“Me either.” I kinda liked that we were experiencing something new together. “Do you like Italian?” Pasta was one of the few things I could cook really well.
“It’s one of my favorites.” I filed that away in my mind. I’d have to make her dinner one night.
The waiter came over and took our drink orders. Rita simply asked for water, while I got a soda. I waited to see if she was ready to order her meal, but she didn’t say anything else. I asked for some mozzarella sticks as an appetizer and then put my menu down after the guy left.
“Nice to see you have an appetite.” She put her menu down too. “Or is this making up for breakfast?”
“Don’t do that.” I reached over and took her hand again.
“Don’t do that.” She pulled away.
“Fine.” I leaned back in my chair. “I won’t act like we are on a date if you don’t act like you’re my therapist.” I raised my eyebrow in her direction.
“That isn’t how I’m acting.” She crossed her arms. “And I’m not your therapist.”
“Oh, I know.” Her voicemail still bugged me. “Did you have to break up with me with a message? Would it really have been so hard to tell me in person? Did I do something wrong?”
She let out a long breath. Her eyes half closed before she shook her head. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong. I did.” She leaned forward and let her arms rest on the table.
The server came back with our drinks and to take our meal orders. I went with spaghetti and meatballs because it was an easy ask. Rita picked her menu back up and searched for a moment before going with the eggplant lasagna.
“Are you a vegetarian?” I asked when he left.
“No, I just like eggplant.” Another thing to file away.
“My mother would adore you.” I figured it might be better to start with safe topics.
“Because I like eggplant?” She looked confused.
I laughed. “No. She’d love your name.” Her head tilted to the side. “Rita Hayworth.” I explained. “She has a thing for old movie star names.”
“Really?” A slow smile spread over her face.
“Stewart Martin Harris.” I pointed to myself. “My younger brother is Rex Holden, and my baby sister is Stella Marilyn.”
“Is Stella an old movie star name?”
“It’s a push, but it’s from A Streetcar Named Desire.” I shared. “It’s from when the guy yells out Stella.” We both started laughing.
“Dare I ask what her name is?” Rita relaxed and put her hands back on the table.
“Jennifer.” I shrugged. “She swears it’s the most common name in the book.”
“But there are a lot of famous Jennifers.”
I shook my head. “To her, it doesn’t matter. She wants to be unique.” Rita chuckled. “Why do you think you did something wrong?” I asked quietly.
Her face went serious. “You know.” She looked around again. “There are certain lines we aren’t supposed to cross. Getting that close to you was a big red flag. I had to walk away.”
“Because it happened or because you wanted me as much as I wanted you in that moment?” I needed an answer.
She stayed silent so long that I wondered if she was going to say anything at all. I cracked my knuckles as I held my breath. I was on the verge of repeating the question when she closed her eyes and answered.
“Both.” Her voice was almost a whisper. “That’s why I had to refer you to someone else.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but that was when our appetizer showed up. Maybe lunch wasn’t such a good idea. Not when we kept getting interrupted.
“Why didn’t you say something before you left?” I asked as soon as we were alone again. “Or wait until our next session to talk to me? Hell, even calling back would have been better than leaving a voicemail.”
