Page 33 of Banter & Blushes

Joe cut me off with an exaggerated gesture, his hand splayed like he was imparting some kind of ancient wisdom. “Plans, Luca. Always with the plans. You know whatrealplans are? They’re for people who are scared to live.Spontaneity—that’s the key to romance. The key to love. The key to... whatever this thing is you’ve got going on with Becky.”

I didn’t like the way he was using the nickname I had in mind. It was as if he truly was ahead of whatever was happening between me and her.

“Spontaneity?” I repeated, eyebrows raised. “You’re literally the least spontaneous person I know. You have a calendar foreverything.”

He probably has one for all my whereabouts.

Joe waved his hands like he was shooing away my concerns. “Details, details. Look, all I’m saying is that you need to take a leap. If you’re feeling it,doit. You can’t let fear stop you from going after what you want. You don’t want to be sitting around in 10 years thinking, ‘Man, I should’ve asked her out when I had the chance.’ You know what you’ll regret? Not making a move. That’s what you’ll regret.”

There was a sting of truth in what he was saying, and it felt like a thorn digging into my side in that moment.

“Joe, I’m not going to... ask her out on a whim,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s not that simple. Plus, we already kind of… fell into getting drinks together. Let’s not push it.”

“Oh, trust me, it is,” he said, grinning like a man who had cracked the code of the universe. “You need abold move. Maybe, I don’t know, bring her a surprisedishat her place after drinks? Maybe something youknowwill blow her mind, like, I don’t know, a crazy fusion of two cuisines? Like... Italian-Mexican fusion? You know what I’m talking about. Just imagine—lasagna tacos.Boom. She won’t know what hit her.”

“Lasagna tacos?” I repeated, slightly aghast. “You want me to show up at her place with... lasagna tacos?”

“Exactly!” Joe said, smirking, knowing full well what he was doing to my mentality. “Think about it. She’ll be so impressed by your creativity. You won’t just be a chef. You’ll be agenius. And she’ll be soblown awayby the lasagna tacos that she won’t be able to resist you. It’ll bemagic. Romance.Gourmet love.”

I stood there, staring at him in disbelief, struggling to comprehend that he actually believed himself. How did we even end up as friends? It was a mystery I still couldn't solve. He was the last person I would’ve imagined sticking around this long, yet here we were. “Joe, that sounds like a recipe fordisaster—both in the kitchen and in my love life.Lasagna tacosare not the way to win a woman’s heart.”

“Fine,” he said, throwing his hands up in the air like I’d just rejected the most brilliant idea ever. “You’re being all practical and predictable. Maybe that’s your problem—no one ever accused you of beingspontaneous. You’ve got to do something bold.Surpriseher.”

I sighed, rubbing my temples. “I’m not trying to surprise her, Joe. I’m just trying not to make a fool of myself.”

“Well,” Joe said, winking, “that ship sailed a while ago, my friend.”

I groaned. “Great. So now I’ve got to make animpressivemove, but also notbe a total disaster, and meanwhile, I’m supposed to just... act like I’m not having a mini crisis about the fact that she’s probably overthinking about being older than me? Perfect.”

Joe slapped me on the back. “Hey, man, you’ve got this. Just keep doing your thing. And remember—lasagna tacos.”

I stared at him in utter disbelief. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.”

“Sure, sure,” he said, grinning like he’d won. “But when you show up at her place with yourfusion masterpiece, don’t forget who gave you the idea.”

I continued to stare at him, shaking my head. “I’m so screwed.”

Joe just laughed, patting me on the shoulder. “Nah, you’re gonna do great, man. Just be bold.Andmaybe skip the lasagna tacos.”

“Yeah,” I muttered under my breath. “I’ll stick to my actual skills.Thanks, Joe.”

WHEN BOLD MOVES GO NOT SO BOLD

LUCA

Ihaddone it.

I had taken Joe’s advice, which, in retrospect, felt like a mistake, but when I was in the moment? It seemedright. There I was, standing in front of Rebecca’s hotel room, clutching a container of—well, you guessed it—lasagna tacos. What was I thinking?

Okay, okay, maybe I’d let Joe’s enthusiasm get the best of me, but there was a tiny voice in my head (which was now screaming, “What are you doing?”) that told me I had to do something different, something bold. The lasagna tacoshadto be a bold move. Right? She definitely would never have seen it coming from me.

I could already picture Rebecca’s face—the surprised, impressed “wow, this is so crazy it might actually work” look. The one where her eyes widen and she says, “Luca, you're a genius.” I wassurethat would happen, right? I mean, if I didn’t fall on my face first from embarrassment at actually taking Joe’s advice.

After a brief conversation with the receptionist with only her first name in mind, we were able to figure out who I was inquiring about. That’s the thing about small towns, we all knew each other in some way, so the receptionist knew I wasn’t just some stranger asking questions.

I knocked on Rebecca’s hotel door and tried not to look too much like I was holding a plate of Italian-Mexican fusion disaster which I might name after Joe later, just to rub it in his face.

Her voice came through the door. “Yes?”

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