Something New

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Book: Something New by Janis Thomas Read Free Book Online
Authors: Janis Thomas
Tags: Fiction, General, Family Life, Contemporary Women
missing a beat. “This gal named Tina gave me a lecture on recycling used toilet paper.”
    “Sounds like Tina,” I say with a smile. And because I just can’t help myself, I ask, “Aren’t you supposed to be out chasing bad guys or something?”
    He squints at me, then smiles sheepishly. When he opens his mouth to speak, he sounds like Joe Friday. “Ordinarily, I would be, ma’am. Lots of bad guys to chase. Not so much in Trader Joe’s, though.”
    I nod in agreement. “I love Trader Joe’s. The bad guys don’t know what they’re missing.”
    “You got that right.” We both chuckle companionably.
    “I took some time off between the transfer,” he explains. “For the move. My wife had to start work right away, so we thought it would be good for one of us to get the lay of the land, get familiar with the neighborhood.”
    “Good idea,” I say, and pretend to continue perusing the cheese.
    Ben reaches for some goat. And no, that is not a weird way of saying he just adjusted himself. He chooses the kind with an herb crust, inspects it, and returns it to the shelf. I grab some English Cheddar with Caramelized Onions, a package of Neufchatel, and a tub of Romano. Ben takes stock of my choices and gives me a speculative look.
    “Cheese balls,” I say.
    “Back at you,” he retorts, eyebrows raised. We both laugh again.
    “I’m making cheese balls,” I explain unnecessarily. Obviously, he knows what I meant. He’s a detective, for Pete’s sake.
    He fixes me with a direct stare and says, “Let me ask you a question.”
    I feel something stirring in my belly at being the recipient of such an intense gaze, and although I am struggling to appear placid on the outside, my insides are turning to jelly. I chide myself for having this kind of reaction to him, even though I know that there isn’t a damn thing I can do tochange it. Body chemistry and hormones are what they are. You can’t ignore them, just like you can’t ignore gravity when you go bungee jumping.
    Ben is now looking at me expectantly and I realize he has already asked the question but my mental machinations were so loud that I missed it.
    “What?”
    “Is that a dumb question?” he asks, a hint of embarrassment seeping into his voice. “It is, isn’t it?”
    I realize that he has mistaken my “What?” for a criticism of his question. I could save
myself
a lot of embarrassment and just let him continue to think that I find his question ridiculous and not worth answering. But then I’d never know what he asked. Better to make an ass of myself than to always wonder,
What was the question? What did he ask? Why was it dumb? What the HELL was it?
The unknown would keep me awake at night, tossing and turning and wondering, and for a woman fast approaching hot flashes, hormone surges, and night sweats, I really don’t need anything else in my life that will deprive me of sleep.
    “No, no. I wasn’t listening with both my ears,” I tell him. “I really didn’t hear the question.”
    He looks relieved, and then his lips curl up with amusement. “You weren’t listening with both your ears?” he mimics. “Okay. Well, it probably is a dumb question, anyway.” He pauses, as if waiting for a drum roll. “If you were cheese, what kind would you be?”
    I can feel my jaw drop to my chest, and a moment later, a deep rumble of laughter escapes me. I can think of only a few times in my life I have ever been truly surprised by a man, and this has to be one of them. This gorgeous, sexy hunk of a man with his liquid brown eyes and six-pack abs and superhero job has an
inner geek
. I love it! He squints at me again,immediately assuming that I am ridiculing him with my giggle fit. I quickly stifle the guffaws, wipe the tears from my eyes, and shake my head to disabuse him of the idea.
    Before I can stop myself, I reach out and place a hand on his arm. In all seriousness, I say, “I think that might be the best question I have heard in a

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