Page 64 of Here We Go Again

She smiles. “Thank you. That mattress is comfortable enough that I’m genuinely tempted. But I’ll need a job too.”

“Could you just pick up another contract in Atlanta?” I ask as I reach for the last hushpuppy. “I mean, for Mia, obviously,” I add, sensing I might sound a little overeager. “So she and Aaron have more time to get to know each other?”

“I mean, maybe,” Becca says. “But the pay is so much better in California. Without free housing, staying in Georgia might not be the wisest choice. Also, if you eat the last hushpuppy, I may never speak to you again.”

I freeze seconds before the hushpuppy hits my mouth and grin. “This hushpuppy?” I ask, holding it up. I move it a little closer to my lips.

“You wouldn’t,” she whispers.

I definitely wouldn’t. I’d give this woman anything she wants. The last hushpuppy is easy. But I do like teasing her, so I move it a hair closer, watching her eyes widen the whole time.

“They are good, aren’t they?” I say. “Something about the bite of the jalapeño. And the hot honey Reba drizzles over the top. Makes them sweet and spicy.”

The flash in Becca’s eyes tells me she’s on to me, but I’m still surprised when she stands and leans over the table, eating the hushpuppy right out of my hand. Her lips brush against my fingers, her face only inches from mine, and suddenly, I can’t breathe. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to breathe again.

“You’re right,” Becca says as she pulls back and sits down again. “Sweet and spicy.”

My fingers are still tingling from where her lips brushed against them, and I curl my hand into a fist, pressing it against the top of my thigh in an attempt to regain my composure. She’ll be my undoing if this keeps up.

“Little thief,” I say. “You’re lucky I like you so much. There were six in that basket, and I only ate two, which means you just ate my last hushpuppy.”

“I did not.”

“You totally did,” I say, and her eyes widen like she’s thinking back.

“Did I? Oh my gosh. I did!” She bites her bottom lip and offers me an apologetic smile, but it looks more like a smirk, so I don’t think she’s actually sorry. She nudges her still half-full basket of shrimp toward me. “Here. You can help me finish these. I’ll never eat them all.”

I nudge the basket back. “Not until you’re sure you’re finished.”

She picks up one last shrimp. “I’m basically there. I’m too full of hushpuppies. Besides, I’m saving room for the papaya paradise you promised me.”

“You won’t be sorry about that.” I reach for her leftover shrimp. “It’s even better than the hushpuppies. So, would you and Mia ever break up the band?” I ask, steering us back to our earlier conversation. “If one of you wanted to keep traveling and the other didn’t?”

“If we had to,” Becca says. “Though neither of us wants to travel forever. I’m only doing it to pay down my student loans. Another eighteen months, and I’ll be ready to go back to grad school.”

“Grad school,” I say. “That’s the plan?”

She nods. “If I’m a nurse practitioner, I can assist with surgeries and handle pre- and post-op rounds. I love what I do, but I don’t get a lot of patient interaction as a scrub nurse.”

“Assist with surgeries,” I say. “So like, you’re the one holding the scalpel?”

“I could be,” she says. “Obviously only with a surgeon present, but yeah. That’s the goal.”

“I love that,” I say. “Have you applied to any programs yet?”

“Not yet. I need a little more time to pay down my student loans before I take out more debt.”

I finish off the last of her shrimp. “Okay, Miss Full Scholarship. You can’t have that much student debt.”

She chokes out an uncomfortable laugh, and something shifts in her demeanor. She reaches for her water and takes a long drink, but when she puts down the cup, she doesn’t make eye contact.

I clearly said something wrong, but what?

“Hey,” I say gently, and she begrudgingly lifts her gaze to mine. “What just happened? What did I say?”

She quickly shakes her head. “You didn’t say anything. Don’t worry about it.”

I think back over our conversation.