Page 65 of Worth Fighting For

“You didn’t even unpack?” Shang gapes at me. “Wow. You, my love, are an agent of chaos.”

The wordsmy lovehang in the air between us like a neon sign. I’m pretty sure my entire face is beet red, my heart swelling like it’s about to spill out through the gaps in my rib cage.Don’t make it a thing. It’s just a saying.

The food arrives then, breaking the delicious tension. I’m starving, so I pick up my sandwich and take a giant bite. Shang watches with amusement as I chew. I don’t want to talk with my mouth so full, so I raise my eyebrows at him to say:What?

“Nothing, I’ve just never seen anyone take such a big bite before. It’s kind of impressive.”

I narrow my eyes, as though to say:Are you judging me?

“I’m not judging.”

I roll my eyes. Totally judging.

“I swear I’m not.”

I finally swallow, then have to drink some water to stop myself from getting hiccups. “I like taking big bites.”

“Evidently.”

“Okay, Judgey McJudgerson, scientific studies show that there is an actual biological reason why we like taking big bites. It hits all of the pleasure sensors in our mouths, and the feeling of swallowing a huge bite also triggers a feeling of pleasure.” I falter a little as I realize that, once again, the words I’m saying are coming out really suggestive. I quickly add: “Also, when our ancestors were hunter-gatherers, they had to eat fast whenever they made a kill.”

“I don’t know, this all sounds like pseudoscience to me.”

I push my plate to him. “Try it. Take a giant bite out of my sandwich.” Damn it, did that sound suggestive, too, or do I just have a perverted mind when it comes to Shang?

He picks up my sandwich and does so. He chews slowly as I watch with one eyebrow raised.

“God, can you eat any slower?” I say.

Shang widens his eyes, holds up a finger, and keeps chewing. When he finally swallows, he breathes a sigh of relief. “Okay, that was a choking hazard.”

“But was it good?”

“Well, yeah, you’re right that there’s something enjoyable about that, but look at this, your sandwich is half gone in two bites.”

“Yup. Enjoyable and efficient.”

Shang laughs and shakes his head. “So you finish all your food in under five bites?”

“Well, some foods are more enjoyable when I take smaller bites. Like vegetables, meats, desserts. It’s really only the carbs that I just want to stuff into my face. Rice, noodles, sandwiches.” I take another humongous bite and Shang grins as he takes a sensible bite of his crepe cake.

“So should we work back at your office?” Shang says.

I quickly shake my head. I chew a lot longer than necessary so I have time to think. When I finally swallow, I say, “How about your office?”

“My office? My office is a really small space in a warehouse where we store and distribute the whiskeys. I don’t think it’s a very nice environment. What’s wrong with your office?”

“It’s getting fumigated.” As soon as I say it, I wonder if offices actually get fumigated. Why the hell did I say that?

“Oh.” A frown creases Shang’s forehead. “You guys have an infestation?”

“Yep. Of infests. I mean insects. Crickets? No. I mean the other one, the one that eats wood.”

“Termites? Jeez. Okay.” Shang takes a sip of his drink. “Weird, though, it looked like the space was fully functional just now.”

“Oh, yeah. The fumigation will start tonight, so we’ll be out of action for a couple days.”

“Right. So where should we go to do the work, then?” Shang says.

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