Page 24 of Branded

“Why here? I mean, it’s not exactly a place that people flock to. There’s usually a reason. It’s a small area.”

The truth isn’t exactly first date conversation, so I settle for telling him the CliffsNotes version.

“I was living in Southern California for a while. When I was younger I always wanted to live there, so when I was old enough, I left home and moved there for college. After a while, a change was needed so I looked for somewhere new and easy. So… I googled.”

“You googled somewhere and just decided to move here? Sunset Valley, of all places?”

“I know it sounds crazy,”

“No, not crazy, just surprising is all.”

“It’s paid off so far,” I tell him, before flashing him a smile. “What about you? Have you always lived here?”

“My whole life.” He adds the salmon, avocado, and cucumber to his rice and begins to carefully and slowly roll his sushi. “A tried and true, born and raised Sunnyvillian. Where were you from before you came to California?”

“Tennessee. Southern girl to my core, but now I have that little bit of Cali flair.” My cheeks redden almost immediately. “I can’t believe I just said that.”

“I thought it was adorable,” he nudges me a bit, “I like Southern girls with Cali flair.”

After I’ve finished rolling my sushi, I dab my fingertips in the small bowl of water and seal the edges of the nori.

“You never wanted to escape the small-town lifestyle?” I ask.

“Never.”

His answer is simple and to the point, leaving no room for questions regarding it.

“I envy that actually; the contentedness with where you are.”

I slice through my roll, making individual pieces. I finish and glance over at him, catching him just staring at me. “What?”

He blinks quickly, like I’ve snapped him out of a thought. “You’re very good at this.”

“It’s my favorite food.”

“Lucky guess on my part then, huh?”

“I don’t know. You are showing stalker tendencies. Maybe you knew.” I stick my tongue out then shriek a little when he dips his finger into the water bowl and flicks it at me. I’ve missed being playful like this. It’s my favorite part of getting to know someone.

We continue to prepare our meal, sharing easy, fun conversation and I’m genuinely enjoying myself.

Just as I’m finishing rolling my second maki roll, an older gentleman walks by and shares a brief conversation with Issac, and soon, I’m being introduced to the chief of the fire department.

Seeing this interaction play out makes my chest tight. The mutual respect between the two is something I truly appreciate. I’ve spent so much time vilifying firefighters in my own head that seeing such admiration and comradery is nice.

“Sorry about that,” Isaac apologizes when they head to their table. “Chief could talk all day long.”

“You don’t have to apologize. He seems like a lovely man.” I take a sip from my glass. ““Did you always want to be a fireman?”

Isaac

She’s asking questions about my job. That’s a good sign, right? Because I really fucking like her, even more so now that I’ve spent some time with her like this.

Don’t fuck this up, Black.

“I did, yeah. I like to help people.”

“A bit of a hero complex?”

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