“Fine, then train it is.” I cross my arms and lean back in my seat.
“Damn. Does everything have to be your way or the highway?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“Don’t you have car repairs to make?” he asks, placing both hands on the wheel when traffic moves again.
“That’s true. The more money I have, the faster I can stop riding with you.”
His eyes widen and he sits up straighter in his seat. “Fine. You can help pay for gas.”
I smile. That was easier than I thought it would be. Even though I will miss my quiet mornings alone with my thoughts, I’m relieved to not have to worry about getting back and forth to work every day, for now.
“I think we should exchange cell phone numbers in case something comes up,” he says, lifting his phone from the cup holder and handing it me.
I’m not sure I should tell him I may have to cancel my service to pay for the car. I decide to give it to him for now. If I turn it off and he can’t get through, I’ll explain then. There’s no reason he’ll need to call me anyway.
Placing my finger on the home screen, it flashes to a picture of Finn with an attractive-looking guy. Their arms are around each other and they’re both smiling. My mouth drops. Is he gay? I want to ask, but I don’t know how. Instead I just stare at the picture and feel a pit of disappointment grow in my stomach. I oddly hate the idea that he could be into guys. Did I read him wrong?
He notices me studying the home screen. “It’s a good picture, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” I swallow hard. I need to know, but I don’t know how to ask. “Is this your boyfriend?” I blurt it out before I can think of an alternative.
“My what?” he laughs. He briefly rotates his head to me. His laugh ends abruptly and his mouth drops when he senses I’m serious.
“Sorry, it’s none of my business.”
“Wait. You think I’m gay?” he asks, leaning forward in his seat. “You really think I’m gay? That I have a boyfriend? Do I strike you as not being interested in women? Holy fuck, is that the vibe I give off?”
His voice raises an octave with the last question. He’s clearly concerned and I grit my teeth in regret for opening my mouth. My anxiety spikes and I feel horrible. My nervous shuffle begins. “No, I didn’t think that. I mean, you are super nice and you dress really well, so I guess it actually kind of makes sense you’d be gay if you believe that stereotype. Not that I do, because that’s ridiculous and I did think you were flirting with me, but I’m usually wrong about people. And I really don’t know you so maybe you just act that way in general and didn’t mean anything by it because if you’re into guys, then you probably didn’t. Unless you’re bi, which would explain both, I suppose. But no.”
He stares at me and his lips curl. “How in the world do you talk that fast without breathing?”
“So are you bi or just gay?”
“I’m neither! For the love of all things holy, I can assure you I’m into chicks, not dicks.”
“Oh.” I have to press home again to see the picture. Maybe he’s a friend.
“That’s my brother,” he responds. His voice softens.
I take a closer look and notice there is a striking resemblance between them. It makes more sense. “I didn’t mean to pry. I’m sorry.”
“Not at all. I’m an open book. You can ask me anything.”
Multiple questions pop into my head at once, the top one being if he has a girlfriend. I don’t want to seem interested, because I’m not. Not at all. Asking questions might give him the wrong idea. I decide to drop the subject and hopefully get back to not talking.
I type my number into his contacts and hand it back to him. He glances at my number and nods his head. “Do you want mine?”
I suddenly remember I have it. It’s on the business card I picked out of the trash. I don’t want him to know that. “I’ll get it when you text me.” I shrug like I don’t care.
“So what I heard you say is that you’d like to hear from me as often as possible.”
My eyes widen briefly until I realize he’s kidding. “No. I think I hear enough from you. Please don’t make me change my number.”
Turning to stare out my window, I offer a silent prayer that we’ve said enough for today.
“Are you going to the Christmas party Friday after work?” he asks.
