Page 10 of The Deadbeat DILF
His brows jumped up. “You remembered?”
“I think Mike mentioned you had your own business?”
His gaze flickered away. “I left the company, but I’m still in construction. It’s tough work, but I can’t complain. It keeps me in shape, at least.”
It took all of me not to let my gaze rake over his shoulders and chest. “That’s good,” I said in a neutral tone. “I’m practically glued to my desk at work, so I have to make a concentrated effort to exercise.”
“Let me guess, pilates?”
I gave him a suspicious look. “How’d you know?”
“All the young women in the city do pilates,” he replied with a smile.
I laughed. “Not all. One of my friends does yoga, and she’s trying to get me to convert.”
Our conversation was interrupted by the waiter bringing over our drinks, as well as the sashimi selection. There was also a side dish with soy sauce and wasabi.
“Looks good,” Robert said, using his chopsticks to pick up one of the thin slices of mackerel. I watched in slow motion as he added a generous amount of wasabi.
“Wow,” I said as he popped the raw fish into his mouth. “You must be good with spice.”
His jaw moved as he chewed, and a second later, he made a choking noise. He quickly covered it up, but picked up his whiskey and took a big gulp.
I started to laugh — I couldn’t help myself.
“Be honest with me, Robert,” I said, once I’d forced myself to stop laughing. “Have you had sushi before?”
“I’ve had California rolls before.” He blinked a few times — his eyes had gone red from the wasabi.
“You said you liked sushi!”
“You said this was one of your favorite places. I didn’t want to make a fuss, not when I was lucky to get you to agree to a meal after all.”
“Well,” I said, “it’s a good opportunity to catch up.” I picked up my cocktail to hide my smile. If I thought about Robert eating wasabi, I’d start laughing again.
Robert gave me a look that suggested he knew exactly what I was smiling to myself about.
“Here,” I said, and demonstrated how I liked to eat the sashimi, only putting on a tiny bit of wasabi. “If you don’t like it, you can forgo it altogether.”
He copied my action. This time, when he chewed the fish, he didn’t choke, and after a few seconds, his eyes lit up. “The flavor is subtle, but I like it.”
“Right?”
The waiter brought out the other dishes, and we discussed the food as we ate. I was glad Robert was enjoying himself. Last year, I’d taken my parents here to celebrate Mom’s birthday, but they’d spent the whole time complaining about the food and talking so loudly, we kept getting looks from nearby patrons.
Afterwards, they asked if I purposely tried to upset them by taking them somewhere fancy. They accused me of trying to make them feel out of place, and ignored me when I tried to explain that Silver Lotus was one of my favorite restaurants, and I thought they’d enjoy it.
“I can see why this is one of your favorite restaurants,” Robert said, once we had finished eating.
I smiled. “I’ve tried a lot of sushi places in the city, but I keep coming back to this one.”
His eyes fixed on mine. “Thank you again for your help, Brooke.”
My cheeks went a bit warm. “It was nothing. Please, don’t mention it.”
I craved compliments, but I never knew how to receive them. I decided to change the topic. “Have you been searching for a new place to live?”
He leaned back in his seat. “I have. Right now, it’s impossible to find a reasonably priced one-bedder. You know how the rental market is here. I’ve been trying to find a place to share, but noone wants to live with an old man.” He let out a self-deprecating laugh.
