He turned and walked to the sink to rinse the steaks off, putting an end to that conversation. After doing so, he glanced over his shoulder, smiling again. “Come here.” He gestured for me to come with a cock of his head.

“For…?”

“I took up some culinary classes. Wanna show you something.” One shoulder lifted in a shrug, as if he didn’t want his pride for cooking to show. “Lots of time on my hands now. You know how to cook?”

“If Ramen noodles and PB&J sandwiches count, then I guess so.”

He laughed, watching as I slid off the stool and walked his way. He pulled out the wet steak and then took a step to his left, placing them on a cutting board. Grabbing the meat hammer from a case containing various kitchen appliances, he tore off a sheet of plastic cling wrap and then set them aside. “That doesn’t count,” he chuckled, eyes bright. “But I’ll teach you a little something.” He pointed to something next to me. “Grab those seasonings, will you?”

I reached for the bowls of seasonings and started to give them to him, but he held up his hands. “Nah!”

“What?” I asked.

“This is all you.”

“Oh no,” I shook my head, shoving them against his chest. “The meat will be so salty. It’d be better if the professional did it.”

Smiling, he grabbed the seasonings and placed them on the counter. “Fine. But you’re pounding.” He picked up the hammer, handed it to me, and then placed the plastic sheet on top of the steaks. “Come on.”

My eyes flickered up at him, uneasy. “What if I fuck it up?”

“Well, now.” His eyes were slightly expanded, still warm. Comforting. “Someone grew a potty mouth while they were away, huh?”

“Sorry,” I apologized as he stepped aside.

“Don’t even worry about it. You should hear Izzy. I think she forgets she’s actually speaking to her dad when we’re on the phone sometimes.”

“Yeah,” I released a breathy laugh. When he noticed he mentioned his daughter, a draft of seriousness passed by us. It was so easy to talk to him, so easy to fall for such a beautiful, easy-going person. But it helped that he’d brought her up. It made me realize instantly that I wasn’t here to play nice or even play house. I was here for dinner and drinks.

Dinner and drinks.

Drinks and dinner.

Whatever.

“Alright,” he held his hands out, pointing towards the steak and quickly getting off the subject of his daughter. “Have at it. Beat it ‘til it’s blue.”

Laughing, I lifted the hammer and slammed it onto the red meat. Theo walked away, pushing the doors open that led to the deck. He checked the temperature of the grill, and I couldn’t help my wandering eyes.

He moved swiftly, fluidly. There was something about him now. He walked lighter, head higher, but there was still a small cloud of darkness hovering above his head—one that would never go away. Not until he came to peace with his past. Or, better yet, stopped blaming himself for things he couldn’t control.

When he was back inside, he dusted his hands and walked my way. The closer he got, the tenser I became. It was then that I realized he had a spritz of cologne on. It was an earthy scent, drifting past my nose, the smell of the seasonings long gone as he met at my side. His arm brushed mine, his hand reaching over me to grab the flavorings.

“Okay. I think we’re good,” he said as I slammed the hammer down once more. He grabbed a few pinches of the garlic, pepper, and a mix of salts he’d put together, smearing them on the steaks with his fingers. “I’m gonna toss these babies on the grill now. I’ll whip us up some margaritas while they cook.” He picked up a pan, placed the T-bones inside, and walked to the deck, winking before stepping outside.

“Sounds good.” I sighed, ignoring the flutters that thrashed in my belly. Theo placed the steaks on the grill, and I walked out with an inquisitive gaze, watching as he flipped them back and forth in peace.

Taking notice of my stare, he briefly looked at me with a hint of amusement on his face. “Something on your mind?”

“I’m just… curious about something.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“I don’t know,” I hummed, sitting on the bench a few inches away from the grill. I folded my legs, looked up, and caught him staring at them, running his gaze up and down. He avoided my eyes as he looked away, pretending to focus on the grilled meat. I pretended I didn’t notice him looking. “You seem much better now, Mr. Black.”

He huffed a laugh, placing his fork down. “Alright, there you go with that Mr. Black thing. Chloe,” he murmured, turning my way and stepping closer. “You can call me Theo. I realize there’s a big elephant in the room—one we should probably address. If you want, we can talk it out. Hopefully that’ll get you to ease up. You seem… tense. See, I wanted to wait to talk about that, but if you insist.”

“No—it’s not that,” I quickly responded. “I just… have a lot on my plate. And if it really makes you feel better, I will call you Theo. Not Mr. Black.”

“Good. I’d appreciate that.” He picked up the silver fork again. “As for that elephant in the room, how about we just let him go, pretend he was never here.”

“Is that what you want?” I questioned.

His eyes met mine. “Is that what you want?”

“I think it’d be best,” I admitted, but there was a little lie behind that statement.

“Whatever you want, Little Knight.” I’m not sure he noticed, but a faint smile touched his lips, one I was sure he meant to hide. He knew there was still something sparking here, something really, really hard to ignore. Fireworks popped. Electricity zinged and zapped, shooting straight to my core.

Inhaling deeply, I stood and watched as he flipped the steaks once more and then took them off the grill. “Looks good!” I said.

“Think so?”

“Yes. I’ve been dying for a really good steak lately.”

“Well it’s a good thing you’re in town, huh?” He revealed one of his dimples, and I followed him inside. Once the pan was out of his hands, he went for the fridge, pulling out a jug of lime margarita juice and then some ice from the freezer. He went for the blender, and asked, “So, school is good? Liking USC?”

“Oh, I love it! I mean at first I didn’t like my roommate, but she’s cool now. I get her.”

“You were never the type to really make friends,” he said.

“Yeah, my dad said the same thing.”

“That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes having too many friends leads to trouble… and stress. Trust me, it took me a very long time to come to terms with that conclusion.”

“Yeah, I’ve only seen one friend come over. Wasn’t his name Mr. Brant or something? Cool guy.”

“Yeah… about that…” He looked away, dumping ice into the blender. “Mr. Brant only wanted one thing. Had to let him go.”

My lips twisted. “What do you mean?”

“Money…” His eyebrows pulled together. “When he found out about what happened to Janet, he showed up more often. Found out he was only taking advantage of my situation, getting closer to me for the few checks I’d receive due to her loss.”

“What?” I gasped. “Seriously?”

He nodded.

“What an asshole.”

“Agreed.” He turned on the blender, crushing the crushed ice even further, filling the room with a loud whirring noise. I toyed with the cotton edges of the placemat in front of me, focusing on the horizontal prints.

“I would never do that to anyone. It seems so… wrong,” I said over the noise.

“Well, I could give him the benefit of the doubt by saying his mom had finally kicked him out and he had just been fired from a well-paying truck-driving job, but I won’t. He’s an adult. I was going through a hard time, and to try and take advantage of me at my weakest point is pretty fucked up. I understand not having money, but all he had to do was ask. I always look out for the people I care about. He knows this. Instead, he tried to steal it, going through my papers to see if he could find a pin number to my accounts. I caught him in my office one night.” His head shook, the disappointment unmistakable. “But, it is what it is.” The blender came to a hush, and he poured two glasses, one for himself and one for me. After digging in the drawer in front of him, he pulled out a purple straw and tossed it into one of the glasses, sliding it across the counter.