I didn’t know how to say goodbye or thank him for how good he’d been to me in the last few weeks, but I was having trouble finding where to start. So I went with rambling. “Thanks so much for everything. I hope you get to relax before going back to work next week. I’m so ready for a shower and some sleep.”

He looked like he wanted to say something, but like a moron I opened my mouth before he could. “Okay, so I guess I’ll get going.”

As I went to open the passenger door, he stopped me. “Do you want to go see some live music tonight? There’s a good band that plays on Fridays in town. They do lots of covers and I think you’ll love the lead singer.”

Oh.

Oh?

Oh!

“Really?” Funny how the tightness in my chest from the last hour loosened instantly. “That sounds great, actually. I told you how much I like live music, and I’d love to see a gig here. I’m in.” Stop talking, Desta, you’re now fully in overexcited puppy territory.

He laughed, shaking his head at my extreme enthusiasm, and I kept going. “If you throw in a dinner with anything not containing injera, you’ll be my hero. Not that I don’t love the stuff, but I’m ready for a pizza or something.” I was the first one to admit that my love for injera waned after weeks of eating it cold for at least one meal a day.

“How about pizza and beer? Then music.”

I rolled my eyes in ecstasy. “That sounds incredible. What time should I be ready?”

“I’ll be here at 7:30. The show doesn’t start until 9:00, so we can eat and then walk there. The Beer Garden is right behind the bar where they play.”

I gasped at that. “Beer Garden? You really are trying for superhero status.”

“Just making sure you get the best of Ethiopia.” He grinned in that way that made his dimples pop, and I was a complete fucking goner.

Once he was back in the vehicle, I stood by the entrance to the guesthouse and lifted my hand to him, feeling like this was nowhere near sufficient for a goodbye. “See you in a few hours.”

Elias nodded and the intensity in his eyes once again made me wonder what exactly was going through his head. “Eshi, Desta. See you soon.”

After I watched him drive away, I climbed the stairs to my room, sporting a grin of my own. Self-recrimination about my poor choices in men flew out the window with every step.