Page 12 of Love Bites
He turned reluctantly to their server and ordered only one taco.
“That’s it?” She eyed his taco once it was handed to him. “Well, thanks for making me feel fat.” She narrowed her eyes.
Ignacio’s eyes widened. He hadn’t thought of how it would make her feel to choose only one. But he couldn’t tell her if he ate more, it would make him very sick. Surely, one wouldn’t hurt him but...
Katheryn burst out laughing. “You should see your face!” she joked. “It’s priceless.”
Ignacio’s lip quirked to the side. She was just joking!
“You don’t mind my eating less than you?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Eat what you want and I’ll eat what I want.”
She turned to the table. “So, what am I supposed to put on this?” she asked, looking at the selections before her.
Ignacio turned to the selections. He wasn’t exactly sure about it himself. A quick glance at the other customers had him pouring a good amount of onion, cilantro and red salsa over his food. Katheryn saw and did the same, then they moved off to the side to eat in peace.
Katheryn took a bite of her taco and moaned pleasurably, savoring the food in her mouth. He watched her in fascination.
“Hmm. Oh, yeah, this is good,” Katheryn said, her mouth still full. He smiled then she gestured at his plate. “Aren’t you going to eat yours?”
“I’d rather watch you eat. The noises you make sound as if you’re making love to your taco.”
Katheryn sent him a glare that had him throwing back his head with laughter.
“Okay, Mister Sarcasm, you take a bite so that I can make fun of you, too.” She gestured animatedly at his taco. “Go on, then.”
Ignacio swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. He had never eaten human food, but he knew if he did, it would make him sick. Surely one taste wouldn’t hurt? He could eat one bite of human food for the night, and if she tried to get him to eat more than that, he could claim he was diabetic or had some other silly human impediment.
He brought the taco to his lips and took a bite. There was no explosion of wonderful flavor on his tongue, not like what happened when he drank blood. He usually felt fireworks of flavors swirl through his mouth; a kaleidoscope of delicious sensations. Now, as he chewed this human food, well, he might as well have been eating dirt. He forced himself to swallow.
Katheryn suddenly laughed, loud and pleasant as a ringing bell. “You look like you’re eating dog shit!”
I might as well be.Ignacio thought as the food descended into his stomach, giving him automatic nausea.
“Very funny.” He glared at her, but she laughed again, and it transformed her face entirely, making her all the more beautiful.
“I know I am,” shehumph-ed goodheartedly and continued eating. Ignacio did the same; he forced each bite into his mouth and down his throat until the very last of it was finished.
By the end of it, he was sweating as if he had run miles. He swiped at his temples. “Do you want more?” he asked Katheryn as soon as she finished.
“I want to try something else. Come on!”
She grabbed ahold of his arm and pulled him to another stand. This one was smaller than the last and had only a large woven basket on a table, the inside filled with colorful sweet bread.
“That looks good,” Katheryn commented.
“It is,” Ignacio said, and the lie tasted nasty on his lips. His mother ate the sweet bread every morning, and she loved it, but it didn’t look appetizing to him. “Choose the one you want.”
Ignacio paid while Katheryn chose two breads from the pile. She turned to hand one to him.
“Oh, no thank you.” He took a step back, his hands up in surrender.
She frowned. “Well, why not?”
She held her hand out, practically thrusting it onto him. He opened his mouth to tell her that he had diabetes and couldn’t eat too much, but she was already bounding up and down, so vibrant and full of energy.
“What’s that?” she asked, pointing to a large pitcher filled with milky white liquid on the same table.
