"If you boil the tea too long, it gets astringent and bitter. The timing is everything."
"Is it obvious I don't cook?"
"No. You're super ripped."
I raise a brow.
"Don't tell me you eat Taco Bell for lunch. I won't buy it."
"I won't say that."
"Chicken breast and broccoli?" she asks.
"What do you have against broccoli?"
She laughs. "I just mean… I know your body-type doesn't come easily."
"Yeah? And this." I run my hands over her shoulders.
She leans into the touch. "Patrick…"
"You have a fantastic body."
"It's kind of athletic."
"You're an athlete."
"Still." Her eyes flutter closed. "My hips are a little narrow. My breasts are a little small. My shoulders are massive."
"Your shoulders are sexy," I say. "And your breasts are perfect. If you say another bad thing about them, I'll have to lavish them with attention, to make it up to them."
"They are small."
"Sounds bad—"
"It's a fact."
"You're on thin ice, Nguyen."
She laughs. "One of my teammates does that. It never happened in high school. Too many Nguyens on the team."
"My name is Patrick Murphy."
"Is that common?"
"Two of the most common Irish names, yeah."
"So you get it?"
I get it. "Do you like it?" I ask.
"It's kind of cute, yeah. But, uh, the chai… I promised."
"You sure?"
She nods. "I'll have to go after. Class."
"Then show me fast."