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Still breathless from the kiss and Vinh’s atomic-sensation-inducing touches, I snorted once and then again, and before I knew it, I had snowballed into a full-on cackle.
Like a manic and highly unattractive hyena.
It was loud enough to startle both Lott brothers, and I was forced to watch in abject horror as they both gazed up at me from possibly the worst angle any woman could ever be viewed.
I slapped a hand over my mouth to stop the sound.
And then squeezed my eyes shut for good measure.
And decided to stay that way for a good long while. Possibly until Mardi Gras.
If I can’t see them, they can’t see me.
I could play dead too.
By the time I gathered the courage to open them again, grateful that they had given me the space and time to retreat and regroup, Liem was almost done arranging the plates of food for us and Vinh was nowhere to be seen. I turned and scanned the patio for him before standing up, my nervous energy demanding I move.
“Aww, missing my bro already? He went to get the drinks. I told him you’d like a sweet tea. I would’ve asked you, but you were hiding. Is it because you’re a shy Virgo?”
I rerouted my pacing to put myself in front of Liem, eyeing him suspiciously. “How do you know I’m a Virgo?”
His answering smile was somehow both smug and dopey. Cody. As if summoned by the thought, my phone vibrated and danced across the wooden bar. Liem’s crush was the only person I texted with regularly, so I was surprised when it was an unknown number.
Unknown Number
Your BFF told me your bday deetz. I’m sad I missed your birthday in September, but now I have almost a whole year to plan your next one.
He gave me your number too. Obv. *sword emoji* *heart emoji*
I saved Liem’s contact information before putting my phone back on the bar, wondering how he’d sent those texts right in front of me without me noticing. The little ninja.
“You’re not going to answer that? Seems kinda rude,” he remarked sassily.
I kept my face blank. “Nah, it was an unknown number. I just deleted them without reading. Probably just spam.”
He looked devastated.
“Liem,” I sighed.
“Yeess?” he asked, drawing the word out. Then his phone dinged.
“Are you going to get that?”
His eyes widened in excitement as he opened the text I’d sent thanking him for breakfast. He passed me a honey-butter biscuit and stared at me until I took a large bite. A bite I promptly choked on when Liem said, “You’re welcome, Princess.”
Vinh joined us soon after, two giant mason jars of sweet tea in hand. Liem excused himself with a bow and went back inside to work.
Conversation with Vinh from then on was light and easy, the delicious breakfast spread in front of us taking up most of our focus.
I still managed to learn a lot throughout the morning.
The first was that I really enjoyed watching Vinh eat, finding that my gaze traveled to him constantly. I didn’t think I’d ever noticed how someone ate before, but it was an entire experience with him. He was definitely keeping me company in the lives-to-eat category, savoring each bite while also taking time to ask how I enjoyed certain elements of each dish.
The second was that Vinh was very physically affectionate. He managed to eat his breakfast and carry our pockets of conversations all while rubbing circles on my back, tucking loose strands of hair behind my ear, and, eventually, dropping his hand back down onto my thigh, which seemed like a favorite of his. All without ever dropping a crumb of food.
If only I could ever be so graceful, I thought as I surreptitiously swept biscuit crumbs off my lap, momentarily forgetting that the obstacle of his hand was there. Thankfully he just laughed when I swept the crumbs right onto him and then joined me in brushing them away.
We’d just about finished what had to be the entirety of Ari's menu when he asked again how Grandmother was doing. I resisted the instinct to say, “Fine,” instead confessing my suspicions about her reaction to Prednisone, the gout medicine I’d found in her room.
