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“Pfft.” She waves her hand. “I don’t follow sports.”
“Really? Not at all?” I can’t fathom this. I love all sports, but hockey is my favorite, of course.
“Nope. Not a single one.”
Now it makes more sense why she has no idea who I am. That’s also new for me, and it’s a welcome change. It’s nice to be anonymous, to meet someone and there’s no preconceived notions of what I’m like.
“What do you watch on television if you’re not watching sports?”
“This will sound weird, I’m sure, but I don’t watch much TV. I’ll binge an occasional Netflix show, but for the most part, I paint whenever I have free time.”
“What do you paint?”
“Whatever inspires me. Sometimes it’s people, sometimes it’s architecture. It varies depending on my mood or if I’ve seen something that interests me. The smallest thing can catch my eye and I’ll have to duplicate it on canvas.”
“I’d love to see some of your art sometime.”
She snorts.
“What?”
“That sounded like a bad pick-up line.”
I hold my hands up. “Hey, I legitimately meant it.”
“Well, I don’t share my art with anyone.”
“No one?”
“Very few.”
“Okay. Then I guess I’ll have to earn that privilege.”
Her eyes are filled with skepticism. “That would take more time than you probably have to give.”
“I’m not afraid to play the long game.” I wink. “But for now, we can just enjoy tonight.”
“That works for me,” she agrees.
The waitress shows up to deliver our waters, and with her is a waiter carrying a massive pizza. He sets it down on a stand beside our table. “The pan is very hot,” he warns as he places a single slice on plates for each of us.
“Thank you,” I say, dismissing him. I watch as Evie takes the first bite and chews. Her eyes close with a satisfied hum falling from her bow-shaped lips. When they open once more, she notices me watching.
She swallows. “What?”
“Just watching you enjoy your first bite. It’s an experience worth appreciating.”
“It’s heavenly.”
“Tastes more sinful to me.” I wink, biting off the end of a slice.
She takes a sip of water and blots her lips with a napkin. “I can’t believe I’ve lived in this area for my entire life and I’ve never been here.”
“It’s close to your work, so you can get it whenever you want.”
“Yeah, I don’t do takeout very often, but if I do, I’ll know where to come.”
We settle into silence as we both continue to devour the pizza. I eat three slices for each one Evie has. She takes small bites and chews slowly, as if she doesn’t want it to be over too quickly. But if she’s on a limited income and doesn’t get takeout often, she would want to make the most of it.
