He points overhead. “Ursa Major. What about you?”
“Centaurus.”
“Some solid stars,” he says.
And I am not imagining things when he steps just a little closer. No internal alarms start ringing. Nothing about him makes me nervous in a bad way and sets off my fight-or-flight response. A very good thing. Though it would be great to notoverthink it and enjoy the moment. Something which is unlikely to happen, however.
“Tell me about your day,” he says.
I think it over. “I spilled coffee on my keyboard for the hundredth time. Kind of amazed it hasn’t died on me yet, actually.”
“I salute your keyboard’s staying power.”
“Me too.” I smile. “And I came up with an amazing new bagel combo for lunch.”
“Tell me.”
“Avocado, ham, a fried egg, cream cheese, and a lemon-with-cracked-pepper-and-sea-salt spice mix.”
“That sounds really good.”
“It was some epic comfort food. What’s your favorite filling?”
“I am pretty traditional with the cream cheese, thin-sliced red onion, capers, and lots of salmon.”
“It’s traditional for a reason though, right?” I ask with a smile. “How was your day?”
“Someone used one of my knives. But it was okay.”
“You don’t like people using your knives?”
“No. I have been known to be weirdly possessive about them. It’s not exactly unheard of in the industry. They cost me a lot of money and I look after them well.”
“That makes sense. You’ve got to have the right tools.”
He just nods.
“Are you happy you didn’t freak out?”
“I really am. Feels like a positive step forward, you know?”
“That’s good,” I say. “So, your life in L.A. was tense?”
“Yeah. When you find yourself losing your shit five times a night, five nights a week, you know it’s time to make a change.” The breeze picks up, tousling his thick dark hair. Being here with him is nice. Sharing this with him. “Ever get the feeling that your life isn’t turning out how you wanted?”
“Yeah. I, um, I’m familiar with that feeling.”
“Success looked different when I was younger. I thought it equaled instant happiness. The high pressure, long hours, endless stress, but good money sort of situation. Working where I did made me a better chef. But it turned me into a miserable fucking human being,” he says with a dark laugh. “Which is my way of saying I like this a lot. Being here with you.”
“I like it too.”
No one has been this open and honest with me in forever. Not someone I just met. What must it be like to be so willing to take a chance on people getting to know the real you? To be brave and show them all of your faults and flaws?
He takes a deep breath and turns back to the water. “Tell me something else about you.”
“Um. Let me think…” I stare out at the water too and think calm thoughts. “I wanted to be a teacher when I was at college.”
“You like kids?”
