Some Like it Hotter

“All of the above. You have good taste buds. There’s more, too.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “How much more?”

“Kale, cilantro, pineapple, hemp seeds—”

“Kale? Yeah, okay. I get it. Disgustingly good for me.” She took another sip, feeling better already, and handed back the thermos. “And delicious. Thank you again, Zac.”

“Sure.” He grinned at her, then chuckled.

“What?”

“That’s the first time you’ve said my name.”

“Uh.” Chris stared incredulously. “You kept track?”

He shrugged, raising the thermos to his lips.

The guy better not be crushing on her. She had zero interest.

And who put vegetables in a smoothie, anyway?

They sat in silence for a while, Zac apparently contentedly watching the waves roll in, Chris nearly twitching from the silence between them. She hated silence.

“So...what you do when you’re not at Slow Pour?”

He was clearly amused again. As if he got that she was finally talking to him only because she found the silence so awkward. “I’m finishing my degree.”

Ah, so he was a student. He must have gone back to finish now, a bunch of years after dropping out—she’d put him in his early thirties. Well, good for him, better late than never. “In what?”

“Engineering. Specialization in water engineering.”

“Wow. So you’ll end up with a bachelor of science degree for that? Pretty technical for undergrad.”

His smile was slow and smug. “This would be for my master’s.”

Oh, crap. She bit her lip. “I see. So then...”

“Are you trying to figure out why I’m at the café so much? If I’m a poor slob or independently wealthy? Where I’ve been all your life?”

Chris shrugged irritably, as if she didn’t care, when in fact that was exactly what she had been trying to figure out. “Something like that. And also not.”

He laughed. “If you want to ask me something, Chris, just ask.”

“Why do I have to do all the work?” She scowled good-naturedly. “If you know I want to know something, just tell me.”

Zac chuckled, conceding the point. “Okay. Let’s see. I went to UC Berkeley undergrad, worked for an engineering firm for several years before and after the Peace Corps. This fall I’m finishing my master’s at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and applying to doctoral programs for next year. Ultimately I want to teach.”

Holy— Chris gaped at his peaceful profile. She’d stuffed Zac safely away in the beach-bum category, rich or poor didn’t matter, and now she found out he was not only intelligent, but ambitious, with clear goals and a plan. For some reason the surprise of him annoyed her all over again. Why hadn’t Eva ever told her this?

Come on. That wasn’t her sister’s fault. Chris had made the stupid and rather snotty assumptions all by herself.

“Dude!” Gus waded toward them in the fading light, backlit by the magenta ball of the setting sun. “Is that one of your kale smoothies?”

“Sure is.” Zac got to his feet as Gus came closer. They high-fived, then fist-bumped. Chris snorted. Seriously, dudes, just shake hands and get over yourselves. At least they didn’t bounce their chests off each other.

She was so done with this roller-coaster evening, and with the strain of talking to Zac, not feeling sure of herself around him. Frankly, she hated it.

“How’d you like the surfing?” Gus unzipped his wet suit to his navel and pulled down the hood, smiling triumphantly.

How did she like it? “Oh, it was great. You looked great out there. I guess. I mean, to be honest, I wouldn’t know.”

Zac shot her yet another amused look. She hated him. He should not be standing there enjoying her misery.

“Yeah, it’s the best. I’m good. You can trust me on that. Right, bro?” He reached to high-five Zac again.

God give her strength.

“So, Chris.” Gus beamed at her, water dripping off his bangs, teeth shining, bare chest gleaming through the unzipped wet suit. Okay, she was still pissed, but because he was physically perfect, he could still save the evening if he suggested right now that they do something romantic and wonderful. “How about driving to San Luis Obispo to shoot some pool?”