“Is that the girl who skipped town on you?”
“Uh huh.”
“Not really. You mentioned her once, but never in any detail.”
“Well,” he said. “I still try not to think about the details, because they suck. Suffice to say, I’m no stranger to heartbreak.”
“Does it really help you—y’know, being the way you are?”
“What?” he laughed. “A man whore?”
“I mean, sort of,” I replied, not wanting to offend him. “Don’t you ever just want to meet a nice girl and settle down?”
“Honestly? Of course. That’s the dream, right?”
I took a sip of my drink, listening.
“The thing is, I can’t put my life on hold for that. I’m a successful attorney with plenty of money. I’ve got all the things a woman would want from a good man, but I have no clue where to find the kind of chick who I’d consider wife material. I tried once. It was hard work, giving a fuck like that. In the end, it wasn’t worth it.” He pauses to wipehis mouth. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t think love is out there. I think it just wasn’t my time.”
“So, you never stop and consider that maybe one of these random women who you hook up with might be the one, and you’re wasting your shot by being shallow about it?”
He shook his head. “Nope. I think if someone’s worth keeping around, I’ll feel it in my gut. So far, that hasn’t happened since Cheyenne. So maybe I’m just not ready.”
“Maybe.”
“Do you think Gracie was the one?”
I shrugged, knowing that admitting the truth at that particular moment might lead to the complete demise of my self-esteem. Nothing screamssexylike a grown man drying his tears on a bar napkin.
“She may have just been a rebound, you know.”
“Yeah. It didn’t feel that way though.”
“Well then I’d let it play out. Keep a low profile. See what happens. You never know. For a while after Cheyenne left, I thought maybe she’d show up on my doorstep one day, realizing she made the biggest mistake of her life.”
“But she didn’t.”
“Exactly. So I knew I had to move on.”
“How long did you wait for her?”
“I wouldn’t say Iwaited, exactly. I went out and did my thing. Got back on the horse, so to speak. One day I thought about her, and it didn’t hurt the way it used to. That was when I knew I was over it.”
“So, your advice is just to do nothing?”
“Nope. My advice is to doyou, bro. Those chicks who were chatting you up werefine. You could’ve easily gone home with either one. I’m sure you still could. The blond one keeps looking this way.”
“I’m good,” I said.
“Well,” Dom replied, taking the last bite of his meal. “If you’re not going to give it a shot, mind if I do?”
“Have at it.”
“Cool. You go home though. I’m always down to listen, but your sad-boy persona is a hundred percent cutting into my mojo. You’re better off surfing the couch for a few weekends till you feel up to”—he waved his hand in the air—“all this.”
With that, Dom took the last swig of his drink, threw a fifty-dollar bill on the table, and gave me a wink. “I’m gonna go see who wants a ride on the Dommy-go-round.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. I settled up the tab and ordered myself a ride home. By the time I left, Dom was eyeballing a brunette who was loudly yee-hawing atop a mechanical bull, the violent bouncing threatening to set her breasts free from their underwire holster. I shot him a wave before leaving the bar, but he didn’t notice.
