New and…Improved? & Andrew in Excess

“It’s the lighting, and friends don’t touch, remember?”

He lifted his slumberous gaze to hers. “It’s not the lighting,” he said, ignoring her reminder.

“The dress then.”

“Well, it is an incredible dress.”

“Thanks.” She backed up so that his hands fell away from her. Definitely time to move on. “I’ll see you.”

“What? Where are you going?”

“Nowhere you need to worry about.”

He let out a breath. “You’re on your next adventure already, aren’t you? What is it?” he asked grimly, clearly bracing himself, which stirred her temper all the more.

“Obviously it bothers you greatly to even think about it, so why don’t you just let it go? I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She walked away from him, said her goodbyes to Dennis and exited into the cool night. And if she felt a strange yearning for what might have been, she firmly squelched it.

Kent Wright was not for her.

But adventure number four was, and she could walk right to it. The night was lit by a blanket of stars that dazzled her mind and boosted her spirits. The air blew chilly around her bare legs, but she welcomed the delicious scent of spring.

The town was alive with both tourists and locals, as people hustled between the eclectic mix of historical and new hotels, shops and galleries.

One block later she stood outside the sushi bar and smiled. It might seem really silly to most, but she’d eaten bland food all her life. Simple, easy dishes she could take right out of her freezer and toss into her microwave.

Never, not once, had she had the nerve to challenge her palate, though she’d thought about it.

“Raw fish? This is your grand adventure?”

Sighing, even as a secret thrill raced through her, she turned to face Kent. “You’ve been following me. What a surprise.” Without waiting for an answer, she entered the small restaurant and was immediately seated.

When Kent sat next to her, she said nothing. He didn’t order, but she more than made up for it by ordering a large sampler platter.

“Becca-” he started, but she glared at him. He lifted his hands in surrender. “I suppose you don’t want to hear that they say ten percent of all sushi can make you sick.”

“Who’s they?”

“I don’t know. They.”

“Humph.”

“They also say it’s bad for you. Rots your insides.”

She ignored him as the waitress brought her order.

“And they definitely say you ought to take it easy the first time,” he warned as she started eating.

She paused. “They say that about a lot of things?”

Tension and awareness crackled between them. Kent broke eye contact first. Telling, Becca thought, popping another bite into her mouth. She chewed slowly, absorbing the new taste.

Different, she decided as she swallowed nonchalantly because Kent was watching her so carefully. Very different. The rice part was good, but as for everything else, she wasn’t quite certain. She picked up yet another, then another. “I’m not as naive as you seem to think I am.” She licked her lips, then her fingers.

His gaze took in the motion of her tongue and she was grimly satisfied when his eyes darkened with heat. She ate two more pieces.

“Becca, do you have any idea how they get that stuff? They-”

“It’s delicious,” she said, lying only a little. Oh boy, was she ever full. But she’d ordered this huge platter and couldn’t imagine letting it all go to waste. “And I told you, you’d better be careful or I’ll get the wrong idea about all your touching concern.” Another bite before she looked at him. “Which comes from what again, exactly?”

“It’s a bit complicated.” He lifted a brow when she took yet another piece, but refrained from commenting.

“I do consider myself fairly intelligent.” She chewed carefully now, thinking that last piece might have been a mistake. Her stomach rolled. “Try me.”

“You’re not going to like it.”

Definitely a mistake, that last one had been. She pressed a hand to her grumbling belly. “Why is that?” she managed to ask, thankfully sounding perfectly normal.

His jaw clenched again. “Truth?”

“Preferably.”

“Okay then, I-”

Uh-oh. Her stomach roiled again, violently, and despite desperately wanting to hear what Kent said, she had no choice but to leap up and run for the door, her hand over her mouth.

Not here, oh God, not here. Please don’t let me be sick all over this nice carpeting, in front of the sexiest man she’d ever not wanted to be with.

“Becca, here.” With calm urgency, Kent pulled her out the door.

“Go away,” she said miserably, frantically pushing at him. She’d just had to have that last bite, she just couldn’t resist.

The pain in her stomach doubled her over, grayed her vision.

Kent whipped her around the corner of the building to the alley, by the dumpster.

She didn’t quite make it that far. But at least she didn’t throw up in front of him.

She threw up on him.

SHE WAS SITTING on the salon steps the next morning, wallowing in humiliation, when Summer came bouncing up.

At the sight of her sister’s troubled face, Summer stopped short, carefully popped the bubble she’d been making with her gum and sucked it in her mouth. “Uh-oh.”

“Tell me again why I wanted this makeover?” Becca demanded. “Was it so I could make a fool of myself over and over?”

“I take it you’ve done just that?” Summer jingled her keys until she found the one she needed. Eyeing her sister up and down as she let them in, she said with disgust, “I thought we tossed out all your jeans and T- shirts.”

Becca lifted a shoulder. “Little problem came up. I still had the clothes in my car and last night… Well, let’s just say I just dropped them all off at the dry cleaners.”

They entered the silent, dark saloon. Summer flipped on the lights and music, and immediately the place took on that warm, comfy air that went a long way toward calming Becca’s nerves.

Summer pushed her into one of the chairs. “You can borrow something of mine, soon as I fix that whirlwind hair. What did you do, sleep in a wind tunnel?”

“I didn’t sleep.” Miserable, she groaned. “I was with Kent last night.”

“Cool.”

“I ate too much sushi and threw up on him.”

“Oh.” Summer popped another bubble. “Not exactly romantic.”

“This whole makeover/adventure thing, it’s not really working out for me. I’m thinking of forgetting the whole thing.”

“But you can’t!”

Becca sighed. “I know. All that trouble you went to for your contest.”

Guilt flashed over Summer’s face so quickly Becca decided she must have imagined it. “It has nothing to do with the contest,” she said. “You just looked so great.”

“It was easier being boring. I didn’t get wet or cold or sick. And if I was still that person, I’d know Kent was following me around because he liked me. Me. The old me, not the new me.”