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Then we have mornings like this one, where she’s eager to learn how to cook.
“Here you go.” I slide her omelet onto a plate.
“You make it seem easy.”
“You’ll get it.”
“Maybe I need to start with scrambled eggs.” She laughs.
I kiss her forehead. “Lesson tomorrow.”
“Thanks.”
I nod and return to the stove to make my own omelet. Ten minutes later, I’m sitting beside her while she’s finishing hers. We’ve been honest and open with each other since she returned from rehab, but I’m still nervous to ask her what I need to.
“It’s so good. I think you’re becoming a better cook,” she says.
“Well one of us has to be, otherwise we’d starve.”
Lilah knocks me with her shoulder and giggles. “Touché.”
Cutting into my omelet, I think I might just be getting better. “I wanted to talk to you about something.” I shift on the stool to face her. “Feel free to say no if it’s too much.”
“Okaaay…” Her hands clench into fists on her lap.
“I have to go to a movie opening next month. The same studio that’s doingThe Regulatoris doing this one, and I want you to be my date?”
You’d think I was a seventeen-year-old boy asking a girl to prom the way my heart is racing, and my palms are sweaty. Not that I know what a boy feels like in that situation. I never went.
“Of course I want to go with you.” She squeezes my wrist.
“We’d have to walk the red carpet. There’s a chance a reporter might ask you about rehab.”
She contemplates my words and inhales a deep breath. “That’s okay. I can’t avoid it forever.”
Lilah’s overdose and subsequent trip to rehab made headlines. I’m not sure she’s aware—she’d have no way of knowing unless she’s googled herself since she’s returned—and since she hasn’t asked, I haven’t offered the information. Who wants to hear their name was trashed all over gossip magazines? No one.
“Are you sure?” I cover her hand with mine. “I don’t want to push you to do something you’re not ready for. I can go stag.”
She places her hand on my cheek and runs it over my short beard. “If it’s too much beforehand or when we’re there, I’ll tell you. I can always slip out if I need to.”
I nod, and she places a soft kiss on my full lips. She smiles and pushes her plate away.
“You know, us showing up together is going to lead to some questions about the status of our relationship,” I add.
Lilah shrugs. “They can think what they want as long as we know what’s between us.”
“I agree, but we should probably decide how we’re going to approach the topic.”
She swivels in the stool to face me with a grin. “Do youwantto confirm our relationship to the press? What about Bernie’s plan with you and Adelaide?” She rolls her eyes.
“Fuck Bernie and his plan. He won’t be happy, but too bad. As for us, I wonder if we’re better to confirm it for the press rather than face months of speculation about what’s going on.”
Though we’ve spent a lot of time together in the weeks since she’s returned. We stick around here, other than the few times we’ve driven north to hike trails or to the pier. It’s no small wonder there have been no pictures of her going to meetings yet.
“They’re going to hound us either way, but it might be worse if they’re speculating rather than have confirmation,” she says.
“So, are we officially coming out to the press?” I can’t fight my smile, which spurs Lilah’s smile.
