Page 77 of Never With You
His eyes pop. “Okay?”
“Yeah, I’ll do it.”
“I did not see that coming.” He reaches for his wallet again, handing the seller some coins. “We’ll take one cricket and one grasshopper.” Once the purchase is made, he holds an open palm out to me. “Which one will it be, Catterson?”
The teasing way he says my last name draws out my smile. I grab the cricket. “This one looks a little more manageable.”
“Of course, you take the easy one.”
“I don’t think either one of these will be easy.” I eye the bug with trepidation. “Should we count it down?”
“I think we should.” Nate begins to count as we hold them in front of our mouths. “Three. Two. One.”
I pop the cricket in my mouth and try to work fast. The texture is the worst part. With each crunch, I can imagine what body part I’m eating. My expression scrunches together with repulsion, but I power through, finishing before he does.
“It’s not my favorite.” His mouth contorts with disgust.
“It wasn’t that bad,” I lie before taking a sip of water to wash the horrific taste away.
“You’re full of it. That was awful.” He coughs as we continue down the tracks. “I never would’ve suggested it if I actually thought you were going to do it.”
“Why wouldn’t I do it?”
His shoulders lift. “You just don’t seem like the type of person who would spontaneously eat something like that. Actually, you don’t seem like someone who would eat it even if it were on your checklist and you got the satisfaction of crossing it off.”
“You really have to get over the whole checklist thing.” I pick up a wooden bowl with the wordBangkokcarved into it and examine the simple craftsmanship before setting it down again. “You act like it’s my entire personality.”
“Isn’t it?”
“Is being annoying yours?” My teasing smile takes the sting out of my words.
“Fair enough.” He laughs as he follows me to the next booth. “So maybe we both have some preconceived notions about each other that aren’t true.”
I stop walking and face him. “Maybe.”
“So then, tell me what is true. Who’s the real Carly Catterson?”
This is where I usually get hung up. I have this mental block where I can’t let my guard down and be myself, especially in settings where I’m supposed to appear competent. That’s why dating a coworker will never work for me. I never showed Isaac the fun and carefree side of me, who likes rock climbing and river rafting. I thought if I did, it would taint how he viewed me as a professional woman in the workplace. Instead, I ended up coming off as unbearable and a killer of fun.
But what would be the point in showing Nate that side of me? There isn’t one. Not if I want to keep my heart safe from falling for a coworker again.
“We don’t have to do this,” I say as I walk to the next shop.
“Do what?”
“Try to get to know each other better. It’s cool if we just fake our way through this whole week, and then when it’s over, we can go back to work, ignore each other, and pretend like nothing ever happened.”
“Or we could come to a truce.”
“A truce?”
“Yeah, we could put down our weapons of war and get to know each other better. Maybe even become friends.”
I pick up a magnet to check the price. “I already have friends.”
“Yes, I met them. They’re a lot of fun, but I’m talking about work friends.”
“That’s what Taryn and Shelly are for.”
