“It’s a football thing. We use hand signals and calls for everything.”
“We?”
“I meant it’s a guy thing. You know how men integrate a lot of things from sports into their lives. We’re big kids like that.”
“Actually, I don’t know.”
“The ex wasn’t a big sports fan?”
“He watched sports news to kind of keep current, but he didn’t really watch any games. He’d rather watch political or financial shows.”
“Speaking of him, did you get your locks changed?”
“Turns out I was worried for nothing. He hasn’t returned. I don’t think it’s an issue.”
“Funny how we always end up talking about him.”
“You brought him up,” I reply defensively.
Our server for the evening approaches the table and asks us for our meal selections. We put in our orders and spend the next ten minutes talking about safe topics like the price of orange juice and how our pets are doing. Then he hits me with another round of questions.
“Apple or PC?”
“Can we answer without having to drink this time?”
“The rules call for drinking, but I’ll give you an exception now that I know you can’t handle your alcohol.”
His cell phone buzzes several times and he checks it once but then turns it face down on the table.
“If you don’t want to answer the question, then you drink otherwise you don’t have to.”
“And I get to ask you questions too, right?”
“Whatever you want. So the question was Apple or PC?”
“Apple of course.”
“Me too,” he grins. “Your turn.”
“Jason or John?”
“Trust issues, maybe? I promise you my name is Jason. The agency came up with the whole alias thing for privacy. I thought I was meeting a woman named Trina.”
He takes a small sip of his wine, swallows it slowly, then goes next.
“Top or bottom?”
“What do you mean?” I ask nervously, knowing exactly what he means.
“Do you like to ride on top or luxuriate on the bottom?”
A sudden warmth flushes the sides of my face and the back of my neck.
“That’s a personal question.”
“That’s how the game is played.”
“I don’t want to answer it.”
