“No.”
Kenji rolls his eyes. He rips open his little snack bag and doesn’t even inspect the contents before he tips the bag directly into his mouth. He closes his eyes as he chews. Makes little satisfied noises.
I manage to fight the impulse to cringe, but I can’t stop myself from saying—
“You eat like a caveman.”
“No, I don’t,” he says angrily. And then, a moment later: “Do I?”
I hesitate, feeling his sudden wave of embarrassment. Of all the emotions I hate experiencing, secondhand embarrassment might be the worst. It hits me right in the gut. Makes me want to turn my skin inside out.
And it’s by far the easiest way to make me capitulate.
“No,” I say heavily. “You don’t eat like a caveman. That was unfair.”
Kenji glances at me. There’s too much hope in his eyes.
“I’ve just never seen anyone eat food with as much enthusiasm as you do.”
Kenji raises an eyebrow. “I’m not enthusiastic. I’m hungry.”
Carefully, I tear open my own package. Shake out a few bits of the fruit into my open hand.
They look like desiccated worms.
I return the fruit to the bag, dust off my hands, and offer my portion to Kenji.
“You sure?” he says, even as he takes it from me.
I nod.
He thanks me.
We both say nothing for a while.
“So,” Kenji says finally, still chewing. “You were going to propose to her. Wow.”
I exhale a long, heavy breath. “How you could have even known something like that?”
“Because I’m not deaf.”
I raise my eyebrows.
“It echoes in here.”
“It certainly does not echo in here.”
“Stop changing the subject,” he says, shaking more fruit into his mouth. “The point is, you were going to propose. Do you deny it?”
I look away, run a hand along the side of my neck, massaging the sore muscles. “I do not deny it,” I say.
“Then congratulations. And yes, I’d be happy to be your best man at the wedding.”
I look up, surprised. “I’ve no interest in addressing the latter part of what you just said, but— Why offercongratulations? I thought you were vehemently opposed to the idea.”
Kenji frowns. “What? I’m not opposed to the idea.”
“Then why were you so angry?”
