Dex: Have fun on your double date.
We meetNate and his friend Greg at a small Thai place close to our apartment. They’re already sitting inside at a table and Greg stands as we take off our coats and say our hellos. I’m surprised when Greg doesn’t ogle Julia like all the other guys usually do, he just stands like a gentleman and gives me a strong handshake. Nate stays in his seat and gives the obligatory eye-fucking Julia’s presence always commands.
Greg’s good-looking—tall, sandy blond hair, well-built and to top it all off, a bright blue gaze. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jane,” he says with a friendly smile.
“You too.”
“Nate’s told me a lot about you.”
Well, that’s not good. I smile and my cheeks flame. “Don’t believe everything you hear,” I laugh awkwardly.
“Nothing bad, trust me,” Nate chuckles on the other side of him.
A lot of small talk ensues. I order something off the menu that Jane and Nate promise won’t be hot, but I come to find when my dinner arrives, I’m dining with a bunch of big fat liars. One bite and tears are blurring my vision and my tongue is hot lava.
I drink fifteen glasses of icy water for dinner and I have to get up to pee three times. Why Julia swore to me the dish I ordered wasn’t spicy, I have no idea, but I do know since I could barely speak, there’s hardly any conversation during the whole fifty-six-minute dinner ordeal. Julia glares at me with pleading eyes the entire time. I go a little overboard on pretending the torrid temperature of my tongue is too painful for words.
Greg is nice, though. He looks miserable that I’m miserable, and when the plates are cleared and we all chip in to pay the bill, Julia asks Greg and I out for after-dinner drinks.
“After-dinner drinks?” I ask, stunned. I didn’t even eat dinner, I don’t want to drink on an empty stomach. “No, I’m passing on drinks tonight. All my taste buds have been singed off, I won’t taste anything.”
She sneaks me that puppy-dog look again but this time I ignore it and slide my coat over my shoulders. Greg stands up when I do and immediately helps me. “How about I call a cab home for you?” he asks.
I look up at him and smile. “Oh no, I only live three blocks away.”
“Great,” he says, smiling wider. “Let me walk you home, then.”
I nod, grateful someone around me has manners.
“Oh, okay,” Julia says sadly. “I’m really sorry about your dinner, Jane.”
No you’re not, I want to say. Of course, I don’t, though. I just walk out of the restaurant and continue to feign burning tongue sensations until I’m no longer in her line of sight.
Greg and I walk to the corner in silence and suddenly I’m overwhelmed with wanting to be alone. I fight back tears, but when I tilt my head up to tell Greg, he says, “Jane, you must be starving, can I please take you somewhere you can properly have a meal? On me, since you just chipped in for a dinner for four and your caloric intake was zero.”
My chest feels a little looser and my stomach rumbles loudly. “That would be awesome, but nothing big. Here,” I point to a small coffee house that serves hand-tossed salads and fresh sandwiches. “I’ll get a salad and a water.”
Greg opens the door for me, and just like he said he would, he buys me a proper meal and a coffee for himself. He even sits with me while I eat it.
“So, what’s the story there? What was all that about? Aren’t you and Julia close friends?” he asks.
Before I answer, I take a huge bite of my salad and moan. He laughs. “I’m not really sure what the hell that was,” I say after I swallow. “Julia and Nate have been forcing me to double-date with them and honestly it’s been one disaster after another.”
“Oh, do tell,” he says sipping at his coffee. He’s got great lips. Sexy lips. Sexy lips I want to tell stories to.
But not all the stories. Only the decent ones.
“Last Friday night, they invited me toa dinner party.” I do air quotes with my fingers to exaggerate the words. “They paired me up with a guy who is a full-fledged alcoholic. He was passed out at the dinner table and nobody did anything about it. She also invited this guy from work I despise, but that part turned out weirdly fine.”
“And tonight, they both just thought it would be funny to tell you the dish you chose for dinner wasn’t the spiciest on the menu?”
I shrug and shove another forkful of salad in my mouth.
“I didn’t know what was happening or I would have warned you.” He takes another small sip of coffee like he’s cherishing the flavor. “Does she do those things to you often?”
“Not really.”
He leans back on his chair with a thoughtful expression on his face. He really is a very handsome man. Julia and Nate can’t be too bad if they wanted to set me up with him. They just have an awful sense of humor with their practical jokes. Greg is kind and warm and they thought he would be great for me—there can’t be any malice in what they did.
