Instead I nod slowly. “Okay.”
He searches my face. “Okay, okay, or okay, I want you to shut up now?”
“Why not both?” I tease, and I’m rewarded with the tiniest tilt of his lips. “Are you hungry?”
He shakes his head at the abrupt shift, then pats his stomach. “I’m literally always hungry.”
“Feel like getting dinner?”
“Fuck yeah.” He bumps my shoulder. “Oh! There’s this new pizza place that’s supposed to be amazing.”
“The one on 12th?”
“That’s the one,” he agrees, nodding before glancing around at the gorgeous late afternoon. “I hear they have a really nice rooftop patio, too. Maybe we could eat up there? I bet it’d be nice under the sunset.”
My heart aches as he looks at me, waiting. “That sounds like a really great idea,” I finally manage.
Chapter 6
Therooftoppatioisbetter than advertised. String lights loop overhead, not quite bright enough to beat the soft gold and pink light from the sunset. A wood-fired oven flares at the far end, and the scent of garlic makes my stomach growl. Tables arescattered far enough apart that it feels private, even with the crowd. It’s mostly college-aged, though there are a few older couples mixed in. One long table in the corner is full of grad students, all arguing quietly over some textbooks.
Dmitri’s hand lands gently on the small of my back and steers me toward a small table in the corner. It’s against the railing with a gorgeous view of the campus lights starting to flicker on below. Dmitri starts to sink into the chair facing away from the sunset, but I stop him.
“Always so self-sacrificing,” I tease as I grab his arm and force him into the seat with the better view, then drag my chair around so we’re side by side instead.
“Look at you with all your wise ideas.”
“Don’t be jealous because you didn’t think of it first,” I say with a raised brow. “I’mfullof great ideas.”
“You’re full of something, alright,” he mutters, then passes me a menu. Our knees brush under the table. I knock mine against his, and his grin finally slips free.
“Garlic knots first,” I say, already scanning the appetizer section. “You promised they’d be killer.”
“No, no,” he says with a laugh. “Thereviewssaid they were killer. Don’t blame me if they’re only decent.”
“Blame is already assigned.” I nudge his foot with mine. “You’re on probation until I taste them.”
He snorts, but his mouth quirks up. “Harsh critic tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“Yeah, fair. You’re a harsh critic every night.”
“I havestandards, Dmitri. It’s not a crime.”
He shakes his head as he pulls the menu closer, studying the pizza options like he’s actually reading them. No matter where we go, he orders the same thing. He’s steady like that, choosing something he enjoys and never straying from it, while I’ll order one of everything on the menu just to try a bite.
He’s control and I’m chaos, but it’s always worked.
Dmitri’s hair is messy from the breeze, and the fading light makes his eyes look darker. His lips purse the way they do when he’s thinking, carving that dimple deep in his cheek. It steals my attention for a moment, but I swallow and force my gaze back to the menu before he catches me staring.
We order knots, an assortment of slices for me, and Dmitri’s predictable white pizza. I toss in two beers at the last second, mostly because we both turned twenty-one recently and it’s still a novelty.
When the server leaves, Dmitri tilts his head toward me. “You know I don’t drink much.”
“We’ve been able to order a beer for less than two months, man. No one else anywhere on the planet would turn down the chance,” I counter with aneye-roll. “It’s a celebratory drink. You won’t disappoint me by skipping it.”
“How do you know?”
