13

13

After a moment, his expression cleared, and he shook his head. “Nah, I don’t think I could handle two desserts.” He nodded down to his. “Would you like some?”

“I don’t like bavarois cream.” She said it abruptly since it was a lie. She absolutely would’ve adored a bite of his dessert, but the idea of eating it on his spoon—and she was certain that’s how he would’ve fed it to her—was just too intimate. It led her to thinking things she shouldn’t think about on an outing with friends. To him, it was probably nothing more than a casual sharing he would’ve done with any female acquaintance—perhaps even some male ones, though she had a hard time believing he would’ve let one of his friends or cousins feed him—but to her, it took on too much complexity and too many nuances that she shouldn’t interject into the encounter.

He looked briefly disappointed. “That’s too bad. It is delicious.”

“So is mine, so I’m good.”

After they’d finished dessert, and she was trying to maintain the pretense t