Page 111 of Phishing for Love
We watch the rain for a while and listen to the wind howling through the trees while I absorb his words and the world he moves in.
After a while, he stands and stretches. “You hungry?”
“I am, actually.”
We head back inside. He heats up the curry while I take out the salad my mom and I made. He locates a bottle of red and pours himself a glass. Knowing I’ll be driving later, I ask for only half a glass. We plate up and eat at the dining room table, the conversation light and easy.
Toward the end of the meal, I spot his laptop on the dining room server. He must have moved it there so we could eat.
“Were you working when I arrived?”
“Yes.”
“You often work weekends?” I ask.
“Most of the time.”
“Hmm.”
His brows draw together. “Sounds like a fairly judgmental ‘hmm.’”
“No judgment,” I reply, when in actual fact I should don a robe.
“Hmm,” he retaliates, in much the same tone I used.
I take a sip of my wine, savoring it. I enjoy Playful Aaron.
“Looks like the storm’s easing,” he says casually.
“Is that a hint?”
One corner of his mouth goes up. “No.”
Looking at his laptop again, an ingenious idea pops into my head. “I bet I could guess your password.”
His look is confident. “Never.”
“I’m sure I could,” I lie.
“Iknowyou couldn’t.”
“Well,” I say, all coy, “I’m going to try to crack it.” And then I reveal my hand. “Of course, I need to ask you some questions.”
His entire body stills, and I have to fight my grin. He no doubt hears the echo of his own words in mine.
“It seems only fair,” I point out. “Since you asked me personal questions in order to guess my password.”
He sips his wine, clearly stalling. “All right,” he agrees, the words dragging out of him. “In the interest of fairness, you can ask your questions.” He cracks his neck, like he’s preparing to enter a boxing ring.
So as not to scare him off, I start easy, beginning with the same questions he asked me. “What’s your favorite food?”
“Steak.”
“Really?” I wrinkle my nose. “Cabin in the woods? Steak? You’re a walking cliché.”
“Ah, so your questions come with commentary.”
I point my glass at him. “Point taken. I’ll try to refrain.”
