“High school,” I said.
“Oh.”She looked at Taran as if to askwhat the fuck?
The lights flickered and the bell gave three little dings to let us know we had five minutes to get back to our seats.
“There’s our cue.”Taran stood and came around to my side of the table.“Later, Jennie.”
“Enjoy the show!”I slipped my free hand into Taran’s, let him pull me up to standing, and twined my fingers through his as we walked away.
“You have no idea the restraint I’m showing right now by not smacking your ass,” I said through my teeth.
He laughed again.“You were amazing.I think she was surprised even to see me, let alone me with someone.”
“With a guy,” I corrected.
He shot me a knowing look.“It is pretty funny.”
“Hilarious.”
We made our way through the crowd and back to our seats.And by that time, I had to saysomething.“She’s like a seven at best.”
He snorted into his drink again.“Come on.She’s an eight at least.”
She was probably a nine.Maybe a nine-point-three, if you were into that type.So I just shrugged and asked, “What am I?”
“One to ten?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation, Taran immediately replied, “Twenty-seven.”
Later, at our early but fancy dinner, our server told us we were cute together.Taran smiled and said thank you, and I flirted with the guy like crazy.Got us free dessert, too.
Taran told me about his work friends, and I told him about mine.We talked about people we used to know and movies we loved to rewatch, about music from the last decade that still hit just right and the most life-changing meals we’d ever eaten.All of this over the most expensive steak in town, both of us ordering top-shelf cocktails before sharing a bottle of wine he picked.
I’d had guys take me out for nice dinners before.I couldn’t figure out why I was so impressed with this one until I realized it wasn’t just the server looking at us and smiling.The overstuffed barflies, the middle-aged ladies on a post-theater binge, and the young aspirational professionals were all smiles when they noticed him touch my hand or pour me a glass of wine.Not in a creepy way, but just like it was… yeah, cute.Normal.
As we were eating our free crème brulee, I finally had to ask, “Is this weird?”
“What?”He looked down at the custard.“Something wrong with it?”
I hated that it made me laugh.“No, not the food.I just mean, this.You and me, being here.”
He frowned.“Do I seem weird?”
“No.You seem like this is totally fucking normal,” I admitted.
“Well, I mean, I’m still a little nervous.Working up the courage to ask for confirmation that we can do this again.”
Anyone would’ve been charmed, or so I told myself.This was how he’d done it back in the day, too; I would’ve hooked up with him even if I hadn’t liked him.But goddamn, I hadlikedhim.And still did, in spite of spending years blaming him for the worst heartbreak of my life.
He nodded, licking his lips.“You mean, like, that it’s you and me, and we’re doing this?”
“It’s weird, right?”I sounded like I wanted him to agree with me.I didn’t.I wanted to believe that this was just two guys who’d been too stupid to make it work the first time trying again in a more grown-up way.
But it felt… yeah.Too easy.Uneasy?That little itch in my brain from before was coming back, and I couldn’t figure out what it was.But something felt off—and not something obvious.
“I don’t think it’s weird,” he said apologetically.“It actually feels like the good kind of easy, to me.Not like we never stopped talking or anything, or like we picked up where we left off.Thank god.”
