"Yes, but it was literally this magical thing where he, like, found her missing scarf. And Marley didn't care about football. She was different."
"See?" I said, encouraging him. "If your brother found someone, so can you. You'll find someone who doesn't want you for all that stuff. You're still young."
"I know, but I just want it. I want to hear somebody call out and say 'hello' to me when I gethome from work. I want to hear music playing in my house that I didn't turn on."
"Oh, that's so sweet, EJ," I said. "I guess I'm mean because I want the exact opposite," I added, shaking my head and smiling. "I want nothing to do with any of that. I want to set my own goals, and I want to have my craft supplies all over my living room without anyone telling me to stop spending money on them or to clean them up. Oh, I'm so happy not to have anyone at home when I get there. You have no idea how good you have it right now. I get what you're saying, but in my opinion, you should just enjoy your independence while you have it. Why don't you get yourself a dog? Or, honestly, I bet with how famous you are, you could have some cool dudes who just wanna hang out with you at your house. That would be way better than a wife or anything."
I smiled at him, and he stared at me with a perplexed but thoughtful expression. "I'm sorry," he said.
"Sorry for what?" I asked, smiling at him. My food was almost gone by that point, and I stopped eating.
"I’m sorry for what made you never want to trust anyone again."
He was being so sweet and sincere that, for a second, it tugged at my heart. But I knew how far I had come.
"Oh, no, it's okay," I said. "We all have different paths. I chose to be with him for so long. I've forgiven him, and I've forgiven myself, and it's all good. I'm thankful I'm in such a good situation now."
"But you're never going to love anyone again?" he asked.
"Oh, sure. I love lots of people," I said. "I have great people in my life. Half of the second floor is an apartment, and I have it rented to a guy named Nico who's autistic and wonderful and one of my best buds. I love Nico. I love Gabe. Bree. I love all of my employees. My mom and brother are in my life. I have lots of love for people. Are you not going to eat your tomatoes?" I asked, seeing that he had scooted the diced tomatoes to the side of his plate.
"No, I don't like them."
"How? Can I have them?"
"Yes." He held his plate in my direction, and I took his tomatoes.
We started discussing food, and for the next ten minutes, we listed and laughed about our likes and dislikes with eating. We picked up where we left off as kids—just effortless best friends. We spent almost two hours in that booth. Our conversation was funny and honest and raw. He told me some stories about his family and his life, and I did the same.
The time passed quickly, and it was after nine o'clock when we stood up from our booth. EJ paid,and I noticed that he tipped the server well over twenty percent.
"I wanted to pay," I said when we walked outside. "I didn't want to argue in front of our server, but I want to buy your dinner."
"Why would I let the lady buy me dinner?" he asked.
"Because. Haven't you learned anything from our conversation?" I lifted one arm and flexed my bicep. "I'm tough. I'm the kind of gal who can pay for my dinner and yours." I grinned and pushed at his arm. "Let me. You drove all this way, and I've really enjoyed catching up."
I had cash in my pocket for this exact thing. I had prepared it in the ladies' room earlier. I reached out and handed it to him as we walked in the parking lot.
"I think you gave her more than this," I said, handing him a wad of four twenties. "I didn't know you were such a good tipper."
"Please. I'm not taking this," he said, pushing it away. He held onto my hands when he did it, and it was thrilling. I reacted to the feel of his big callused hands on me. Men in my life didn't normally grab onto me like this. I normally would never allow it. But he was smiling, and he was sweet, and roughhousing felt good with him. I resisted him, pushing the money away.
"It's the least I can do," I said. "It probably won't even fill up your tank with gas." I made a suddenmovement, whipping my hand forward, swiftly slipping the money into his shirt pocket. He probably could've stopped me, but he didn't try. He just gave me a look like he wished I would stop trying to give him money.
He was looking me in the eyes as he took it out of his pocket. Goodness, he was a gorgeous man. We were standing near his truck by then, and he handed it to me.
"I didn't pay for my haircut," he said. "It's the least I can do. Take it, Savannah."
I took it because he was sweet and serious. "Thank you," I said, giving up.
He walked to the door and opened it for me, and I sat in the passenger's seat, feeling like he was the most perfect man on earth.
I watched him walk around the truck and then I spoke when he sat down. "I'm glad it's the last time I'm cutting your hair because you tip way too much."
He began to back out. "What do you mean it's the last time you're cutting my hair?"
"Well, duh, EJ. We know each other now," I said. "You can just message me on Instagram and we can say 'hi' to each other." I let out a little laugh at the thought of driving seven hours. "You don't need to book a fake haircut anymore to see me. Chicago's amazing. I bet you can find somebody to do it better than me within two miles of where you live. There's no way you can drive seven hours for a haircut."
