Brown eyes stare back at me. Landon sits on my porch with a plastic white shopping bag beside him. I recognize the yellow smiley face on the bag, and my stomach somersaults with excitement.
“What are you doing here, Fletcher?”
“Figured we could go over the list of repairs.” He pushes off the porch and stands to his full height, lifting the bag with him. “Brought lunch.”
I trudge up the porch steps and stick my key into the lock, my mouth salivating from the smell of my favorite Chinese food restaurant in town. “Thanks, I’m starving.”
“I haven’t eaten here since I’ve been back.”
“That should’ve been your first stop when you touched down at the airport.” I toss my bag onto the floor in the entryway and head straight for the kitchen.
“I wasn’t sure if Chen still owned the place.”
“Oh my god.” I spin around as Landon sets the bag on the kitchen table. “I totally forgot about that.”
Landon’s eyes widen. “How could you forget about The Great Duck Sauce Debate of 2006?”
Laughter spills out of me. “You were so mad that he wouldn’t give you more than two packets.”
“I was a paying customer. How could you limit a person to two packets? He was rationing my condiment intake.”
I close my eyes as I laugh harder. “The look on his face when you brought in a jar from the grocery store was priceless. I thought he was going to kill you.”
Landon plants his hands on his hips. “Think about it. Every restaurant either gives you a bottle of ketchup, or unlimited packets. Chen acted like a couple extra packets were going to break the bank.”
The two were always at each other’s throats, and everyone in town knew they’d be in for a comedy show free of charge with their meal every time we stepped foot inside China Moon.
“We should go in for dinner one day. See if Chen remembers you.”
Landon’s eyebrow arches. “You saying we should go on a date, Morgan?”
I sputter. “No, not what I was suggesting.”
Landon grins as he turns to pull out the white containers from the bag. “If you want to go on a date, just ask.”
My jaw pops. “I don’t want to go on a date with you.”
“You just said we should.”
“I said we should go to China Moon and?—”
“Eat dinner.” Landon shoots me a wink as he sits. “You want to go to dinner with me.”
I throw my hands up. “I can’t with you.”
He takes a giant bite of his egg roll and grins, shredded cabbage hanging out of his mouth.
I roll my eyes.
“Everything okay with Jayden?” he asks. His tone is curious, not accusatory in any way.
Guilt grips my stomach as I lie. “Yeah, you know how intense it is during this time of year, with prom and all the drama.”
“I don’t envy them.” Landon pulls out several white cartons and sets them on the table. “I’d hate to be back in high school.”
I drop into the chair across from him and busy myself with eating. If I don’t speak, then I can’t lie to him about Jayden.
Closing my eyes, I lean back in my seat. “Damn, this is good.”
