“Did you have fun, Oscar?” I asked.
He was at the sink, cleaning out a bottle with a brush, thrusting it in and out. I’d really like to say I heard his answer, or anything he’d said all night beyond, “Hi, nice to meet you,” but it’d be a lie. Because . . . so hot. Chad, Logan, and I all stopped to stare as he thrust and talked and thrust. Sweet merciful God. Eventually he put on his hoodie and left, tossing a wave to Leo on his way out the door. Which he had to stoop to clear.
“You know, Miss Roxie, you could easily get a thousand a class in the city for these lessons,” Chad said.
That brought me back down to earth. A thousand a class? Wheels started turning and ideas started churning in my brain, pinging off the synapses like a pinball machine.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have the beginnings of a mental checklist of reasons to stay in Bailey Falls vs. reasons to run screaming back to Los Angeles. And a weekly class was a solid checkmark in the Stay column. It’d take me a while to establish such a willing audience in Los Angeles—especially since there was no predicting how long the culinary hit would be out on me by Mitzi and her crew.
Leo was watching but trying to be inconspicuous about it, sweeping the floor.
“I see the gears working. Tell me you’re considering it,” Chad pressed in a lower voice, leading me to the corner to have some semblance of privacy.
My eyes found Leo, who was still watching closely. He’d laugh at something or join in a conversation, but I could tell one ear was tuned into us.
“Mmmmaybe?” I clapped my hand over his mouth before he could squeal.
“Wow, Leo must really have a magical beanstalk on that farm to get you to consider staying.”
He meant to tease, but I recoiled and verbally struck out. “That’s not why! I mean, yeah, it’s a great summer thing, but that doesn’t mean I’d . . . I mean . . . Just because its only for the summer doesn’t mean that it doesn’t mean . . . Fuck!”
Whatever this was, it was the kind of fun that could quickly kindle into something beyond. That’s what my instincts were telling me. But with the hopeless romantic gene pool I came from, I didn’t know whether to trust my gut. Whichever way my heart told me to go, I usually ran in the opposite direction.
But how was he feeling? He seemed to be enjoying this just as much as I was. And like me, he went into it with his eyes wide open. He was counting on three months. But what if—
“The amount of internalizing you’re doing right now is going to give you an ulcer.” Chad patted me gently on the back. “This isn’t something you need to decide tonight. Get through the next class first,” he said, laughing and joining the rest of the group.
“What are we making next week, Roxie?” an intern asked expectantly, and the diner fell silent as the group waited for my answer.
Leo stopped sweeping, the broom beneath his chin as he leaned against it, waiting.
I glanced to the counter, spying a stack of cooking magazines that my mom ignored monthly in favor of the diner usuals. On the cover was a big blue bowl filled with linguine, clams, and tomato sauce.
“We’re canning tomatoes,” I blurted, my eyes on Leo.
Who was beaming.
Chapter 16
My best friend Natalie moaned. “Do you know what I’m having right now?” It sounded like she had a mouth full of something. “Guess.”
“Judging by the moaning, I’m going to guess a big, beautiful dick.” I laughed when she starting choking.