Page 23 of Banter & Blushes #1

WHEN BOLD MOVES GO NOT SO BOLD

LUCA

I had done it .

I had taken Joe’s advice, which, in retrospect, felt like a mistake, but when I was in the moment? It seemed right . There I was, standing in front of Rebecca’s hotel room, clutching a container of—well, you guessed it— lasagna tacos . What was I thinking?

Okay, okay, maybe I’d let Joe’s enthusiasm get the best of me, but there was a tiny voice in my head (which was now screaming, “What are you doing?”) that told me I had to do something different, something bold.

The lasagna tacos had to be a bold move.

Right? She definitely would never have seen it coming from me.

I could already picture Rebecca’s face—the surprised, impressed “wow, this is so crazy it might actually work” look.

The one where her eyes widen and she says, “Luca, you're a genius.” I was sure that would happen, right? I mean, if I didn’t fall on my face first from embarrassment at actually taking Joe’s advice.

After a brief conversation with the receptionist with only her first name in mind, we were able to figure out who I was inquiring about. That’s the thing about small towns, we all knew each other in some way, so the receptionist knew I wasn’t just some stranger asking questions.

I knocked on Rebecca’s hotel door and tried not to look too much like I was holding a plate of Italian-Mexican fusion disaster which I might name after Joe later, just to rub it in his face .

Her voice came through the door. “Yes?”

I cleared my throat and tried to sound confident. “Hey, Rebecca, it’s Luca. I, uh, brought you something.”

There was a slight pause before the door opened, and she stood there, looking as lovely as ever, her hair falling over her shoulders in that perfect “I barely tried, but I look this good” way that drove me crazy. My fingers itched to touch it, but they were currently occupied.

“Oh, hey!” she said, a little surprised to see me standing there holding... whatever the heck this was.

I gave her my most charming grin, hoping it didn’t look as forced as it felt. “So, I’ve got a little something for you. I thought... maybe you'd like to try it.”

She glanced at the container in my hand, clearly unsure of what she was looking at. “Um, what is it?” she asked, squinting slightly, like she was trying to figure out if I was holding some kind of weird science project.

“Lasagna tacos,” I said with all the false pride I could muster. “It’s... a fusion. Italian and Mexican. I, uh, thought it’d be a bold move.”

Rebecca blinked. Twice.

I inwardly groaned.

I shifted on my feet, feeling a little too self-aware now. “You know, because... I wanted to do something spontaneous. I thought it would be a good idea.” I added that last part, almost like I was trying to explain away my bizarre choice, even though it had been Joe’s fault —but not really.

She didn’t say anything right away, just stared at the tacos for a second. And then, she smiled. Smiled . But it was a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Like a nervous smile. A "what did I get myself into" smile.

I immediately panicked. “You don’t have to eat them! If you don’t like them, that’s totally fine. I—I just thought it would be fun. And, you know, different.” I was talking way too fast.

“No, no!” she said quickly, laughing, as if I had somehow completely misread her expression. “I mean, I’m sure it’s... interesting. I’m just, um, surprised. I’ve never had anything like this before.” She stepped back, motioning for me to come in. “Come on in, Luca. I’m really curious now.”

Wait. Did it really work? She was inviting me in? Joe, you brilliant, crazy?—

I took a deep breath, and stepped in, gently placing the meal on her table.

Rebecca went to grab some paper plates, setting it down beside the dish and raised an eyebrow. “Okay, so... how do we even eat these?”

“Just—uh—grab one and go for it,” I said, trying to act casual, but inside, I was dying. This was either going to be a magical moment of culinary genius, or I was going to get kicked out of her hotel room in shame.

She picked one up hesitantly, giving it a little sniff before biting into it. For a second, I thought I saw her expression flicker with genuine curiosity, but then she chewed. And... chewed some more.

Then she stopped.

I stared at her, my heart pounding. “So? ”

She smiled again, but this time it was definitely one of those “I’m trying really hard not to offend you” smiles. “Well... it’s definitely unique . I’ve never had anything like it. The lasagna’s really tender , though. And the taco shell is, uh... kind of crunchy?”

I felt my face heat up. “Uh, yeah, the taco shell is supposed to be crunchy. It’s a taco.

With lasagna. And—I don’t know, I thought it was genius.

” I rubbed the back of my neck nervously.

You won’t hear the end of this Joe. “Maybe... maybe it’s not working?

I mean, I thought it would be the bold move , but if it’s a disaster, just—just tell me and I’ll. .. uh... I’ll go.”

Her eyes widened in panic. “No! No, I didn’t mean that! I’m just, um, it’s just... it’s a lot of flavors, you know? But hey, props for trying. I’m actually impressed you thought of this, Luca. It’s creative, I’ll give you that.”

“Creative?” I repeated, trying not to choke on my own words. “Creative, yeah. That’s a word for it.”

She laughed, setting the taco down on the plate. “I’m just saying... it’s not like anything I’ve ever had before. But I—uh—didn’t expect this from you.”

I blinked. A warm sensation filled my chest. She knew me so well already. “What do you mean? What were you expecting?”

She bit her lip and looked a little sheepish. “Well, I don’t know... maybe something more... classic? Like, I don’t know, pasta? Or something, like, I don’t know... normal ?” She looked at me like she was trying to figure out if I was mad at her for not immediately loving the lasagna taco.

I stared at her for a long moment, my mind replaying Joe’s crazy conversation about boldness. “You wanted pasta?”

Her face immediately flushed. “No! I mean, yes, but—no! I’m not saying you should’ve made pasta, but maybe something a little less... crazy ? I guess I wasn’t expecting this level of... boldness .”

“Well, you got it,” I said, laughing nervously. “I did go for it, huh?”

She nodded. “Yeah, you did.” Then, after a long pause, she added, “But, Luca... I guess what I’m trying to say is that you don’t have to go all crazy just to impress me. I like you for you. Even if you make weird food combinations.”

And that’s when I realized—she wasn’t pulling back because she didn’t like me. She was pulling back because she wasn’t sure I was taking this seriously. The whole lasagna taco thing wasn’t the bold move that was going to win her over, it was me being me —without any gimmicks.

So, I did what I should have done in the first place.

I smiled, stepped forward, and said, “Well, if I’m being honest, I kind of suck at cooking weird things. But I’m great at cooking regular food. And maybe next time, I can just make you dinner. The old-fashioned way.”

Her eyes softened, and I could see the tension melt away.

“Yeah?” she said, a genuine smile creeping onto her lips. “That sounds good.”

I was in way deeper than I thought… and I didn’t mind it one bit.