Aspen:Just your appetite.
Coal:See you at seven.
I didn’t care how much pain I was in. I was not going to miss a chance to have dinner with Aspen. Just the thought of seeing her made me feel a little bit better.
* * *
I hopedI would be able to hide my injury from her, but she noticed the awkward way I was standing the moment she opened the door.
“Are you okay? What happened?” she asked and reached for my arm to help me inside.
“I got kicked in the ribs at work today.”
“What? How?”
Suddenly, I realized she didn’t know what I did for a living.
“I work at the gym downtown on Jefferson Street. I was sparring with one of the fighters who trains with us and took a hard kick to the ribs.” I refrained from telling her that I thought he did it on purpose, or that I broke his nose in return.
“You should’ve told me. We could’ve done dinner another night.”
I shrugged. “Even though I’m hurt, I still need to eat.”
She shook her head at my response and led me to her couch. “Come sit down and make yourself comfortable. Dinner’s almost ready.”
“It smells delicious.”
“It’s baked ziti and garlic bread. And tiramisu for dessert. I hope you like it.”
“I’m sure I will.”
And I did. Which I told her as soon as I took my first bite. I pointed at my plate with my fork and swallowed. “This is really good.”
“Thanks,” she beamed. “I enjoy cooking but don’t get the chance to do it as often as I’d like.”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s hard to cook a nice meal for just one person without wasting a lot of food,” she explained.
“We should work something out where Game and I buy the food and you do the cooking,” I suggested, only half joking.
“I like that idea.”
“Really? Maybe we could give it a try. Not every day, but maybe once or twice a week.”
“Speaking of Game, do you want to invite him to join us?”
“I would, but he’s still at work,” I said, knowing damn well I wouldn’t have asked him to join us if he wasn’t.
“Oh, well, I’ll send a plate for him home with you.”
“Thanks. I know he’ll appreciate it. If we don’t eat at the clubhouse, we usually have takeout. Home-cooked meals like this are a rare treat.”
“Sounds like we really should work out a dinner plan.”
I was all for it if it meant I was guaranteed to see her once or twice a week.
I glanced around and noticed the pile of empty boxes by the back door. “Looks like you got a lot done today.”