Grey sat back against the seat and let their inane chatter wash over him as the car hurtled toward the restaurant. Whatever Jaya Rao was here for, he’d get to the bottom of it.

Jaya

So Sushi Me was dimly lit and somewhat grimy, tucked away on a shop-lined avenue in downtown St. Rosetta. Grey insisted on tipping the driver himself and wouldn’t let Jaya reimburse him, which she found both irritating and strangely charming. The waitress led them to a table by the window (that overlooked the parking lot) and left them with their menus.

“It’s not much to look at,” Grey said. He was seated across from Jaya, alone in his ripped vinyl bench. Which was probably wise; he took up the entire thing on his own. “But the food is good.”

“That’s what my friend Elliot said,” Isha put in, because evidently, she couldn’t go more than fifteen minutes without mentioning Elliot.

A flicker of recognition crossed Grey’s face at Elliot’s name, but then he nodded seriously. “Then Elliot has good taste.”

Don’t encourage her, Jaya wanted to sigh. Instead, she leaned in and smiled. “So. What do you recommend here, Grey?”

“The masago is my favorite,” he said. “But I think the seaweed salad is their most popular one.”

“Mm. I think I’ll go with your favorite.”

“I’ll get the unagi,” Isha added.

Grey signaled to the waitress that they were ready, and then they all placed their orders.

It was kind of… interesting how he just took charge. Some women might find that attractive, but Jaya herself merely noted it as a student of social patterns. He was still the enemy, no matter how chivalrous or confident or how much of a sushi expert he was.

“So, Isha,” Jaya said, because she was the elder sister and it was her duty. “How are your studies coming along?”

“Great! I checked this book out of the library, and it’s all about how to weld parts together to build a robot. It’s fascinating!”

“Oh dear.” Jaya tried not to let her face show how horrifying she really found the thought of Isha building robots.

“Have you read about the origami method?” Grey asked, looking interested in spite of himself.

“Oh, you mean where you practice with paper before you do it on metal? To get the basics of building the body down?” Isha replied. “Yeah, I have. I have this great book by David Cook.”