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“Ha!” Candy gestured dismissively. “Thank you, but I don’t really do the distraction thing that much.”
“No?” He clasped his hands on the table, eyes engulfing her. “You’re doing it right now.”
Her mouth hung open in dopey surprise, thrills shooting through her. Sometimes when men flirted she felt cornered and defensive, like with Ralph. But not this time. Not at all.
She just hoped his attentiveness wasn’t primarily due to her bra’s aerodynamic expertise. She’d like to think he had more depth than that, and that she had more appeal than enhanced cleavage.
“Hi there, can I get you something? Another drink?”
Justin turned to the waitress, leaving Candy alone in her hormonal muddle. “We’ll have two more margaritas, thanks.”
“Right away.” She collected their plates and empty glasses.
“How was everything?”
“Fine. Delicious.” He held his polite smile until she was out of range, then leaned forward confidentially. “What would happen if you really told her how everything was? Life, school, job, love life, town, country, planet…”
Candy giggled, buzzing nicely on tequila, glad the moment of intensity that had hijacked her cool was over. The flirting that practically knocked her over could merely be a reflexive habit with him, as it was with plenty of men. One thing about Chuck, he never said anything he didn’t mean, but that trait was rare, she knew.
“Where were we?” He put his forearms back on the table.
“I think I was complimenting you.”
“Outrageously. But you also asked about my hobbies.”
“Right.” He gestured a go-ahead. “Tell all.”
“I paint some, I design and sew clothes and costumes, I love watching movies, hanging out with friends, skiing downhill and cross-country, going dancing, out to eat, comedy clubs, concerts, jazz clubs…what is so funny?”
“A couch potato, huh?”
“Oh.” She pursed her lips. “I love staying home, too. I mean that’s what I used to do most nights when Chuck and I were together.”
“Why, with all those things you enjoy?”
Hmm. How could she explain how she and Chuck completed each other? She hadn’t needed to be out doing something every night.
“I guess maybe I started to enjoy those things more after we broke up.” That wasn’t right. She had indulged her hobbies in college, too, before she and Chuck started dating. The truth was she’d thrown herself back into frenetic activity after the breakup because if she stayed home she’d have gone completely out of her mind missing him.
“I get it. He was the couch potato.”
“No, no, we did plenty of stuff together. Parties, out to eat, out dancing.” She usually had to coax Chuck to go anywhere, but he always did because he knew it would make her happy.
And since staying home made him happy, that was okay with her, too. “It’s just that after he left, I was… I don’t know, it’s complicated.”
“Here you go.” The waitress put down their second drinks.
“I’ll bring your food out right away.”
“Thanks.” Justin clinked glasses with Candy. “Here’s to surviving breakups in whatever way works.”
She nodded, oddly moved. He understood what she felt, and also got that she didn’t want to talk it through any further.
“What do you do when you’re not writing?”
“Ah.” He put his drink down, rubbed his hands together.
“That’s easy. I surf, hang out at the beach with friends, sit in the sun and read, play with my band at a local park…”
Her uneasiness dissolved into laughter. “Uh-oh.”
“Time for some new hobbies, ya think?” He frowned off into space. “I’ve shivered a lot, that’s been fun.”
“You’ll be native before you know it.” She smiled sym-pathetically. “It takes time to put down roots in a new city.
I had no problem in college, but that extra year in Stevens Point, after most of my friends had graduated, with Chuck still studying, I felt cut adrift. It was great to come back home.”
“Tell me.” He leaned forward again; on cue, her insides went a little nuts. “What city would you live in if the world was your oyster?”
