“The prices don’t matter.”
“What if it’s too expensive?”
“Nothing’s too expensive. Just pick whatever you want.”
I can tell she disapproves, but she doesn’t argue anymore and returns to her exploration of the menu’s items with a pout.
“So, Andrea, I heard you cost my husband and his partner a lot of money today,” Michelle says with a smile.
“Uh, I guess I did.”
“She was unyielding. Never had such a hard bargain before,” Kevin notes.
“Oh, so she has the trifecta. Brains, personality, and beauty.”
Because she somehow doesn’t realize it’s true, Andrea mumbles, “Yeah, I’m not so sure about the latter.”
“Oh, but you should be. Isn’t she lovely, Lex?” Michelle asks with feigned innocence.
That earns her a dark glare over my menu. “She is,” I mumble.
Andrea wriggles on her chair, apparently as uncomfortable as I am.
As dinner unfolds, Michelle includes Andrea in the conversation, making this evening a little smoother than it would have been without her. Maybe Kevin was right to bring her. She’s a therapist, after all, so she’s good at making people comfortable.
“So, when you’re not creating groundbreaking apps, what do you do in your free time?” she asks Andrea.
The freckled beauty swallows her mouthful of dessert before taking a sip of wine to help it pass. “It depends. I have many interests, like movies, TV shows, music… Before moving here, I used to teach programming for an online school. I’ve been thinking about doing it again, so there’s that. I’m also learning Korean. Or trying to learn would be more accurate.”
“Why Korean?” Kevin wonders.
“I always loved their culture and intend to go there at some point.”
“That’s amazing. Lex and I have a trip to Seoul planned for later this year. We’re partnering up with a tech manufacturer there.”
Andrea smiles politely, and before silence can fall on us, Shelly keeps the conversation rolling. “You said you loved music? I do, too, and I’m always looking to broaden my horizons. Anything you’d recommend?”
“Hm… The last playlist I really loved was one I didn’t see coming,” Andrea says with unmasked amusement. When she turns toward me, I realize where she’s going with this. “Mind telling them about your whacky playlist?”
Fuck. That’ll bring questions I’m not ready to answer.
“Lex has a playlist?” Kevin wonders. He’s understandably confused since I never listen to music.
“He drove me home one evening,” she explains. “The playlist was… interesting.”
Kevin’s eyes are inquisitive when they meet mine. “You drove Andy home, Lex?”
“There was a bus strike. It was the evening she showed me her application. I kept her late, so it was the least I could do,” I explain, not shying away from his gaze.
Michelle distracts Andrea with a question about her teaching experience, but Kev and I wage some kind of silent battle.
“Shut the fuck up,” I mouth, already knowing he’s about to stir shit. That’s thankfully enough to stop him.
A liqueur trolley is brought to us once we’re done with the desserts, and Andrea and Kev are the only ones picking something from it. Then the bill arrives, and Andrea insists on paying her share. “Kelex’s treat,” Kev insists.
I stand first, and when Andrea does, she stumbles and loses her balance. I’m quick to help her regain it, grabbing her arm while my other hand reaches for her back. The skin-to-skin contact immediately warms my palm and fingers, and it feels almost forbidden.
“Are you alright?” I worriedly ask.
