She patted his hand with her free one. “A very hot dog.” She giggled. “See what I did there? Hot. Dog. It’s funny,” she said when Blake raised his eyebrows.
“Be glad I love you so much. Jokes that bad should be banned.”
Farrah stuck out her tongue. “I’m only letting that slide because it’s your birthday.”
A harried waiter approached their table. They hadn’t looked at the menu yet but after a quick scan, Blake and Farrah placed their usual orders for Vietnamese food—pho with brisket and eye of round for her, grilled pork banh mi for him, and two summer rolls to share.
“I’m glad we could celebrate your birthday before we left.” Farrah rubbed her thumb over Blake’s knuckles. “I hope you enjoyed it.”
“Today is the best birthday I’ve had in ages. Because it’s my first birthday with you.” A year ago, Blake would’ve choked on the amount of cheese in those words. Now, he didn’t care. It was the truth.
Blake’s birthday wasn’t until next week—lucky him, his birthday fell two days before Christmas—but Farrah insisted on celebrating before they returned home for the holidays. He’d nixed a big party, much to Courtney’s disappointment, and settled for a group dinner at one of Olivia’s fancy-schmancy restaurants. Blake would’ve preferred beer and pizza at a casual joint, but the girls would’ve killed him.
Farrah sucked in a breath. “Who knew you were such a cornball?”
He smiled, trying not to think about the fact he wouldn’t see her in person again until late January. He couldn’t believe the semester was over. Three and a half months had passed in the blink of an eye. If his life hadn’t changed so much, he would’ve thought he’d just arrived in Shanghai. “Corn with extra cheese, that’s me. Do me a favor and don’t tell anyone.”
Her eyes sparkled with emotion. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
The waiter returned with their food. One bite told Blake it was as good as he remembered.
“9/10 on food recommendations.” Farrah slurped the broth from her spoon. “I’m impressed.”
“9/10?” Blake was insulted. “What’s the missing one?”
“That pizza place you took us to.”
“Which—oh.” Blake grimaced when he remembered the stale pizza crust and funky toppings from a few weeks ago. “Fine. I dropped the ball on that one. But this should be good enough to make up for it.”
“Mmhmm.”
They ate the rest of their meal in comfortable silence. This was one of Blake’s favorite things about his relationship with Farrah. With his past girlfriends, he had to put on a show and be as lively and charming as everyone expected him to be. This was true even with Cleo, whom he grew up with. With Farrah, he could breathe.
It took them less than 20 minutes to polish off all their food. By the time they finished, Blake’s stomach strained against his pants. He was so full he couldn’t move.
Maybe a second dinner was a bad idea.
“I’m going to freshen up.” Farrah scooted out of the booth. “I spilled soup on my shirt.”
“It’s ok. We’ll get you out of that shirt soon enough.” Blake laughed as Farrah whacked him on the arm.
While she used the restroom, Blake paid the bill. No tipping culture in China, which took some getting used to but which he now appreciated.
After weeks of struggling to adjust to China’s unfamiliar customs and way of life at the beginning of the semester, Blake had finally settled into a comfortable Shanghai routine. The noise and pollution didn’t bother him so much anymore, and he even liked some of the foods he swore he’d never try. Turned out stinky tofu was quite delicious, once you got past the stinky part.
It was going to be weird going back to the States. Blake was already bracing himself for reverse culture shock, though it would be nice not to have to deal with squat toilets for a while.
After Farrah came back from the restroom, they shrugged on their coats and walked to the nearest metro station. It was so cold their breaths fogged around their face every time they breathed.
“Our last night.” Farrah sounded wistful. “It’s been a wild ride.”
“Our last night in Shanghai this semester,” Blake corrected. “We have next semester.”
He couldn’t wait. He missed his mom and his sister, but he wasn’t looking forward to seeing his father. He liked his old man best when he was more than 7,000 miles away. Besides, a month without seeing Farrah was going to be torture.
Sure, they had Skype, but it wasn’t the same.
On the other hand, Blake had always wanted to try cybersex…