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“If you’re trying to compare the two situations,” I interrupted quickly. “I’m not bored.”
Shane grinned. “It’s good that I was about to add there have been plenty of excruciating moments of pure secondhand embarrassment or being out of my depth.”
“Okay, so what do you do to deal with it?”
“I focus on what I can deal with. If that’s changing the subject to something I can handle, I’ll do that. If I can make a joke or even flirt to change the mood, I do that. And if there’s no way to recover the situation, I simply focus on something that makes me happy while making sure I make all the appropriate noises and words for whatever god-awful story is being regaled to me.”
I ducked my head with a smile. “I think I’d rather we talk about stuff I can actually keep up on then. If I focus too hard on this…strange experience, I’ll find myself overwhelmed.”
“Then you lead the conversation,” he said, leaning forward.
I moved on from a salad with many tiny pieces of fruit and nuts and onto a cold, pea-green soup, I shrugged. “Truth be told, I’m curious about what you get up to, other than being a playboy.”
“I hope you’re thinking of something specific,” he said with a snort. “Otherwise, you might find yourself disappointed.”
I shook my head. “I was thinking something along the lines of travel.”
“Travel?”
“Yeah, in case you haven’t noticed, I don’t exactly get the chance to travel a lot.”
“Hmm, yes, I suppose your job does keep you occupied for long periods.”
“And, traveling is stupidly expensive. It’s only been the last couple of years I could even think about affording to go anywhere for any length of time.”
“That…is true. How strange. I always considered myself reasonably aware of circumstances outside my own. But I suppose money can blind anyone, especially when it’s all they’ve ever known.”
I smirked. “I’ll try not to hold it against you.”
“How gracious,” he said with a chuckle, moving on to the thick, vegetable-heavy soup next. “Now, I can tell you a story or two about some of my travels, and you can tell me…well, any story you like.”
“Any story, huh?” I asked, finishing up a peppery-flavored salad.
“Any story at all. Make it fun, make it sad, make it happy, whatever you want.”
“I think I can manage that.”
We stopped as the trio appeared again, with the woman greeting us with a smile and taking away our dirty dishes. She returned with new wine glasses of something thick and red, and then the duo of men took over to drop what appeared to be a collection of colorful plates laden with hearty, meat-focused dishes.
I waited until they left the room before pointing at something on one of the plates that looked like an oyster turned into a pudding. “First things first, though, you can explain what the hell that is and why it looks like mold came to life.”
* * *
“I know you said you had an idea,” Shane said as we stepped out of the restaurant and onto the sidewalk. “But why doesn’t it involve using a ride?”
“Because where we’re going is only a few blocks from here,” I replied, reaching out and taking him by the wrist. “Now c’mon.”
Shane raised a brow but thankfully followed, keeping pace with me as I led him to the corner and immediately turned away from the brightly lit street. The immediate change in light made the new street seem almost claustrophobic and foreboding, but I wasn’t concerned. I thought Shane might be from how quiet he was until I came to a stop just outside a small corner store.
“Pit stop,” I told him, pointing beside the entrance. “Don’t go wandering off.”
“Oh, the comments I could make,” he muttered, leaning against the wall and waiting.
“Wait till later,” I told him with a snort and entered the store. My outfit gained a second glance from the clerk behind the counter, but he said nothing as I gathered what I was looking for and slapped them on the counter. After another minute, I stepped outside with the black plastic bag with my goods. “Ready?”
Shane eyed the bag curiously. “By all means. Though I’m thinking more and more about what you could be up to.”
“Look,” I said as I continued walking. “I know you probably had something planned. Some fancy party with a lot of really expensive alcohol and a bunch of people you know and probably don’t know half as well.”
