“C’mon, taste it!”  He held his fork just inches away from her face.

            “No, thanks,” she replied, wrinkling her nose.

            “C’mon.  Just one little taste.”  He moved the fork even closer.

Glaring at him, she jerked her head back.  “You know I don’t like fish!”

“Yeah, but this is really good.  Just try it.”

“NO, damn it!”  He was really beginning to piss her off, but this was just one of many things in recent months that irritated her about him.

As he pulled the fork back and placed it into his mouth, she noticed a look of sadness come over his face – or was it anger?

Reaching across the table, she placed her hand on his forearm.  “I’m sorry.  It’s just that you drive me crazy with that, you know?”

“It’s okay,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

“No, I’m really sorry.  I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.”

They finished their dinner, chatting pleasantly enough, until it came time for dessert.

“Will there be anything else?” The waiter asked as he cleared their dishes from the table.

“I’ll have a slice of carrot cake,” he replied, glancing up from the menu.

“I’ll just have a cup of coffee, thanks,” she smiled.

Minutes later, the waiter returned with their order.

“This is really good,” he commented, before taking another bite of his cake. “It’s got cream cheese frosting.”

She nodded as she picked up  her cup of coffee.  “It looks good.”

“Try a bite,” he said, thrusting his fork in her face.

“No, really.  I don’t want any,” she replied, raising her hand in protest.

“Just a taste.”  He pushed the fork even closer.

Looking into his eyes, she paused for a moment before taking the piece of cake into her mouth, biting down hard on the fork. As he pulled it from her mouth, it made that annoying sound that always caused him to cringe.

“God!  You know how much I hate it when you do that!”

Still looking into his eyes, she sat up straight in her chair – smiling to herself – not uttering a word…. there was no need.