Black Sheep

Chapter 4

"Good evening, Ling," he said again.

"Good evening, Chef SJ."

"So you do remember me."

He smiled, and it was the same pilyo-innocent grin she'd known so well. It was like she was 12 years old again–a new student in a new city where she only knew her aunt, and never mind the language. The teacher introduced her to the class and told her to sit in the vacant seat beside the boy in the back row. He had beamed up at her the way he did now: like he was looking at a gift.

"Of course." She cleared a few boxes from the dining table so that he could sit. "What can I do for you?"

He looked vaguely disappointed at the professional tone she was taking.

"Is there anything wrong with the order? Did you need something else?" She did a panicked mental tally of the remaining inventory–if he needed something in bulk, he'd have to wait until next week; most of their on-hand supply was now reserved.

"No." He looked around the cramped first floor of her loft apartment and perked up when he spotted her mini chest freezer. "May I?" He lifted a plastic bag up at her.

"Oh."

Was this why he was at her house at 10 in the evening? For freezer space? She...guessed she could do that, for a client. "Sure, you can leave that in there. What time do you need it tomorrow?"

"Huh?"

"For your shop. What time should I tell Hera to take that back to Nomnom Commons?"

He looked puzzled, and then pulled out a container from the plastic bag. It was a pint of cheese ice cream, which he dropped into the freezer. "This is for you."

She clapped a hand to her mouth.

He bit back a grin. "You thought I went here so late at night to use your freezer?"

"But...why else would you be here?"

"To visit an old friend," he said solemnly. "And to thank her for the pinasugbo." Out came another container, a clear plastic one. When he shook it, she could see tiny shards of dark brown powder.

"That's the pinasugbo?" It bore little resemblance to the hardened slices of banana, coated in syrup and wrapped in paper, that she was finding so hard to sell.

"Frozen in nitrogen and crushed to powder. Your 'sorry I screwed your order up' gift gave me the idea to add it to my barquillos cannoli, and maybe for a special dessert just for the launch. But I need to test it before I serve it."

"So that's where I come in. Taste-tester." She grinned. "I won't say no to that."

"Good. But we need to wait."

Her face fell as his pilyo look intensified. "Why?"

"Ice cream needs to firm up in the freezer. It's so humid outside it melted a bit."

"Okay. I guess I'll make us some tea."

She puttered around the cramped kitchen, getting out mugs and Lipton tea bags, boiling water in her electric kettle. She was conscious of his gaze following her around, but couldn't think of anything to say. His presence made her feel buzzy, like she had a horde of tiny, happy bees making honey on top of her skin: pleasant, exciting, but not exactly calming.

When she sat down with the steaming mugs, he looked exactly the same way.

He searched her face for a long moment. She wanted to look away, but there was something in his gaze that pinned her down.

"It's been so long, Ling." His voice was low, coiling and settling in her belly and making her feel...funny things.

"It has." She took a gulp of the tea, forgetting it was scalding hot. "Shit!" The mug slammed on the table as she fanned her mouth.