Page 136 of The Arrogant One

I tried the hamachi next. It had been cut in thin slices, all placed in a circle, soaked in a brown sauce with pieces of cilantro in the center. On top of the fish were disks of jalapeños.

I covered my mouth as I chewed and blurted out, “Oh my God.”

“I don’t know about you, but I’m dead. This is the best food I’ve had in a long time, and we haven’t even gotten our main courses yet.”

I nodded in agreement, and as I swallowed, I let that news pass through me.

It hit my chest and stomach, and it came out of my lips in a smile. “Bryn …”

“Yes?”

I rubbed my lips together, trying to mask what I was feeling, even though I knew my best friend could see right through me. “They did it. Like, they really, really did it.”

“Fuck yeah, they did.”

There weren’t any lights on in my office. The only thingaglow was my monitor, the room completely silent as I read over the review I’d just finished writing.

My boss had told me to use my words.

I’d done just that.

But those words were honest. They were the most accurate portrayal of my experience—from the way I had felt when I walked into Toro to the fullness in my belly when Bryn and I left. I skipped over nothing, not a single detail, and accompanying those words were a series of photos that I’d cropped to protect the location of our table and any hints of Bryn, but I’d added no filters and done no Photoshopping.

I was giving them the real Toro. What they did with that information, how they decided to react, that was up to them.

Satisfied with my read-through, I attached the document to an email, and I sent it to my boss. I grabbed my phone, and on my way to my bedroom, I typed Lockhart a text.

Me

I miss you.

Lockhart

I miss you more.

Me

Are you still at the restaurant?

Lockhart

Yes, I’ll be here for a while.

Me

Will you be up for having breakfast in the morning?

Lockhart

If it involves you, I’m up for anything.

Where do you want to go? Or do you want to come to my place?

Me

I was thinking … maybe you could come to my place.

Lockhart