“How you been?” I asked as I took off my coat.
“Good. You?”
“Working. Nothing new.”
She smiled, but something about it didn’t seem genuine.
“That’s you. Always flying the friendly skies.”
“Yep. It’s what I do. Have you ordered yet?”
“Just a drink.”
While I looked at the menu, the server arrived with the drink she’d ordered and a glass of water for me. He asked if I wanted anything besides water, and I declined but told him I was ready to order my meal. We placed our orders, and he disappeared.
“I feel like you wanted to meet up for a reason other than just wanting to see me. Wassup?”
“I don’t know if I can keep doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“Seeing you and not knowing where we stand.”
“Are you saying you don’t know where we stand?”
“I mean, I do, but what we’re doing is very ambiguous. We’ve been dating for close to a year, and I’m ready for more than whatever this is.”
I put my forearms on the table and clasped my hands together.
“I wouldn’t call what we’re doing dating, and I don’t think it’s ambiguous at all. I thought we both were very clear about what this was.”
“It was fine in the beginning, but it’s been almost a year. I thought you’d want something more by now.”
I did want more, but not with her. Of course, I didn’t say that, because my parents raised a gentleman.
“Livvy, you know my schedule is crazy, and that’s not about to change. You’ve been very vocal about how you could never commit to someone who didn’t come home more than a few times a week. Did you change your mind?”
“It wouldn’t be ideal, but I guess I could deal with it. You’re a good man, Sylas, and there aren’t many good men left. I’m almost thirty-five, and I’m ready to settle down and start a family.”
“Oh, so that’s what this is about? Your biological clock is ticking, and I just so happen to be the man of the hour?”
“You say that like I got a full roster or something.”
“Am I the only man you’re seeing?”
“You’re the man I’ve been seeing for the longest.”
I sighed because Livvy was full of shit.
“Look, you’re cool as hell, Liv, but you can scratch my name off the list and move on to the next nigga. Our relationship can remain as it is, or we can end things tonight so you can find someone who’s on the same page as you.”
“Sylas, you’re almost forty. Aren’t you ready to settle down and have someone to come home to?”
I absolutely was, but Livvy wasn’t who I wanted to come home to. I was doing my best not to say something that would hurt her feelings because I liked her, but she was making it difficult.
“Nah. I’m not ready for all that yet,” I lied.
“Can we at least try being exclusive for a few months to see if?—”
