Page 39 of Forbidden Romeo
I couldn’t say those three little words… not yet. Even though I felt … I felt something.
Katherine’s stomach growled, breaking through the silence and we both giggled. “You hungry?” I asked.
She shrugged. “A little. Should we go out somewhere to eat?”
“Oh, we’re going to go out to eat… but first, I need to eat out something myself.”
I rolled on top of her once more, her giggles quickly morphing into a gasp when I slid down between her thighs.
Twenty minutes later, we were fully dressed and in my car, heading to get some food. I was mostly sober… definitely sober enough to pass a breathalyzer.
“Where should we eat?” I asked, heading toward downtown where a bunch of places were still open.
Katherine shrugged, fiddling with the strap of her purse. “Whatever.”
Whatever.
“Pizza?”
“Sure.”
Conversation had stalled and even though silence with Katherine was never uncomfortable, there was so much to learn about her, I didn’t want to waste a second. “If you could eat anywhere in the world, where would you want to go?”
She considered my question for a moment before saying, “It’s a tie. Either croissants at sunrise outside of Tiffany’s…”
I groaned, remembering the Breakfast at Tiffany’s scene. My mom made me watch that stupid movie a hundred times.
“Hey,” Katherine laughed. “It’s iconic!”
“It’s stupid!” I countered. “What’s the other option? Breakfast at Tiffany’s or…”
“Or the Grand Central Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station.”
My face screwed into a confused frown. “Let me get this straight. You either want to eat croissants at the ass crack of dawn in front of a store you can’t afford. Or you want to eat in a train station restaurant that serves shellfish that will send you into anaphylactic shock?”
She clicked her tongue and gave me a look, highlighted by the passing headlights. “It’s not some shitty train station fast food joint. It’s iconic in New York history. Mad Men was filmed there. And it looks beautiful.”
“But… but you can’t eat shellfish! You want to go to a restaurant where you can’t order a damn thing?”
She shrugged. “Maybe I’d just eat Magnolia cupcakes and sit at the bar of the oyster restaurant.”
I shook my head. This girl never ceased to leave me speechless.
“Alright, butthead, where would you eat?”
I smiled as I pulled the car into the restaurant parking lot. “My answer is obviously Magnolia Cupcakes at an oyster bar in Grand Central Station.”
She smacked my arm playfully again, this time hard enough to sting. “Don’t tease me!”
“I’m not teasing you! Wherever you want to eat is my dream meal, too.”
Pouting, she fell back against her seat and crossed her arms. “You’re not playing fair. Your dreams can’t be my dreams. That’s not how a healthy relationship works.”
I nodded slowly. “Okay, fair enough. So let’s see… the question was if I could eat anywhere in the world, where would I choose?”
Katherine nodded. “That’s right. That was your question.”
I put the car in park and turned it off, thinking for a moment. Then, smiling, I turned to look at Katherine. “That’s easy. I’d go to Indiana and eat at your family’s pub.”