He laughs. “Guilty as charged.”
“You don’t get it,” I explain. “You were like a god in high school.”
“Ha! That’s some revisionist history.”
My mouth hangs open. “Youwere.”
“Okay, agree to disagree. What does that have to do with anything?”
I clear my throat. “I was a nobody.”
He makes a confused face. “No, you weren’t.”
“Oh, I definitely was.”
“I think you’re wrong. But even still. What does it matter? This isn’t high school, Gracie.”
The waitress appears with dessert menus. “Can I get you guys anything else?” she asks.
I’m grateful for the interruption. I need a second to calm down.
Colin looks over the menu. “How do you feel about tiramisu?” he asks me.
“Sure,” I say.
“One tiramisu with two forks, please,” he tells the waitress.
She smiles at him and writes down the order. “You got it,” she says and walks away with our empty dishes.
“Listen to me,” he says. “I want you to use the story I gave you. I mean, if you can. It’d be nice ifsomethinggood could come from it.”
“I understand that,” I say.
“It’s settled then. The idea is yours. And now we don’t have to talk about it anymore.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“That was really personal. Thank you for sharing it with me.”
“Thank you for emailing me.”
“When?” I ask.
“When you were drunk. You’ve made me laugh so much the past few days. You have no idea how nice that’s been.”
I smile, and we slip into more conversation about which outer borough has better desserts as the waitress returns with our tiramisu and the check. Colin pays without a word, and I don’t fight him about it, but I graciously thank him. We leave the restaurant and head back to his car, where he opens the door for me. We drive the few blocks back to my place, and, once we’re double parked outside, I say, “Would you like to come up?”
He looks at the time on the dashboard. It’s almost ten. “I want to, and thank you for the offer, but—”
“Right. Of course,” I say. “I’m sure you’re super, um, tired.”
He laughs. “You’re nuts, you know that?”
I look at him. “Why?”
“Iwantto come upstairs. But I know—and you know—what will happen if I do.”
