Stacy

The man ordered a hamburger.

A well-done hamburger.

At a restaurant famous for fish.

Jackass.

“You know, they have great seafood here,” I said as Maverick handed his menu back to the waiter.

“So?” He sounded gruff, but I didn’t miss the way his eyes drifted lower. He was talking to my boobs. Of course.

“If you wanted a burger, we could have gone to a different place.”

He seemed confused…and seriously irritated. “They have burgers here.”

I sighed. “But if you didn’t want seafood, why would you agree to come here? To a seafood restaurant?”

He sat back, eyeing my face for a moment. “You demanded to be able to choose.”

Well…huh. I couldn’t exactly argue with the truth, now could I? Plus, he was smiling, sort of. Half smiling. Not frowning. That little tilt to his mouth was almost charming.

And made me think of his mouth…on mine…and other parts.

“Besides,” Maverick added as I reached for my ice water. It was suddenly stuffy at our table. “This city has burgers no matter where I go. I assumed this place would as well, so I didn’t need to argue with you over something so small. You argue enough on your own.”

Aw, well, that helped. Charmingness…gone.

“We could have gone somewhere else.”

“But you chose here.”

“I didn’t think you’d want a burger.”

“How could you? You don’t know me.”

And for some reason, those words hurt. A lot more than they should have. I didn’t know him…and I probably never would. Not with the way we fought.

“You’re right,” I said as I laid my napkin across my lap, trying hard not to look at him. I didn’t need to see him gloat.

But when he spoke again, Maverick didn’t sound gloaty. In fact, he sounded almost resigned. “Don’t worry. You’ll be rid of me soon enough, and then you won’t have to deal with a man who chooses a burger over insects.”

I wanted to break, to tell him I wouldn’t mind getting to know him, that I figured his gruff exterior was an act for some reason. But I couldn’t because…

“I’m not eating insects.” When he didn’t respond, I leaned forward. Pissed. “I am not eating insects.”

The look in his eye, the tilt to his lips. Things just got interesting.

Maverick

She looked completely surprised. And maybe even a little angry.

“I am not eating insects.”

Definitely angry. This might be fun.

“Sure you are,” I said as I sat back in my chair, looking forward to seeing a little fire from her. “At least, that’s what you told the waiter to bring you.”

If she had been a Reithhar female, she would have been growling at me. “I ordered crab legs, jackass.”

Time to pull out the big guns, which happened to be my knowledge of things far removed from construction and piloting ships across the stars. While Cutlass and Hudson had been busy with their mates, I’d been studying. A lot.

“Look at your choice of prey, sweetheart. In the overall hierarchy of your oceans, crustaceans are the insects of the ecoverse.”

Stacy was silent for a moment, and I could almost see the wheels turning in her head. She was thinking it over, which caught me by surprise. I expected her to fight more, to dig her heels in and refuse to back down. I did not anticipate her being logical.

“They’re not insects.”

Ah, there was the stubbornness I’d expected. “They are in their world.”

“We’re all in one world.”

I snorted a laugh. “Keep telling yourself that.”

She slammed her napkin on the table and stood up, almost knocking over her chair. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to find the restroom.”

I almost felt a little guilty as she stormed away. Almost. I could have been nicer, could have chosen not to point out what she was eating in the overall scheme of life on her planet, but she’d been abrasive since the moment we met. Plus, there was the whole Chad issue that appeared to be a non-issue, though I wasn’t sure about that yet. I was on edge and ready to fight back, even if I did hate myself a little bit for it.

But her zeal and fire certainly didn’t make my cock feel bad. On the contrary, he was ready to push her even further just to see where we’d end up.

Stacy arrived back at the table at the same time as the waiter who brought us our food. I watched with interest as her plate was placed in front of her, fascinated by her reactions. Her lips turned down, and her brow pressed together a bit, giving her the look of someone in deep thought or serious disgust.

My money was on disgust.

“You see them as insects now, right?” I had to ask. I couldn’t help myself.

Stacy sighed and ignored her crab to eat the green plant life on her plate instead. “I hate you.”

Yeah, I hated her, too. Though a little less with every minute, it seemed.