Page 244 of Break Away
“You don’t know what I’m thinking.”
“I know your face.”
I leaned toward the hostess. “No Further Questions.”
The hostess wrote it down without blinking. “Strong. Legal. Emotionally unavailable. I like it.”
Easton stared at the ceiling.
I patted his chest. “This is our brand now.”
“Our brand was supposed to be dinner.”
“Our brand is transportation failure and cross-examination.”
We found a small high-top near the edge of the room, close enough to hear the host but tucked into a corner where Easton could sit with his back to the wall and one knee hooked beside mine. He ordered loaded fries, mozzarella sticks, sliders, and water like a man trying to salvage the evening with protein.
I ordered a drink called The Red Flag because I had respect for themed opportunities.
The bartender slid Easton’s water toward him, and I pointed to it. “No alcohol?”
He shot me a dry look. “Pending assault charges make a man humble.”
“That sounds fake.”
“Deeply fake. I want whiskey.”
I leaned against his shoulder. “Proud of you.”
He went still for half a second.
Then he turned his head, his mouth close to my ear. “Don’t say that unless you want me pathetic.”
My stomach flipped.
“You’re always a little pathetic for me,” I said.
He smiled into his water. “Only publicly now.”
The trivia host tapped the microphone. “All right, sinners and scholars, round one is Bad Decisions in History. If you don’t know the answer, write something funny. I give pity points when my divorce medication is working.”
I settled onto my stool and picked up the pencil. “We’re winning.”
Easton took the pencil from me. “I’m writing.”
“Why?”
“Your handwriting looks like a ransom note with legal training.”
“My handwriting has personality.”
“It has motive.”
I let him write because watching his big hand wrap around a tiny pencil should not have done anything for me, but unfortunately, I was weak and he had forearms.
The host read the first question. “In ancient Rome, wealthy citizens sometimes used what deeply unfortunate substance to whiten their teeth?”
Easton wrote immediately.
