Page 77 of Forbidden

Her eyes widen and she loses her smile. She holds my stare and nods in understanding. I’m so glad I can talk to her about this without judgment.

“I got you.”

She squeezes my fingers and brightens up once more.

“Enough of that. No more deep stuff. We came here to eat and shake our asses, right?”

“Right,” I say with a smile.

“Good.”

We listen and sing along as the DJ plays some more Cash Money hits, Ruff Ryders, No Limit, Biggie, Pac, and a whole lot more.

“You were right. The DJisreally good.”

“I know, right?”

We jam our way through chips and salsa and someempanadasbefore the music changes. It’s as if the DJ is playing especially for me. He slows it down and plays Sam Smith’s “Leave Your Lover”. Chrissy’s eyes meet mine and she shrugs. Then he plays “Stay With Me” and “Like I Can.”

“Is this a sign?” I ask. The lyrics of each song are hitting way too close to home.

“Don’t concentrate on that. How’s yourChurrasco?”

“Good. How’s your Mahi Mahi?”

“Here, try it.”

She extends her fork to me and I do the same, offering her a bite of my steak.

“It’s good,” I tell her.

“Mm hmm.”

My phone vibrates on the table and I look down to see a text from Gage. He tried his best to hide it, but I could tell he was disappointed when I called him earlier to cancel our plans.

G: Having fun without me?

R: So far…eating right now.

“Which one is it?”

“Gage.”

“What did he say?”

“Just wanted to know if we’re having fun.”

“That’s nice.”

G: Don’t worry about the bill. I got you.

Chrissy must have seen the confused look on my face. “What is it?” she asks.

“He says he’s taking care of our bill.”

“Shit. If I’d known, I would have gotten the lobster.”

We laugh and she raises her glass for a toast. I tap mine against hers.