“I stabbed a fork into my salad and watched with morbid curiosity as he bit into his sandwich. He grinned mischievously and took an extra-large bite.

“So?”

“It’s not bad.”

“That’s not exactly a glowing recommendation.”

He laughed. “That’s a figure of speech. I kinda like it.” He held it out to me, waving it slowly back and forth. “Try it.”

If his gesture was meant to entice me, it missed the mark, but I didn’t want to be ungracious. I tentatively leaned forward and took a small nibble, making a point of overlapping his own bite mark.

It really wasn’t bad. Not when it was properly used as a condiment, thinly spread onto the bread. The flavor was…interesting.

“Umami?”

He nodded. “Right. The fifth flavor.”

Umami was a savory flavor. The other four he referred to were sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.

“Okay, I’ll admit it,” I said with a smile. “You were right, and I was wrong.”

“I’m trying to expand my horizons. My New Year’s resolution was to try ten new foods this year. This makes five, so I guess I’m on target.”

“Any regrets among them?”

He winced. “Grasshoppers.”

“Gross. Apparently my resolution was to give up having sex.”

“Sam snorted. “I’d rather eat tripe.”

“Ew. Just when I was starting to elevate the value of your opinion.”

Sam’s grin had a sly tilt. “How about this. You eat another large bite of Vegemite, and you can be off the hook with your ill-advised resolution.”

I wagged my fingers to signal my agreement—I wasn’t stupid—and invite him to extend the sandwich back toward me. Vegemite might be an acquired taste, but it was already growing on me, so I chomped out a fair sized chunk without any hesitation.”