A smile shadowed Kris’s mouth. “Does that happen a lot?”
“You’d be surprised.” I took a sip of water. “So how exactly does one become an app developer?”
He scrunched his shoulder against his ears. “You just need good ideas. Or you can steal an existing idea and add a unique twist to it.”
“Just that simple, huh?” Taking another bite of the chicken, I tried my best not to moan as I chewed.
“I started out as a coder and I worked for a video game company for a while but I’ve never been interested in the traditional office nine to five. I wanted to work from wherever, doing something that could make me money while I slept.”
“So you’re one of those hustle hard, scared money don’t make money, type of brothers?”
“No, I’m the how can I make the most amount of money while exerting the least amount of effort so I can go to San Diego and learn to surf, or Italy to attend a pasta making class type.”
I squared my shoulders, my body perking up. “Have you done all those things?”
He mumbled yes around a mouthful of food.
“Wow, sounds like you have this life thing all figured out.”
“I wouldn’t say all that. There are still aspects of my life I’m hoping to improve.”
“Like what?”
“Like a person to share this shit with. It’s great learning how to make ravioli, but it would have been even better if there was someone to share the experience with.”
“I feel like it would be easy to find a willing companion to jet set with you to Italy or Dubai.”
“True, but I’m not looking for just anybody.”
I grew uncomfortable in my seat as if my butt was resting on hot coals. Surely, he didn’t think I was a viable candidate for his around the world in eighty days lifestyle. I’m embarrassed to admit, despite owning a passport, I’d never been outside of the country. “Well spoiler alert, I’m not a good fit for that role.”
“Why not?” His face was stone serious, as if we were strangers and he knew nothing about me.
“I have a sister who needs looking after.”
“Three tickets are just as cheap as two.”
This was the moment the lightbulb clicked on in my head. Kris was just talking, he wasn’t serious about traveling with me.This was just all part of the game … a bit of fun. It was nothing more than foreplay. Kris would weave this beautiful tale of us traveling to exotic places, sleeping in late, and taking private tours of the Louvre. And I would in turn fall into his arms and fuck him with reckless abandon. Make-believe could be real enticing if I didn’t allow myself to dwell on the unlikeliness of any of this being possible. He knew I could never leave my sister, and I knew his words were empty. “Not gonna lie, it’s fun to allow myself to pretend for a little bit.”
“What if you didn’t have to pretend?” He set his empty plate aside.
In this dim lighting, it was difficult to make out his features. Was he sporting a playful smirk? Was there a mischievous glint to his eyes? “Kris, we haven’t even had sex yet and you’re offering me what?”
“I’m just presenting options.”
I’d accepted a long time ago my options were limited. Celeste and I were kind of a package deal, and not many men were looking for that level of commitment or responsibility. And it sounded like Kris was looking for adventure. The last place he’d find that was with the woman who practically had weeds growing around her feet because she was too afraid to make a move. Make-believe was for Disney movies. I was no longer enjoying this topic of conversation and decided to pick another.
“So why are you working at the mall?”
“Are we back on this?”
“Yes.”
“I thought it would be fun.”
“Bullshit.”
“I know you think I lost some bet or something, but it was honestly just a thing I was curious about and always wanted to do.”
