He opened the door and got out, leaving me alone with everything he’d just said. I had thought he was so self-confident, but the lost look in his eyes just now told a different story. I shook off the sadness he’d left lingering in the car, opened the door, and pulled up my jacket collar to ward off the bitter wind. I went inside and found Sebastian had already gotten a booth in the back and was looking over the laminated menu with a puzzled look on his face. I liked that look on him much better than the melancholy one from before.
“What’s the matter? Can’t decide what you want?”
Sebastian looked up from the plastic-covered menu. “What the hell are grits?”
Oh, hell.This was gonna be fun.
“They’re made from corn. They’re so good.”
“So, they taste like corn? They look disgusting.”
“They taste a little like corn. You need to try them and see for yourself. Don’t worry about the way it looks. Trust me.”
I knew for a fact he’d hate them, but he’d been an ass this morning and left me driving this whole time while he slept. He deserved a little payback.
“Okay, fine. I’ll try ’em, but I don’t know what else to get with them.”
I chuckled because I knew exactly what he meant. Every time I came here, I said I’d try something new, but I always wound up getting the same thing anyway.
“Just get the All Star. It’s the best deal, and you get some of everything. You’re a big boy. I’m sure you can handle it.”
“You like your boys big, though, don’t you?”
I could feel the blood flood my cheeks, so I held my menu up to cover them and tried to change the subject. “How do you like your eggs?”
I heard him laugh and saw him rub a hand down the side of his beard to hide the smirk.
“Okay, fair enough. I always get mine over medium, how about you?”
I looked hard at the menu. “It’s different at different places. Just depends. Here I get them scrambled with cheese, but if I’m getting grits, I get them over easy, so I can mix them together.”
Sebastian scrunched up his face in disgust. “Wait, you mix the eggs and the grits together? That sounds horrible.”
I set the menu down and made sure I had his attention before answering. “It’s what I always had growing up. We didn’t have a lot of money, but Mom always made sure we had a good breakfast that would stick to our bones. Eggs and a bag of grits weren’t expensive. She always made sure we were clean and fed and had a roof over our heads.” I didn’t even think about telling him about Mom. It was the most natural thing in the world for me to brag about her, but as soon as the words had slipped out, I cringed. After Sebastian had just told me about his own mother, I couldn’t believe how insensitive I’d been. “I’m so sorry.”
“What are you sorry about? It’s great that you had a wonderful mother. I’m happy that someone did.” He meant it. The warmth was back in his eyes, and the sincerity was shining through. Even so, I wanted to make him smile. I needed to see that mischievous smirk again.
We ordered our food, and I made sure Sebastian got the grits, and I got them, too. While we waited, I tried to make small talk.
“You must have been really tired to sleep so long in the car. Didn’t you sleep last night?”
“I haven’t been sleeping well since New Year’s. I keep having these vivid dreams that wake me up aching and wanting something or someone. Have any idea what or who that could be?”
I did my best to hide my shock and feigned indifference. “I have no idea what or who would be keeping you awake.”
“Not even a little bit of an idea?” Sebastian started to reach over the table for my hand, but just as his fingers were about to clasp mine, the server got to the table with the food.
I moved my hand from the table so she could set the food down and tried to change the subject again. “Let me know how you like the grits. Try them first.”
Sebastian looked at his plate and specifically the white pool of grits on his plate like they were about to attack him. “I’m not sure if I’m trying them or not.”
“But you have to! See? I’m eating mine.” I took a big spoonful of my grits that I’d salted and buttered and ate them while he watched. “Mmmmm, they’re so good.”
He looked less horrified now, so he put butter and salt on his grits, then took a big bite.
I waited with my own fork suspended above my plate for his reaction. I wasn’t disappointed.
Sebastian gagged but managed to swallow the bite down, and then he took a huge gulp of the orange juice he’d ordered. “Holy, fuck, that’s fucking disgusting!”
