“That night wasn’t just a hookup for me,” I interrupt. “I had no intention of hooking up with anybody that weekend. Meeting you was a coincidence, and like I said to you that night, I’d never felt an instant connection with somebody the way that I did you.”
“So, if I called Archie right now, he would tell me that same thing?”
“If you called Archie now, he’d tell you how absolutely nuts I was about you. How I kept trying to find you after that weekend.”
“Really?” she asks, head tilting to the side.
“Yes, really. I thought about you for months. I tried to call and text Aaron to get your number … ”
“Yes, I know you spoke to Aaron. I heard all about that.”
“You heard about it?” I shake my head, confused. “That’s what I’m saying. I called Aaron to get your number, and he ignored me. And then …”
The air changes. Not dramatic. Not explosive. Just … tight. Her eyebrows lift, like she’s rerunning a play in her head and the outcome to the game doesn’t match.
“Wait,” she asks, baffled. “He didn’t give you my number?”
“No, that’s what I was going to say. By the time he did talk to me, he wouldn’t give me your number.”
I can see the fight happening inside her. The urge to unleash whatever version of me she's been living with.
Is that what this is about? Did Aaron say something about me?
My dedication to my career has made me push every woman away. Every woman besides Alie. If she had given me the time, I think I would have changed my plans for her. But she never even gave me a chance.
Now, she’s here, and she’s looking at me with her eyes narrowed, studying me, as if sorting through a narrative about me she’s at war with.
I can’t imagine the conclusions she must have drawn about me. I want to press her about them. Demand from her what she has believed all these years. Instead, I wait.
She crosses her arms and shakes her head. The war against me is winning.
“So then, Aaron’s a liar?” She mumbles. “I don’t know what to believe. What about Sabine?” She uncrosses her arms and leans back when the server brings her a glass of water.
“Would you like to order an appetizer or a drink from the bar?”
“You can bring us a bowl of edamame and a spicy tuna roll, and I’ll take a nice Pinot Noir,” Alie says.
“Very good. And you, sir?”
“I’ll have the same.” I honestly don’t care what it is. I just want to keep talking to Alie.
“I’ll be right back with those drinks and put your order in.”
I nod and thank her.
“Okay, so now what about Sabine? How do you know who she is?” I shake my head in confusion.
“Well, she texted you, and it sounded like you had some unfinished business to take care of.” She takes a drink of water.
“Sabine … I inhale and shake my head. “She was just trying to get a paycheck.”
“So, every girl who gets pregnant just wants a paycheck?”
“She was never pregnant. It was a hoax. She wanted to be with me for appearances and my money. I broke up with her weeks before I even came to New York, but she wouldn’t let it go. Then, when I got home from New York that weekend, she was waiting for me in my building. Long story short, it got out of control, and I had to file for a restraining order against her. I even had to change my phone number because she was harassing me.”
“Oh God. Really?”
“Yes, really. It fucking sucked, to be honest.”
