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He laughed. “Really now? I hope you aren’t pulling my leg.”
“Hey I’m getting free dinner, might as well make you feel happy cooking for me.”
“You’re washing the dishes.”
She laughed, a loud burst that sounded fun to listen to. “I don’t mind. Still cheaper than dinner out.”
“I have dessert too.”
“Please don’t tell me you make a mean cake,” she said. Then he’d be too ideal. Which shouldn’t happen.
“I bought it, it’s my mum that makes it.”
“I like it when you talk in a British accent.”
“I get confused sometimes. So my accent sounds too fake to be American or too fake to be British.”
“I still like it,” she said, then realized she had said it so calmly it was as if she had told him she loved him. She looked down and concentrated on her pasta.
“Can I ask you something?”
“What?”
“Have you ever considered marriage?”
He shook his head. “I don’t believe in divorce. If you can’t work things out with simple things, better avoid marriage.”
“Did your parents get divorced?”
“On the contrary,” he replied, “they were together for twenty-five years. Which is why I don’t believe in divorce.”
“But your previous relationships were short?”
“No, my dating was short. All my relationships lasted more than six months. So that’s where the tabloids get it wrong. I’m only a playboy when I’m single.”
“You’re single now.”
“Does it bother you?”
She was quiet for a while. “I’m confused about it.”
He shook his head. “Careful now.”
“Yeah, I’m being careful.” She finished her pasta and sipped a bit of wine. “What’s your favorite color?”
He burst out chuckling. “Are you kidding me? Have we really come to this?”
“Just answer the question. You said I had to try,” she insisted.
“All right, I like midnight blue.”
“That’s pretty specific.”
“Would you like to stay on the couch? I hope you don’t mind me drinking,” he said.
“I don’t.”
They didn’t sit too close to each other. They were a throw pillow distance away from touching. It was as if he didn’t want to touch her tonight. This was something new to their arrangement. There was no television screen in front of the couch, which was surprising. They instead had a view of the expanse of the Malibu coast. Star shone in the sky as the waves softly hit the sand from below.
