I yawn loudly into the phone, teasing him.
“That bores you?” he asks with a chuckle.
“Athlete schmathlete. I’m a science nerd, remember?”
“If I say I was also a 4.0 student, too, would that turn you on?”
“Oh, talk dirty to me, baby. How many AP classes did you take?” Thankfully, he knows I’m kidding. “So, how much stuff did you actually throw away?”
“None of it.” He laughs. “It was pretty cool to see what my mom had kept over the years for me. She had every jersey and every hat from the different Little League teams I played on, as well as all the tryouts performance charts I did over the years.”
“Did you play in college too?”
He pauses for a brief moment and then says, “Um, yeah.”
“Where’d you go?”
“Vanderbilt,” he says with a nonchalance that makes my eyes bulge.
“Seriously?” I ask, shocked. “How come you left that out?”
A sharp laugh escapes his lips. “Is that how you date nowadays?Hi, I’m Drew. I have a degree from Vanderbilt, so I’m not a schlep. Do you want to get to know me?”
I giggle into the phone. “Well, yeah. It wouldn’t hurt. You’d be surprised how many losers are out there.”
“Is that why you’re still single? Nothing but losers?”
“You have no idea how many guys still live with their parents.” There’s an awkward pause, so I continue, “Did you know most relationships start at work? When you’re surrounded by eleven-year-olds and ninety percent of your coworkers are women, it makes it kind of difficult to meet people.”
“So, that’s why you’re on Tinder?” he asks.
“To be honest, my sister created my account. She’s dying for nieces or nephews. Since she’s older, she’s out of the baby stage and says it’s my turn. Oh my God”—I panic—“I’m sorry. I know that’s like dating 101—to not talk about wanting babies.” I smack my forehead. “I swear I’m not like Marisa Tomei, stomping my foot while whining, ‘My biological clock is ticking like this,’” I say in my best accent to match hers from the movieMy Cousin Vinny.
“Hey, I think that’s from the nineties, right? Look at you, moving up in the decades,” he teases.
“Pretty Womanwas actually released in 1990, so give me a little credit on that one, but challenge accepted. I’ll try to think of one from the 2000s now.”
“Can’t wait to hear what you come up with,” he says just as I hear a knock in the background.
“Sweetheart, would you mind running out to get the food we ordered?” an older female voice says.
My eyes open wide as I sit up on my couch.Sweetheart? Who is that asking him to go get something?
I can tell he’s muffled the phone by the loud swooshing sound coming through on my end. He’s responding, but I can’t hear what he says. When he comes back, the line is silent, and I give him all the time he needs to explain who that was.
“So …” He laughs nervously. “Why do I feel like I’m back in high school and I was just caught talking to a girl?”
“Um, because it sounds like you were. Do you live with your parents still?”
“No. Yes. I mean—”
“You mean?” I pause. “Please tell me it’s not what I think.”
“It isn’t, I promise.”
I can hear the panic in his voice, and it’s almost cute. He’s nervous, and I take that as a good sign.
He continues, “Yes, I’m staying with my parents right now but only because my place isn’t ready yet. I’ve only been here for a few weeks. I was supposed to move on April first, but with everything going on, that date’s been pushed back.”
