Page 17 of Arrested By My Mate

“Something light. I’d kill for a smoothie right now.”

“I can do that. What kind?”

“Strawberry? I’m not that picky.”

“Is that what you usually have for breakfast?” He asks, and I nod.

“Yeah, my mom was obsessed with fruit. She always had to have a smoothie or a smoothie bowl every morning, and I always joined her.”

I smile wistfully as I think about our quiet mornings together.

“She loved acai bowls too. Or if we could find them, she’d get papayas and cut up some strawberries, throw some blueberries and granola in, and then cover it with whipped cream. She called it her papaya passion,” I say with a laugh.

“You miss her.”

It’s a statement, not a question, but I still answer.

“So much. She was all that I had. Now…”

“I’m sorry, Nori.”

My throat feels like it’s on fire as I try to hold back the tears, so I just nod.

“I’ll be right back.”

He heads out, and I take a few moments to compose myself. Normally, I hate talking about my mom. After she died, I just kind of shut down, but with Tucker, remembering her was actually nice. Sure, it made me sad, but it also made me smile as I remembered all of the small details about her and our life together.

I stand, stretching, and Tucker comes rushing back in, his arms full of bags and two smoothies.

“Hold on, and I’ll let you out. We can eat at my desk,” he says as he sets everything down.

I raise an eyebrow but don’t comment as he heads over and unlocks my cell.

“I got you strawberries and cream,” he says, passing me one of the smoothies. “Or there’s a kiwi strawberry one here, too.”

“Thanks.”

He nods, digging around in the plastic bags on his desk.

“Then there’s these,” he says, holding up three papayas.

I blink at the fruit and then to the nervous look on his face. I’m not sure what to say or how I’m feeling right now, and I search for the words to explain that.

Instead, what ends up coming out is, “they’re not ripe.”

He deflates instantly, and I feel guilty.

“Ripe ones won’t be this green. And they’ll be softer,” I explain. “But thank you. That was really sweet of you.”

“Well, we can eat them in a few days when they’re ripe, then?”

“Yeah.”

There’s a moment that passes between us, and I can tell that we’re both wondering if I’ll still be here in a few days when the papayas are good to eat.

We both sit down, and he grabs his own smoothie, taking a sip.

“Is Nori a family name?” He asks me, and I shake my head.

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