That smile was still in place. “More of what we just had?”
I rolled my eyes. “Food, Chandler. I’m talking food.” I had to admit, the easygoing banter felt right. And why not? I’d just fucked him. Sex was a great leveler.
He laughed. “Damn. I was starting to get… peckish again.” His eyes glittered. Before I could comment on his appetite, he counted off on his fingers. “I like Italian, Indian, Chinese, Thai—”
“How about sushi?”
Chandler worried his bottom lip with his teeth. It was an adorable look. “I’ve never eaten sushi. Raw fish, right?”
“Not necessarily.” I liked the notion of introducing him to a new food experience. “How about I take you to my favorite sushi restaurant?”
“Like I said. I’m up for anything.” He grinned. “I guess I can trust you. It’s in your best interests, after all. Can’t have me coming down with food poisoning, right?”
I laughed. “I don’t see that as a possibility.” I gestured to the left. “It’s this way. Only about ten minutes’ walk from here.”
“Good, because I’m starving.” He chuckled. “I seem to have worked up an appetite. Go figure.”
He wasn’t the only one. And having sampled the delights of Chandler’s lean body in all its naked glory, food wasn’t the only thing I was hungry for.
One appetite at a time.
“I have to be honest.” I put down my cup of sake and looked Chandler in the eye. “I don’t know what came over me earlier. Asking you to join me for dinner… that’s not something I usually do.”
Chandler arched his eyebrows. “Should I be flattered?” Then he held up a hand. “You don’t have to answer that. Maybe you just didn’t feel like eating alone. I know I wasn’t ready to go home right then.”
“You weren’t?” Something inside me eased at that.
“And seeing as you’re being so honest with me…” Chandler took a sip of sake. “This really is good. I could develop a taste for this. Can you buy it outside of sushi restaurants?”
“Of course you can,” I said impatiently. I didn’t want to discuss the merits of sake. I wanted to hear Chandler being honest. “What were you about to say?”
He put down his cup. “I don’t ask guys to dinner either. So when you asked me…” Chandler shrugged. “What can I say? I liked the idea.”
“But you date a lot of guys,” I said, perplexed. I’d overheard enough of his and Dean’s conversations to know that. Granted, they talked mostly about sex, but there had to be more to it than that. “You don’t go out to eat on a date?”
“I told you. Hook-ups, mainly. Put it this way. I don’t even get into meaningful conversations, let alone eat.”
Then I recalled his wistful expression when he’d said something about taking what he could get. What struck me most was that it could have been me talking. The parallels between his life and mine were uncanny.
So I’d been right. Chandler might get all the action he wants, but it isn’t enough. A feeling I knew only too well. And just like that, my heart went out to him.
“What happened to you?” I asked quietly. I genuinely wanted to know.
Chandler stilled. “What do you mean?”
Two nights before, I’d been unwilling to share those details. Now? I got the feeling he already knew what I was about to say. Chandler had obviously been burned too.
“Remember the other night? When you said you thought I’d been burned a couple times?” I took a deep breath. “It was just the once, but I swore I’d never let it happen again.” I didn’t want to even think about that bastard. “I get the impression you’ve been through something similar.”
Chandler widened his eyes. “Well, fuck me.”
I snickered. “Been there, done that.” The humor was welcome relief.
He wasn’t smiling, however. “It was bad, wasn’t it? Bad enough that you don’t trust the strangers you meet.”
“Bad enough that I ended up in the Emergency room. Even after that, he wouldn’t leave me alone. I suddenly had my own personal stalker. I got a restraining order. From then on, I only dated someone if we had mutual acquaintances. Not that I date guys all that often.” Except dating was hardly what I would call it. Yet another thing I seemed to have in common with Chandler.
Maybe that’s why I find it easy to be with him. We share common ground.
“Oh my God, Stu.” Chandler’s eyes were full of compassion. “That’s awful. My experiences were a walk in the park compared to that. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” The sincerity in his voice was unmistakable, and it brought a lump to my throat.
I picked up my cup of sake. “How about we change the subject? No more talk of dating disasters. Let’s drink to something more positive.”
“What did you have in mind?” Chandler raised his cup.
I didn’t hesitate. “To an interesting future.”
He was plainly biting back a smile. “That’s kind of vague.”
I smiled. “It leaves a lot of scope.”
The server arrived to ask if we wanted dessert. I nodded and ordered ice cream for both of us. When he walked away, Chandler gave me an inquiring glance. “Apparently I’m having ice cream.”
I laughed. “Trust me. You’ll love it. Green tea ice cream has a delicate flavor. It’s really very pleasant. And it’s a typical Japanese dessert.”
He drank the last drops of his sake. “This gives you quite a buzz, doesn’t it?”
I refilled his cup, sharing the remains of the carafe between us. “There are all kinds of sake. My favorite is one that’s best drunk cold. And yes, it also has quite a kick.” I gazed at the tabletop, smiling. “I see you liked my choices.” Every platter was empty.
He licked his lips. “Enough that I’ll be coming back here.” Chandler’s eyes met mine. “Of course, the company was pretty awesome too. So maybe if I’m to enjoy another meal, I’ll need to replicate all the elements.”
I tilted my head to one side. “Is that your way of saying I need to be there too?”
Chandler grinned. “Hey, that’s a great idea. We should do this again.”
Part of me really liked that idea.
The ice cream arrived, and Chandler wrinkled his nose at the color. I snorted. “Have you ever eaten pistachio ice cream?”
“Sure.”
“Well, that’s green.”
He snickered. “Okay. There’s green, and there’s Oh My Fucking God That’s Green.”
I pointed to his bowl with my spoon. “Try it. You’ve trusted me so far.”
“But it’s tea!” He wrinkled his forehead. “I don’t even drink tea.” I gave him a mock glare, and he hurriedly collected some ice cream on his spoon. “Okay, okay, I’m trying it.” He tentatively licked the bright green dessert, and his face lit up. “Hey, this is delicious.”
I had to laugh. The more time I spent around Chandler, the more I liked him. “See? We all need to try new things.”