Hare Today, Bear Tomorrow (Mating Call Dating Agency #1)(8)

He crossed the thirty or so feet between where they were, and put an arm around Garnet’s shoulder, like he was greeting an old friend. “So, tell me,” he said, “Ginger, does this place really have all that stuff on the menu?”

“Did you just call me Ginger?” Garnet asked. “I’m pretty much the opposite of a ginger.”

“Oh,” Stacy smiled with just a shred of sheepishness. “Uh, Ginger Rogers, because of the tripping, thing. You know what, never mind, I’m just digging myself in deeper and it isn’t even a very good joke.”

“Oh,” Garnet said. “You’re right, pretty bad joke.” She stared at him for a second, and then gave him a playful jab in the ribs with her elbow and laughed.

“Well, what the hell,” the big guy said, turning the two of them toward the entrance and skillfully changing the subject. “If someone cared enough to plant giant raccoons outside the front door, it must be good. Or must have, at some point.”

“One thing,” she said with a grin. “Avoid everything except the Thai part. The rest is... dubious at best. Let me tell you, one time I got one of their sushi plates and spent at least two days on the—” she cut herself off, blushing furiously before she could start discussing her bathroom habits with a stranger.

“I hear you,” he said with a grin. “On second thought, they’re pandas. You know, they’re related, pandas and raccoons. And neither of them are bears.”

“Little species-based pride?” Garnet said. A hint of mischief snuck into her voice. Gleefully avoiding all logic, reason and caution, she just really liked him. He seemed honest, and that smile, good God, that smile. She caught herself watching his face reflecting the neon from the garish drink menu and immediately forced herself to look away. “This is all new for me,” she admitted. “Blind dates, using one of those services? I dunno. It seems like I’m living someone else’s life and just watching this whole thing playing out through their eyes.”

“That was way too philosophical for pre-happy hour,” he said with a smirk. “I hear you’re a journalist?”

She nodded, still looking back and forth between the sign and where it reflected on her date’s cheek. “And I hear you hesitate to tell people what you do for a living for some reason?”

“Wrestler,” he said. “I just like to get to know people a little to avoid that initial rush of judgment that seems to always come with finding that out.”

“Freelance journalist and a professional wrestler,” Garnet said with a smirk. “I guess I part-time as a librarian’s assistant to make bills. So between the two of us, at least one of us has a sort-of-normal job,” she smiled.

“Normal’s boring,” the big bear said flatly. “And I need a drink. Care to introduce me to the fine world of Chinese, Thai, sushi and, uh, whatever cuisine?”

“Love to,” she said, and stuck out her arm, like she’d seen women do in old movies. He looked at it for a second, quirked a grin, and then hooked his around.

“You lead,” he said. “I might be many things, but I’m certainly a modern man. By the way, Garnet,” he looked over at her, slowing to a stop right before they hit the entrance. “I like you. A lot. If I’m not supposed to be as open as I am, then guilty as charged, I guess. In my life, there’s no time to waste, you know?”

“Are you sure you’re not a writer?” she asked, laughing softly and tugging him lightly toward the door. “You’re a funny thing, either way. Come on, I—” interrupting her rambling, Garnet’s stomach growled deeply enough to make Blade look like a cub.

“You need a doctor?” he said, grinning.

“No,” she laughed. “Just an egg roll. I know I said avoid everything except the Thai part of the menu, but sometimes I like to live on the edge, you know?”

He let out another laugh. “I think I owe Eve a big bonus.”

Those entrancing, hypnotic eyes that Garnet was lucky enough to have caught the big bear’s attention, and wouldn’t let him go for a few seconds. “Yeah,” she said, finally exhaling. “I think I do too.”

*

“How long you been here? I haven’t seen you before, which is sort of strange.”

“About twenty eight minutes,” Garnet said, checking her watch. She stuck an egg roll in her mouth so she wouldn’t have to answer the real question, though she had no idea why she was nervous about it. Also, she was up four to three in the egg roll contest.

Stacy grinned and plucked another golden brown, fried cylinder of deliciousness off the plate before signaling to the waiter that they did, indeed, need another plate of them. He stuck the whole thing in his mouth at once, chewing it with his lips politely closed. “Wow, you just moved to town right when we sat down? That’s nuts,” he finally said, giving her a half-smile.

He could probably kill someone with that grin of his, Garnet thought. “Very funny. No, I moved to town about four years ago. Honestly, I moved here with a guy, and that turned out to have been partially awful and partially lucky. Why would you have seen me?”

Stacy watched her face calmly, like he was waiting for some sort of reaction. Either that, or he was trying to memorize it. “Been here my whole life. Although I’m barely here at all anymore, I still call it home. I love this place, but, yeah, things have changed.”