She picks up her menu, and now I see the laminated sheet reflected in her glasses. “I think I’m going to get the salmon.”
I nod and look back down at my menu, but I can’t see any words. My mind is still on Claire.
“So, you surf?” Rena asks, drawing my attention back to her. “I only tried once on a foam board. It was kind of a disaster.”
I nod and look back up at her. “Yeah. Been surfing since I was a little kid.”
“Maybe you could teach me?” She tilts her head with a small smile.
I swallow hard.Focus, Ryan. You’re a flipping math professor. You pride yourself on logic and rationality. You can rationalize yourself out of a crush on someone.I force a smile onto my face. “Yeah. That sounds great.”
She beams at me, and I convince myself that I can do this. I can be normal on a date.
What did Chase tell me to do? Ask her questions about herself. “So, if surfing isn’t your thing, what do you like to do?”
She flashes me a beautiful smile. “Well, I’ve always been into video games, so now I work in animation with Stone Gaming.” Her eyes brighten as she tells me about her job and the games she’s designing, and I breathe a little easier.
I got this.
An hour later,I’m walking Rena to her car.
“This was fun,” she says.
“Yeah, it was,” I agree.
No, it really wasn’t. I spent my time trying to focus on something other than Claire, and the reflection in Rena’s glasses gave me the worst headache.
“Here’s my car,” she says, pointing at her black Lexus. “And thanks for a nice dinner. But I don’t think I’ll be seeing you again.”
I turn my head to her, catching the streetlights bouncing off her glasses. Even out here, I can’t escape the glare. “Why’s that?”
“Because you’re looking for something else. Or maybe you’ve already found her.” She puts a gentle hand on my shoulder. “But I appreciate the effort. Thank you for being a gentleman.”
I nod once at her, grateful that she’s letting me off the hook. I open my arms. “Is a hug okay?”
She grins. “Definitely okay.” She leans into my embrace, and I give her a nice, friendly hug. In another life, I could see us being friends. But these circumstances were a little too strange for me, and I’m not ready to start another friendship with a girl. They’re too complicated.
“Have a good night,” she says. She opens her car door and climbs in, waving at me as she starts the car. I wave and head over to my car on the other end of the lot.
So…not terrible. I had a nice time with a woman who isn’t Claire. That’s progress, right? One step in the right direction. I pull out my phone and look at the message from Claire. Do I write her back and tell her about the date? I don’t think I should. Even if the date with Rena didn’t work out, I can’t let Claire pull me back in. Instead, I close the messages app and dial Chase’s number.
“Hey, man,” Chase says in my ear. “Already done?”
“Yeah. She was nice, but there wasn’t a connection.”
“You want to go out with someone else?” he asks.
Do I? No.
But to Chase, I say, “Yep. Set me up.”
“Awesome. I have a whole list ready for you.”
Here we go.
CHAPTER 13
Claire
