Isabella smiled.
“No weird food things or allergies that I know of. And I can take some heat, but like… not third-degree-burn kind of heat. Also, for the record, I don’t go around falling madly in love with a guy I barely know just because he kissed me.”
Unable to stop myself, I raised an eyebrow at her.
“Funny how the thought of spicy foods reminded you about kissing me.”
She stuck her tongue out at me and started walking toward the building. I ran after her, opening the door and smiling brightly as she entered. For a moment she paused, allowing her eyes to adjust. The restaurant was dark. There was no outside light, and it was mostly lit with dim lanterns and a few low-watt overhead lights. There were objects everywhere and statues. All from Thailand. Learning to not judge something by the way it looks: One trip to Thai Kitchen Restaurant.
Isabella
I watched as a small Asian woman walked up to Liam and made him lean down so she could kiss both his cheeks.
“Liam! So nice to see you.”
My day today had been filled with a thesaurus worth of emotions, and heartwarming was just added to the list. Another man joined us and beamed.
“My favorite customer! You know, sometimes I think my wife likes you better than me.”
Liam laughed.
“That’s impossible, Mr. Chen. She’s told me more than once that your love was destined by the stars.”
The man blushed and motioned to the open tables.
“Grab a table quick before the rush comes.”
I thought he must be joking because we were the only two in the place, but no one laughed, and Liam took my hand and guided me to a booth in the corner. The bench didn’t feel as nice as the coffee shop couch, but it wasn’t so bad. Once I found a comfortable spot, I looked up, and my jaw dropped.
The place was now over half full. A flurry of activity commenced. Liam ordered for me, which was just as well since I had never had Thai food before. Once the drinks started, he took a deep breath and started speaking.
“So, last year, I was a completely different person. Probably the kind of person you thought I would be. Maybe even worse. Definitely worse. But I’m not him anymore. At least, I’m trying not to be. I’m not ready to explain why I want to change, not yet. Eventually, during this whole assignment, I’m sure it will come out, but right now, you just need to know that I used to be a bad person.”
I looked at him, a bit surprised. He had been sweet, and kind, and funny. I couldn’t really even imagine him as anything else. When I didn’t say anything, he continued on.
“When I was that guy, I dated a girl named Cassidy. I didn’t know it, of course, because I was so much like her, but she was mean and manipulative and she always got what she wanted, no matter what the cost.”
Liam was interrupted when our food arrived and waited for me to try my meal, momentarily distracted from his story. Once the food reached my lips, my eyes flew open.
“This is incredible.”
I didn’t bother to wait before I started piling food in my mouth. After hearing about Cassidy, I knew Liam was probably attracted to tall skinny blonde girls, regardless of their personalities. Not that I wanted him to be attracted to me. Even though the kiss had been nice, there was no heat. No fireworks. No spark. It wasn’t like when I kissed Marco. Marco and I never lacked heat, that was for sure. But I was glad.
Despite my initial reaction to his handsome face, romance would complicate this history assignment. I didn’t need more complications. Which was nice because without having to worry about impressing him, I could eat as much as I wanted to. Liam was staring at me, amused, and I waved my hand.
“Go on.”
“Anyway, let’s just say I had this life-changing thing happen to me, and I realized where my future was headed and decided to derail it.”
“Is that why you changed schools?”
He nodded, but I could tell he wasn’t ready for that discussion either. So, I let him share at his own pace.
“The thing was, I didn’t really just derail my life. I derailed hers. In my world, once you start getting serious with someone, both of your futures get tangled up with each other.”
He looked at me to see if that needed more clarification, but I understood what he meant. We might be from different worlds, but we seemed to have that one thing in common. When two people in my neighborhood dated, their futures were pretty much tangled together as well. When I didn’t speak, Liam rushed on.”
“It was not a pretty picture when I broke up with her. Our lives intersect in so many ways. Even still. Switching schools will help, but I still run into her at a lot of places, and I can’t just avoid going everywhere. It’s been hard to navigate. She’s still determined to win me back.”
