"That's not pizza. That's salad on bread."
"It's sophisticated."
"It's a waste of cheese."
"You're a waste of cheese."
Hudson snorted. "That doesn't even make sense."
"Your face doesn't make sense."
"Are we twelve?"
"You started it."
They reached the counter. The guy gave them a welcoming smile. "What can I get you?"
Taylor ordered her salad-on-bread. Hudson ordered pepperoni and sausage. The guy wrote it down without comment, took their payment, and told them it'd be about ten minutes.
They grabbed a booth near the window, sliding in across from each other. Taylor immediately stole a handful of napkins from the dispenser and started folding them into elaborate shapes.
"What are you doing?" Hudson asked.
"It's a swan."
"It's a crumpled napkin."
"You have no vision." She held up what might have been a swan if you squinted and had a very generous imagination. "See?"
Hudson grabbed his own napkin and started folding it, determined to one-up her. Within thirty seconds he'd created something that seemed vaguely origami-adjacent.
"What is that?" Taylor asked.
"A crane."
"That's not a crane."
"Who made you the origami-expert?"
They were both laughing when someone cleared their throat.
The counter guy stood next to their booth holding two plates. The corner of his mouth pulled up. "Pepperoni and sausage?" he said, setting one plate down in front of Hudson.
"Yeah. Thanks."
"And the sophisticated salad." He set Taylor's plate down with enough emphasis on 'sophisticated' that Hudson knew he'd overheard their entire argument.
"See?" Taylor said triumphantly. "Sophisticated."
The guy chuckled, shifting his gaze to the crumpled napkins on the table, then to Hudson. "Nice crane."
"It's abstract," Hudson said.
"I can see that." He was definitely grinning now. "Very... interpretive."
"Thank you."
Up close, Hudson clocked his green eyes, scattered freckles and a dusting of flour on his forearm. He was attractive. Not in the polished, practiced way Derek had been. More... real. His expression was kind and his smile was genuine and?—
