Page 103 of Fostering Chemistry
It was good… red and somehow tart and sweet at the same time. No doubt Aaron knew what kind it was, what region it had hailed from, and the name of the vintner, but I was content to know that it tasted good.
Putting the menu down, I was happy with my choice: chicken marsala. It sounded good, and I recognized most of the ingredients in the dish.
By some unspoken agreement, we waited until after we ordered to talk.
And then I didn’t know what to say. Finally, I took a deep breath. “I’m glad you’re all here.” Then I flushed, turning to Diego. “Not that it wouldn’t have been nice with just the two of us, but?—”
He put his hand on mine, stopping my words. “Relax, Mia. I wanted this dinner to be for the four of us. And I suspected you might, too.”
Truthfully, it hadn’t occurred to me. But if it had, then yes, I would’ve wanted this, and I told them that.
“I was wrong yesterday,” Diego began.
“Just yesterday?” I couldn’t help asking, and Aaron snickered.
Diego gave us a mock-stern glance that was honestly kind of hot. “Wrong about a lot of things, but especially about saying you had to choose. College is about exploring your options, figuring things out. I shouldn’t have tried to get you to lock into one… path forward before you were ready.”
“You were just looking out for us,” Aaron said. “I think we all can agree that we don’t want any of us to get hurt.”
“Of course,” I said. Then I didn’t know what to say next. There was a strange tightness in my chest. It wasn’t panic or pressure. It was just… anticipation. As if we were on the path to something very important to me, but I wasn’t sure if we’d stay the course or veer off on a side road.
“Looking out for us is one thing,” Cody said, and we all stilled, listening intently. “But you have to make sure the person wants to be looked out for.”
He was probably thinking about how Diego had indicated he was most worried about Cody getting hurt at that messed up lunch yesterday.
Cody leveled a look at Diego. “Mia deserves to know, are you here because you want to be with her or because you don’t want anyone to get hurt?”
Wow. How did Cody manage to be more direct than all the rest of us? My heart thumped painfully in my chest as I waited for Diego’s response.
“I definitely don’t want anyone to get hurt,” he began, “but?—”
This time I put my hand on his. “Just tell me, please.”
“I want to be with you. If that’s what you want.”
Wow. That was very straightforward. My pulse quickened as I met his dark eyes. “It is.”
“So it’s unanimous,” Aaron said. “Not to ruin the moment, but how does this work?”
“However we want it to,” Cody said. “Mia?”
Okay, I hadn’t thought this far ahead. “I’d like some time to get to know all of you better.”
“Together or separately?” Diego asked.
“Both?”
“It’s not going to be easy,” Diego said. “I get it, you don’t want me to be overly protective of you three, there are the others to consider as well. We have to make sure not to exclude or ignore Jenna, Raymond, and Evan.”
“Or scandalize them,” Cody muttered, and it almost made me laugh.
“I had one idea,” Aaron began, speaking slowly. ”Does anyone have plans for next week?”
We had the whole week off for Thanksgiving break. “Just working on my video presentation.”
“Yeah, class stuff for me, too,” Diego said, while Cody nodded. “Why?”
“There’s this condo in Chattanooga that’s free. It’s big. It’s got multiple bedrooms. You’ve seen it, Mia.”
