Page 61 of Hard Rock Love

“They were, a little,” he said. “But like I said, I was an only child. I was sort of spoiled. It’s not like they let me run wild and do whatever I wanted, but when they saw how determined I was, how dedicated I was, I think they were just relieved I’d found something to keep me busy so I’d stop getting into trouble.”

“You, getting into trouble?” I faked a gasp. “I never would have guessed.”

“Don’t blame me,” Seth said. “It was all Julian’s fault. He was always that quiet, weird kid. The bullies liked to target him. Of course I had to back him up when they picked on him. I wasn’t going to let my best friend get roped into a fight all alone.”

It didn’t surprise me that Seth had always been the kind of guy to back up his friends.

“What about your mom?” Seth asked. “I never really saw her much. What did she think of Ever’s career choice?”

“As long as my sister worked that part-time job at the music shop, she didn’t say a word,” I said. “I’m sure you know, Dad left us when I was really young. Mom was always busy working two jobs to make ends meet. Everly was able to help chip in with groceries and the rent, so Mom didn’t much care about the rest.”

“And you?” Seth asked. “Did she care about what you did?”

“I was a good kid,” I said. “Never got into trouble. Always got good grades. She never had to worry about me.”

“But did she care?” Seth asked softly. “Was she supportive?”

I went quiet, thinking. Mom had never really paid much attention to me. I never caused a fuss, so there wasn’t really a reason to. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, but I was as well-oiled as they came.

“She was a good mom,” I said finally. “She worked so hard to put food on the table. I don’t blame her for not having a lot of time for us.”

Seth made a sound of sympathy and patted my hand.

“You should meet my mom,” he said. “She’d smother you with so much attention you’d wish she would back off a little.”

Meeting the parents. Were we already at that point? Things were moving so fast, it almost felt like a whirlwind.

For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to care.

The soup soon arrived, and we paused our conversation.

“At the same time?” Seth suggested.

We lifted our spoons in a salute and sipped at the soup. We looked at each other. We broke into laughter.

“It’s not bad,” Seth said. “It’s just like nothing I’ve ever tasted. I’m not really sure what to think.”

“I guess that’s why this place is calledone eighty.It’s supposed to make your head spin.”

We finished the soup in time for the ravioli dish. Seth’s eyes went wide when the plate was put down in front of him.

Sure enough, there were little transparent pockets with different types of filling. I could see pieces of shrimp and bits of green onion covered in a red sauce, all held together into a square shape by a seemingly invisible force.

“How are they doing that?!” Seth burst out. “It’s see through!” He pierced one with a fork and ate it. He closed his eyes. “It’s so good,” he moaned.

“Better than the soup?” I asked.

He nodded fervently and shoved two more into his mouth.

I sampled my own and found it just as delicious as he said.

Too soon, we were finished and left still wanting more. Luckily, we had one more dish.

When the server brought out a bowl of strawberries dipped in sugar, we looked at it with a skeptical eye.

“Here goes nothing,” Seth said as he popped one into his mouth.

His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.