Page 112 of Mud, Love, and Chemistry

“Sure, wine not?” I instantly cringe as the words leave my mouth. “Sorry, that was terrible.”

He chuckles. “I wouldn’t say terrible, but it wasn’t grape.”

His pun eases the pain of my own. “Thanks.”

“Let’s eat,” Sam says, holding up his fork.

We dig in and, as usual, the food is delicious. Both of us are lost in flavor heaven, not saying a word as we take bite after bite of Italian bliss. I know Sam feels the way I do, because I hear his soft groans of delight.

After a few minutes, he wipes his mouth with his napkin, and picks up his glass. “This is fucking great.”

I shake my head. “Eloquent way to put it.”

“Well, what would you say, then?”

“Probably something like ‘this is delicious.’” I give him a pointed look. “Something with less ‘fucks’ in it.”

Sam laughs. “So, you don’t give a fuck?”

“Only when it counts,” I say, and lift my wineglass to my lips.

He stares at me for a moment before clearing his throat. “Okay, give me another debate topic.”

“What?”

“We never found anything to argue about, remember? I’m still wondering about my snark.”

“All right, let me think.” While I do, I sip my wine. I need something that will undoubtedly end in an argument. Something with a wide variety of answers so we couldn’t possibly agree. As I reach my decision, I finish off my glass and set it on the table. “Okay, favorite Disney movie.”

“Ooh, that’s a good one.” Sam crinkles his forehead as he pops open our bottle of Chianti and fills my glass. “Are we talking original animation, or Pixar?”

“Either or.”

He thinks for a good while, finishing his Chardonnay with a deep sigh. “You’re going to laugh.”

“I promise I won’t,” I say, making an “X” over my heart.

“The Princess and the Frog.”

My breath catches in my throat. Did I hear him right? All my readied arguments fall to the floor in pieces, as I stare at my recent enemy who just claimed my favorite Disney movie as his own.

“Before you say anything, let me make my points.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I watched it a lot with my little sister. She loved it from the first time she saw it, so it was always on whenever she was home. I’ve seen it so many times, I know all the songs by heart.”

I bite down on my lower lip, unsure of whether I want him to continue or not. So, I grab my wineglass and let the bold Chianti do its magic on my nerves.

“The more I watched it, though, the more I came to really love the story.” Sam watches his fork as he twirls it in his side of spaghetti. “I mean, Tiana and Naveen didn’t start off on good terms. They were two opposites who came from different worlds so at the end, you knew they really were in love because they had seen each other’s truest sides. They had to work for it, you know?”

When he lifts his gaze from his food, his vulnerability astounds me. There were no lies in what he said. It was the honest truth, and a beautiful way to view my favorite movie.

He groans, leaning back in his chair and picking up his wine. “Go ahead, tear me to shreds with your argument.”

I feign a frustrated sigh. “I’d love to, but I can’t.”

“What? Why?”

“Because you’ve given me another reason to love my favorite Disney movie.”

A smile slowly spreads across his lips, like my words sink in, and his face lights up. “Yeah?”

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