counter, staring at me.
“Now what?”
Now we…
Head out of the gutter, Hwan!
“Now, we’ll do some training. Don’t worry. It’s all very simple, but first things first. Have you ever tried bubble tea before?”
He glanced at the popping bobas in the refrigerated countertop and, with a grimace, shook his head.
“I don’t believe I have.”
I grinned as he turned his attention back to me, which made his eyes widen.
Was he scared of me? Or did I look that terrifying when I grinned?
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing. I’m just excited. This is gonna be so much fun.”
“What is?”
“Taking your bubble tea virginity,” I said, and his grimace deepened.
SEVEN
PARKER
“Right. So first things first. Do you know what the bubble in bubble tea is?” he asked.
I was finding it hard to focus around him. From the moment he’d walked into the store, it was like time stopped, and I couldn’t concentrate on anything or anyone else.
Which was a real problem seeing as I had a job to do. To protect him. So why the fuck was I learning how to make bubble tea?
I shook my head, but he didn’t seem deterred by my cluelessness. If anything, his smile got bigger and his eyes glistened.
He grabbed a plastic cup and put a scoop of blueberries into it.
“So the bubble in bubble tea are toppings added to ice tea that look like bubbles, hence the name. Bubble tea was born in Taiwan, and the traditional topping is tapioca pearls,” he said and offered me the cup with the blueberries and a wooden spoon.
I took it from him. Our fingers touched. A rush shot through my body, and then it was gone. Just like that. With no explanation or understanding.
“Go on. Give them a try,” he said, dipping his head before raising his eyebrows and staring into my eyes.
Without turning away from his gaze, I reached for the wooden spoon and dipped it in the cup. I put a couple of balls in my mouth. They were chewy, sweet, and definitely not blueberries.
“What do you think?” he asked.
“I think…” There was something wrong with me. Why couldn’t I function properly around this guy? No. Not guy. Boy. Because that was what he was. “I think that was weird.”
Instead of getting insulted, he laughed.
“That’s okay. Tapioca is not for everyone, and it’s much better in the tea. It’s made from the starch of cassava roots. There are also the popping pearls. They are bubbles filled with juice that burst in your mouth.”
