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“Not really, no. I might if I had gem-like eyes like yours, though.”
“It’s, uh...” She wets her lips, giving them the lightest sheen. “It’s apparently common on our mother’s side. It skipped Seth a little, though. His are more brownish. Still gold, but brownish.”
Seth. It was only a matter of time until he came up, I guess.
“Sorry,” she says, reacting to my pause. “I even told myself I would not mention him tonight.”
“No, it’s cool,” I say. “If you didn’t, I definitely would have at some point. He’s a huge part of my life.”
She smiles. “Sounds like me and Jenna.”
“How long have you guys been friends?” I ask, happy to shift the conversation away from Seth.
“Since always.” She chuckles. “One of my earliest memories is of us in kindergarten. I was coloring in this picture of a cow with a blue crayon and this boy sitting next to me teased me, telling me that cows weren’t blue and that I was stupid. I almost started bawling.”
“That little prick,” I say.
She snorts. “Then, all of a sudden, this girl slaps her coloring book on the table next to mine and told the kid to buzz off. She’d colored the cow blue, too.”
I smile. “That’s so adorable.”
“She’s been my guardian angel ever since.”
“All because of a blue cow.”
“And the little prick,” she jokes. “Let’s not forget about him.”
“Or do,” I suggest. “Forget he ever existed.”
She smiles at the advice. “Done,” she says.
We fall into a natural silence, but there’s nothing awkward about it. She looks at me with those damned golden eyes; a beautiful temptation. My eyes stray, drifting down to her thick, pink lips, and I remember how good it feels to kiss her. My tongue taps the roof of my mouth, eager to taste her again, but I stay in control.
For now.
Heidi takes the quiet moment to eat another piece of her Philadelphia roll. I force myself to look away so it doesn’t seem like I’m leering at her like an idiot. It’s hard not to, though. Ever since she walked into the kitchen and she gave me that little smile...
I sip my sake, thankful that my lower half is hidden beneath the bar.
Heidi dabs her lips with her napkin. “So...” Her throat clears. “You’re a junior?”
“Yes, I am,” I say.
“Halfway to graduation.”
I exhale hard. “Don’t remind me.”
“Oops.” She winces. “There goes my follow-up question.”
“No, no,” I say. “Go ahead. I don’t mind. I was just being flippant.”
“Okay, uh...” She shifts slightly on her chair to face me a little better. “What are your plans for after graduation? If you have any at all, I mean. Which, honestly, is a perfectly acceptable position to be in. Just the thought of me having everything figured out in the next two years fills me with so much dread. Right now, all I’ve got is travel.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” I say. “But no, I do actually have some plans. Good plans.”
She nods, hanging on every word.
“Uh...” I chuckle. “Unfortunately, those plans bring the conversation right back to Seth.”
