“Hi.”
She seemed to be in a hurry as she guided us past other low, round dark wood tables full of laughing people, most of them older than Cam and me. “Have you been here before?” she asked, and while I was still uncomfortable with how underdressed I was, she didn’t seem to care, so I followed her. She led us to a table near a window that faced the water garden, and we sat. The chairs were closer to the floor than I’d been expecting, and I had to cross my legs. Cam snickered as he tried to get comfortable.
“Uh, no. It’s beautiful, though,” I said. Cam lounged back in his seat, finally having decided on simply stretching out his legs so that they stuck out on my side next to me. I got the feeling he was purposefully letting me take the lead here as he glanced all around the room, then reached out to touch the carved sill below the windows.
She nodded and produced a list from her apron pocket with a smile that dug deep dimples into her cheeks. “Thank you. I’ll pass that on to my father.”
“I didn’t realize you sold alcohol,” I said as I took the list.
“Oh,” she said on a laugh. “We don’t. That’s the tea choices. Today’s desserts are spice cake, moon cakes, sesame seed balls, or purple sweet potato and cranberry tea cakes. We also have appetizers if you’re interested. They change daily.” Her smile was wide as she rattled all that off, and I glanced down in dismay at the tea list.
“Uh….”
“Surprise us,” Cam said, coming to the rescue. “All those desserts sound good. How about one of each and two appetizers. Whatever you like best. Leave out anything with milk products in it. Mark’s allergic.” He shrugged his big shoulders, and I didn’t doubt there wouldn’t be a speck of food left when he was done. I was surprised he’d been so good at remembering what I could and couldn’t eat, though. My own family often forgot.
She nodded, snatched back her list, and stuffed it into her pocket. “You got it. It’s nice to see people trying new things.” She glanced around the room and leaned closer to us to whisper, “Most of these people just pick the green tea and the spice cake. It’s so boring. They’re scared.” Her eyes twinkled as she said that.
“I can’t use chopsticks, like at all. You’re not bringing those out, are you?” Cam asked. “Otherwise I’m all for some cultural exchange.”
She laughed and left us there, and I had a suspicion we’d be getting chopsticks andwe’d like it, because when I glanced at other tables nearby, they all had them.
Silence settled in on us, punctuated by laughter drifting from a nearby table. The water sparkled outside, reflecting the sunlight. On a wall near us was a sign in Chinese characters I wished I could read. Cam cleared his throat, and I turned to stare at him. He looked right back. I drummed my hands on the table and let out a sigh.
He laughed. “Feeling uncomfortable?”
“Maybe?” I said in a rush and leaned toward him. “It’s just that we usually… uh… are getting ready to… you know. We don’t usually just… talk.” I lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know what to do with myself.”
He nodded, and the girl was back already, saving me from myself. I noticed Harmony on her name tag, and I went into work mode. She’d mentioned her father built the place, or maybe just owned it. That meant her last name was likely Guan. I tried to leave the office at the office, but it was difficult. She set a solid copper teapot between us on a raised wooden serving tray.
“Don’t let the leaves sit in it too long or they get bitter.” She tapped a silver handle sticking out from under the lid of the pot. “Pull them out and put them on here,” she said, pointing at a small white dish on the serving tray. She turned over two white cups and set them in front of us. “Give it about five minutes.” She smiled and was gone again quickly as someone at a table nearby called to her.
I blinked at the pot. “Wonder what we got?”
“I’d say it’s probably not green tea.” Cam laughed and leaned forward, resting his chin on his fist. “I think it’s good we’re doing this today because I already like you a lot, and I want to know if we’ll work. And if we can’t carry on a conversation?” He shrugged. “All the sex in the world won’t make up for that. I know. I’ve gone that route. Some of the hottest people have nothing but air floating between their ears.” The smirk he gave me seemed more like a challenge.
“I can have a conversation. I’m interesting.” I jutted my chin in his direction.
He lifted his eyebrows.
My mind blanked. My stomach sank. “Uh… do you read? I feel like maybe I’ve asked you before, but it’s been a long week.”
He snorted and chuckled. “Not much right now. I do, all the time, in the slower months. I’ve just been busy lately. The summer is nuts.”
“Oh, thank God,” I murmured and went to check on the tea.
Harmony shook her head on her way past the table and swatted at me with her tea list. “Did I say five minutes? Was it five minutes yet? No.”
“You did say that.”
Cam laughed himself silly as she sped past with dirty dishes held high in her other hand, and I snatched my fingers away from the lid of the teapot.
“Everyone is a critic. What’s the last book you read?”
Cam hemmed and hawed and scrunched his eyebrows. “Nicholas St. North and theBattle of the Nightmare King, but I have kids, so you can’t judge me.” He lowered his eyebrows, and I flushed.
“Well, I don’t have kids and I’ve read it. I saw the artwork at the bookstore and was hooked.” I shrugged, and my face scalded hotter than the tea in the pot between us. “That’s how they get me. I’m a cover slut. St. North looked very tasty.”
He grinned. We were deep in a conversation about Fearlings and what he thought they might represent by the time Harmony flew past and said, “Take out the tea. It’ll be bitter!” We fumbled to do just that. I ended up pouring the cups for both of us, and Cam didn’t look entirely sold on the tea experience as he sipped at his. I tried mine and nearly swooned in delight.
