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Grant laughed and reached for the second eel roll, dipping it in the soy sauce mixture as if he ate sushi all the time. “What about you, Brenna, tell me about your family?”
I told him all about Jessie May. “She’s two years younger than me, but because she married her high school sweetheart and is well on her way to a brood of children, she thinks she’s a decade wiser than I am.” She might be right, but that was a secret between me and god. “We’re close though. She’s probably my best friend.”
“She doesn’t live in Pilgrim?”
I blinked, confused. “I’m not from Pilgrim either. She lives in Louisiana, just outside Baton Rouge.”
“So you’re from Louisiana. Do they have cowgirls in Louisiana?” Before I could answer, he held up another roll, this one with tiny orange balls in the center.
“What is that?” It was fishy as hell and I needed more sake to fortify myself.
“It’s salmon. You’ll like it. I promise.” He dipped it in soy sauce and brought it back to my lips.
I wasn’t sure if I would like it as much as I liked the attention Grant lavished on me, taking care to feed me each piece like it mattered to him that I liked the food. But I accepted the roll and chewed slowly again, but this time it was due to the weird texture of the balls popping in my mouth. “Weird. But not as revoltin’ as I thought it would be.”
He laughed. “Not exactly the compliment I was hoping for, but it’s a start.”
“Not like any salmon I ever had.”
“Its salmon wrapped around salmon roe. Fish eggs.”
“Oh, gross!” I reached for the sake again and stopped myself, reaching for the glass of water instead. “Why in the hell do people eat fish eggs?”
“They don’t have fish eggs in Louisiana?”
“I’m from Texas!”
“Ah, good to know. Ready for another one? This one is just tuna, I promise.”
Tuna. I could do tuna. I hoped. “Oh fine.”
“Where in Texas are you from?”
“A small town near the border. Our parents retired and up and moved to Florida, so I haven’t been back in years, but I’m a Texas girl.” The tuna roll was my favorite with the creamy avocado mayo that had something spicy in it.
“I knew you were a real-life cowgirl. It’s the accent. And the hair. And the tight jeans.”
“You have a thing for cowgirls, Grant?”
“Never had before,” he said and dipped the second tuna roll before he held it up to my lips. “But I definitely have a thing for one particular cowgirl.”
Holy hell. “Are you for real?”
He blinked at the question. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. You seem too good to be true, so I’m asking, are you for real? Do you mean what you say?”
“Always.” He held up another roll and I knew what it was immediately.
“Nope. Those suckers are too smart to eat, he’ll probably find a way to wiggle out of my mouth while I sleep.” He shrugged and ate the octopus pieces. “You know they can open jars, right? Jars, Grant!”
He shrugged. “I know that now, which kind of makes it hard to enjoy the second one.” But he did, popping it in his mouth like candy. “So, what’s the verdict on second chance sushi?”
I thought about my answer carefully as he stole a tempura asparagus from my plate, crunching wildly. “Much better the second time around. The company too.” I still wasn’t sure if Grant was for real, he was too handsome and charming to also be a guy who cared about making sure his date enjoyed herself, both in and out of the sack.
“Cheers, then. To another successful date.”
It was a good date, a damn good date. “Cheers.”
We drove to the river to walk after dinner, enjoying the stars twinkling in the sky and the slow slog of the water to our left. “There’s a place up ahead that has the best fried ice cream I’ve ever tasted. Want to share some fried ice cream balls with me?”
More food? “Absolutely. As long as you know that there’s no way I’m getting naked for anyone after all this food.” I could already feel my stomach poking out more than I would like, and I sent up a silent thanks to Eva who’d encouraged me to go with a flowing top.
Grant stopped walking and turned to face me, his moonlit face relaxed into a smile as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “That’s okay, I’ll just have to get you naked another night.”
Hot damn! I was pretty sure that by the time he dropped me off at home and kissed me senseless, I had a big ol’ crush on Grant.
Grant
“It’s about damn time you guys showed up.” I was on my third cup of coffee by the time Miles and Liam made it for our meeting at Bread Box.
