Page 35 of So This Is Love

He takes my coat and hangs it on a hook by the door and I toe off my boots leaving them there as well.

“The food just got here. Make yourself at home, I’m gonna go grab it.”

I opt for a seat on one of the stools at the island in the kitchen and it’s only a few minutes before Bryce comes back holding a bag with the food. I playfully snatch the paper bag from Bryce and do a little happy dance as I set it down in front of me on the counter. I rip open the bag, yanking through the staples that held it together, eager to get to the food causing the delicious smells permeating the kitchen.

“You love food a lot for someone who’s always forgetting to eat,” Bryce says with an amused smile on his face.

“Oh shut up,” I reply. “I’m busy and then sometimes I forget, but it’s not all the time.”

I pull all the containers out of the bag and separate them between us. We both take the lids off the containers and open our chopsticks, pulling them apart with the satisfying ‘snap’.

“So you had more than one actual meal today?”

I had breakfast, but I know my iced coffee and croissant lunch won’t fly with him so I opt for deflection. “I thought you were trying to cheer me up, not talk shit about my food habits.”

“The small smile you just gave let’s me know that the shit talkingiswhat’s cheering you up,” Bryce replies.

I glare at him but Bryce gives me a smile in return, one that brings out the dimples in his cheeks and hits me right in the panties.

I look away, busying myself with my sushi to avoid the thoughts in my head that I shouldn’t be having about myfriend. I pick up a piece of my spicy tuna roll, dunk it in soy sauce and pop it into my mouth.

“Anyway,” I say after I finish chewing. “How was your day? We didn’t really talk about you at all earlier.”

“Not bad, was in meetings with my manager, Morgan, damn near all day. She’s trying to get me to agree to perform. My boy Dez dropped an album a few months ago, and now he’s about to start his tour. He wants me to come out as a special guest for some of his stops on the east coast and perform some of the collabs we did early in my career.”

“You don’t want to do it?”

“Nah, it’s not that really,” Bryce says. “Performing is amazing, there’s no other experience like it and Dez is cool. He’s part of the reason I have the success I have now. He took a chance on a nobody and let me collab on a song and it went crazy. And being on stage with him is always a good time. I guess I always thought that when I performed again it would be for a new project but now it just feels …”

“Like a step back?” I offer when Bryce lets the end of his sentence fall.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Maybe it is a step back, but that doesn’t have to mean the past three years meant nothing. You're not the same person youwere then, the previous version of you couldn’t have known what you’d want now. It’s okay to change your mind.”

Bryce picks up his last piece of sushi, putting it in his mouth and chewing before he speaks again. “I know, I just don’t know if I want to.”

“How long do you have to make your decision?”

“A week. The tour starts next month and I’d need to do some rehearsals.”

“Whatever you choose will be the right decision, just follow your gut.”

I finish off the last of my food and stand to clear off the counter, taking both of our trash and putting it in the nearby trash can.

“Your friend was onto something with that sushi place, that was really good.”

“Yeah I might have to add it to my takeout rotation,” Bryce replies.

He walks over to one of his cabinets and takes out a brand new package of oreos and sets them down on the counter next to me.

“C’mon let’s go watch your show.”

“You bought me Oreos?” I ask, genuinely surprised.

“Isn’t that what you’re always eating while you watch the show?”

“Yeahhh,” I say, drawing out the word.

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