Leo’s entire face brightened. “Thanks, Winnie.”
The sincerity in his voice made the back of my neck itch.
Suddenly, I was aware of just how close we were because I could see the blurry black ring around the grey of his irises, and I hastily pulled away. Atticus and Elena were observing us like we were bacteria under a microscope.
I fought the urge to squirm. “The food’s tasty, isn’t it?”
It was the weakest conversation starter in history, but everyone ran with it. We compared the beef, pork and lamb and encouraged Leo to try the spicy soup. It was too hot for him, but he found a way to make it bearable by diluting it with the pork broth.
Surprisingly, I liked the rice cake more than I thought I would. They were cylindrical, reminding me of tteokbokki, and they paired well with the spicy flavours. Of course, everyone’s favourite was the meat slices, and as we finished off our meal, weused the ladle to search for any remaining pieces in the soup, but the only thing left was the bok choy.
“Here’s another piece for you,” I said, dropping the soggy vegetable into Leo’s bowl.
He groaned. “Why me?”
“You’re the one who ordered it,” Atticus said.
“Once you’re a seasoned professional, you’ll know to avoid vegetables,” Elena said.
“Sorry for wanting a well-rounded diet,” Leo said, gesturing at his chest. “This doesn’t maintain itself.”
“Then have a salad at home. If you do a cost analysis, veggies at hot pot are never worth it.”
“Also, the more vegetables you eat, the less space for meat,” Atticus said.
“Maybe that’s a good thing,” I said, holding my tummy. “I’m so full it hurts.”
Once we had finished — Leo dutifully eating all the remaining bok choy — there was the matter of the bill. I was prepared to pay — the double date had been my idea, after all — but when the waiter placed the bill on the table, the total $152.80, everyone went quiet.
“I’ll pay my share,” Leo murmured to me.
I shook my head. “No, I promised to pay for you —”
“You promised to pay for him?” Elena asked.
“Yeah, he came as a favour to me. Just like you came as a favour to Atticus.”
“Maybe it was a favour, but I had a fun time. I’ll pay my share,” Leo said, touching my arm.
I shook him off. “No, I’m not breaking my promise.”
“You helped me with my project,” he reminded me. “I don’t mind paying…what is it…”
“Thirty-eight dollars and twenty cents,” Atticus said.
“Yeah. That. That’s nothing.”
I gave Leo a look that promised to finish this disagreement later. “Fine,” I said. “I’m paying for you, then, Atticus, since this dinner was my idea.”
“No, you’re not,” Atticus said. “It was your idea, but Elena and I chose the restaurant. It’s our fault the bill is expensive as it is.” He looked around at the empty plates. “When we go, we usually don’t order as much.”
“That’s because when we go, we order for two people, silly,” Elena told him. She brought her hands together. “Let’s split the bill four ways. It’s the fairest way.”
The restaurant did allow split bills, so we each took a turn scanning our cards. Afterwards, when the four of us spilled onto the darkening street, I felt a little guilty, like I had shirked a responsibility.
“Are you still upset about the bill thing?” Elena asked me.
“I’m not upset,” I said. “I just feel bad.”
