AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My attention dropped to her lips, to the way she popped the p in pleasure.
“This smells like nothing,” she said with a disapproving glare at the plate and a sad shake of her head. “Tell me you’re intrigued, that you want to taste the aroma-less booger on your plate, and I’ll shut my trap and pretend I like it.”
“I’m intrigued,” I said. “By you.”
“So is that a no on eating the booger?” She chuckled. “I say we make a run for it. I’ve changed my mind. I’m all for the dash option now. I mean, we haven’t even taken a bite, so it’s not really breaking the rules if we run for it. This is not how we spend our first bubble night in Epiphany.”
“Then how do we do that?” I asked.
“I’ll show you.” She offered me her hand. I took it, and we ran.
I didn’t tell her I’d paid in advance for the meal. It would only hamper her fun, and that was the last thing I wanted to do.
We went through the city against the flow of foot traffic, pushing through and holding tight to each other’s hands.
We stopped on a corner only a few blocks away in an area I’d never been to, one filled with factories and classic charm.
Morgan pointed at a colorful food truck parked on the corner.“Thatis food.”
I walked up to the window, where a man with a friendly face and arms covered in tattoos waited.
“Hi,” I said. “Can we get one of everything on the menu?”
“You’ve got it,” the man said.
Morgan shot me a wide-eyed look. “That’s too much for two people to eat.”
“I need to know what food tastes like,” I told her. “I’m told I’ve never tasted it.”
She chuckled and dug through her purse.
“My treat,” I said.
Her shoulders tensed. She dropped her hand back to her side. She said, “Rule number one.”
I paid for the food and we found a spot to sit in the grass between a cluster of trees to enjoy our bounty. I laid down my jacket between us to use as a picnic blanket.
“Which one should we try first?” she asked. “Ooh, the chicken tinga taco. That’s my favorite.” She unrolled one of the foil logs and offered it to me.
A mound of marinated, shredded chicken sat inside a corn tortilla, topped with crumbled white cheese and sliced radishes. I took a bite.
A blend of tangy and smoky flavors danced on my tongue. A pleasant touch of heat followed and left a slight tingle in the back of my throat.
“Tell me that isn’t the best bite you’ve ever put in your mouth,” Morgan said.
“I thought that honor was reserved for blueberry syrup.”
She playfully bumped my arm with her shoulder. “Ah, well see, syrup doesn’t qualify as a bite. That’s a whole other category. It’s the best sticky condiment.”
I chuckled. “You have an entire best of Epiphany’s foods list worked out, then?”
“Uh, yeah. Of course I do. Of course I’m always open to updating the list when I should, like after you remember who sells the best pizza ever, since you’re sure it’s not the carnival.”
“I’ll let you know when I do.”
I offered her the rest of the taco and opened another, this one markedbaja fish.
A spiced mayo criss-crossed a mountain of purple-red slaw and batter-coated chunks. I took a bite. Mild, crispy cod, zesty pickled onions, crunchy slaw, and a sweet and spicy bite to the sauce—delicious.
