“There’s this food truck,Medina’s. They have delicious food, and they aren’t far tonight. Usually, they’re on the other side of town. I know it’s cold, but they put out heat lamps, and—”
“You don’t have to convince me, Amate. If that’s where you want to go, we can.”
“Okay. They’re off Broadway Boulevard tonight.”
“For the record, we could have gone even if they were across town,” he told her.
The truck was easily spotted ten minutes later when they pulled onto the street. It was parked in the parking lot of a building long since closed. Elias found a parking spot, and he followed Eri to the line of people waiting. She was right. There were heat lamps around the tables set out and near the queue. The heat coming off them combated the January chill well. He looked over the posted menu. It was his first time visiting the truck; Albuquerque was abundant with them, but unless he passed one while he was out, he didn’t normally seek them out.
“Why don’t you order for me, Amate.”
She looked over her shoulder at him. “Are you allergic to or dislike any foods?”
“No, to both.”
When it was their turn, Eri ordered for them. When she reached into her purse, Elias pulled her back against him andhanded the cashier money over her shoulder, telling them to keep the change. They took their drinks and moved to the end of the truck, where pick-up for the food was.
“You do know you paid for lunch the last time we were out,” she reminded him as if he’d forgotten.
“And I paid this time and will pay next time and the time after that,” he responded.
She raised a brow at him. “What makes you think there will be a next time?”
“As much as you play hard to get, we both know there will be.” He didn’t see a need for them to pretend it wasn’t inevitable. “And before you decide to get an attitude and try to hold out, out of spite, we both know I’m patient.”
She glared at him briefly, and he couldn’t help but smirk at her. She was cute when she was pretending to be mad.
“So what does this former client do, and what is this party for?” she asked, grabbing two straws from the nearby table and handing him one.
“She’s a content creator. She makes these short animated series and releases them online. They sent her a plaque or something for four hundred million subscribers, so she’s celebrating it.”
“What’s her name?”
“Koa.”
Eri stopped the straw halfway to her mouth. “Koa? As in KoaBae Animations? She was a client?”
“I take it you’re familiar.”
“Familiar? I don’t think I’ve missed an episode of any of her mini-series. I didn’t know she lived in Albuquerque. She’s one of my favorite creators, and we’re going to her party tonight. That’s crazy.”
Elias smiled at her fangirl moment and let her have it. He’d seen a couple of clips from the different series on the rareoccasions he was scrolling through social media. So when she’d reached out to him to commission a bike, he had some idea of who she was. He hadn’t known she lived in the city either, but then again, there was no reason for her fanbase to. He’d only figured she was one and the same because Koa wasn’t a common name.
“Are you going to ask for a picture?” he teased.
“I might,” she responded. “What motorcycle did you do for her? What does it look like?”
He took his phone out and went to the gallery where he kept all his commissions. There, he found the first picture of her bike and brought it up before handing it to Eri.
“Scroll left. I think there’s about six or seven of them.”
She looked through the pictures, stopping on one to zoom in on a detail on the side, and turned it to him.
“That’s the logo from one of her first series before she was popular. I don’t think it’s up anymore, but it’s cool that you incorporated it. It’s a nice bike, too. I like the colors.” She handed his phone back. “I think if I rode, I’d want something similar.”
“It’s never too late to learn how if you want to.”
“Maybe. I’ve only been on Mickey’s twice, and for now, I’m fine being a passenger princess.”
