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“That why you use so much?”

“Don’t hate until you’ve tried it” She uses tongs to shower the plates in cilantro “Now, they’re perfect Trustfor seconds”

“Guess you’ll still get ”

Her eyes go to the concrete “Ryan Can we… Let’s just eat, okay?”

“Yeah” Hunger doesn’t exactly make conversation easier

She follows oing?”

“It’s a surprise” I lead her around the corner

It’s a dozen blocks to the nearest park We walk them in silence

The air between us stays heavy

We step under the yello of a streetlight Take seats on an empty concrete bench

Leighton sets the plate between us

I hand over her water bottle

Her fingers brush ot about this place”

“I run here sometimes”

“It’s small” She looks at the ehts are off Kids are home