“Spicy cashew.” He sets another aside. “Beef lo mein.”
Three for three.
“Fried rice.” He takes out a small container. “I got white, too, just in case. And egg rolls.”
“You got enough food to feed a small army.” I reach for a box at random.
“Sometimes it’s nice to have choices.” He shrugs and grabs a fork.
I don’t think he’s referring to dinner, but I’m not going to pry and ruin this decent moment we’re having. Things are clearly weird between us, and if we’re able to get along, even for one meal, I’ll gladly take it.
Whatever this is, something less than friends but more than enemies, it’s worth having.
I slide an eggroll out of the plastic bag and put one on both of our plates. “You want a beer?” I go to the fridge and open it up. “Or there’s tea, and water.”
“Surprise me.” He lifts both of our mounds of food and puts them on the bar.
I grab two beers and pop the tops, placing one in front of both of our spots. I climb into the stool next to him and pick my drink up again. “Cheers.”
He grins. “What are we cheers-ing?”
“Our first meal together.” And taking a break from hating each other. I don’t say that one aloud though.
“Hopefully, not our last.” He clinks his bottle against mine.
I push away the rampant thoughts that follow with his words. It’s like every time he opens his mouth my mind runs wild with dissecting the hidden meaning behind everything he says.
“Thanks for dinner.” I take a big bite of chicken.
He leans over and nudges me with his shoulder. “Thanks for joining me.”
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was flirting with me, but I do know better, and Johnny is incapable of such things. Especially given his track record of hot and cold. I’m evidently not his type or something. Still, though, his touch rattles my core and warms my chest in a way I wasn’t expecting.
He keeps having this effect on me with pretty much everything he does.
I watch him out of the corner of my eye, taking a swig of his brew and simply existing like a normal guy his age. Only, Johnny is far from ordinary, and there is much more under the surface that has yet to be uncovered about him. He’s a mystery waiting to be unraveled.
And for some unknown reason, I hope like hell I’m the person who gets the chance to figure him out.