Page 14 of Broken Dreams
Phil leans back. “I work, Addison. I don’t make much, but there’s real money involved in my World of Warcraft this weekend.” He leans in. “The winner takes five hundred dollars.”
“Wow.”
He nods. “Exactly what we call it. Are you a Worldie too?”
I have no idea what that means. “Can’t say that I am.”
“I just hate to see us be over before we began. We have something special here.”
Another chuckle and then a utensil dropping. I hear a deep voice, but it’s too low to distinguish who it is. “Excuse me,” he says as he pushes his chair, causing it to hit mine.
When I go to turn, Phil takes my hand in his. “Addison, I like you. I think you like me too.”
I stare at him, forgetting what dragged my attention away. “I do like you, but I don’t think we have all that much in common.”
“Of course we do.”
I blink a few times. “Like what?”
He leans back, thinking about it for a while. “I don’t know, but we have this chemistry.”
Oh boy. I need to walk this down carefully because I really don’t want to hurt his feelings. “Chemistry is only part of a relationship. We have to build and create a life from that. You and I have so much to overcome, it would be so hard. I mean, you’d have to sell your video games and move, and you would need to work full-time and become a stepdad.”
Phil’s face pales. “I don’t think that’s fair to ask.”
“It’s not, which is why I think we need to really evaluate what we’re doing here.”
I’m just making shit up at this point.
“I guess you’re right. I can’t leave my mother’s house. It’s all I have left of her.” He bobs his head a few times. “I’m sorry, Addison. I should’ve thought this through.”
“It’s okay,” I say softly. “I’m glad we had dinner and this talk before things got too serious.”
“Me too.” He lifts his hand for the waiter, who comes over.
“Yes, Monsieur?”
“We need the check please,” Phil informs him.
The waiter, Luke, returns a minute later with the black leather holder, placing it down. Phil glances at it and then me. I look at it and then back to him. I guess I’m paying. “I’ve got this.”
He nods. “Thanks, my paycheck didn’t get deposited and I didn’t win my tournament yet, I planned to pay for the second date. Well, thanks for dinner. I’ll see you at the next meeting.” Phil stands and walks away, leaving me still pulling my wallet out.
“Bye...” I say to no one and slip my card into the folder.
Then I hear that laugh again. I turn in my seat, ready to square off with whoever is laughing at my horrible date, and find Grady there, back to me as his dinner companion is walking away.
Grady shifts, facing me. “So, did you have a nice dinner?”
“Since you were listening, what do you think?”
“I think your date needs you to tuck him in.”
I roll my eyes. “I think your business partner thinks you need a life.”
“All that Mr. Jeston should care about is my work, the fact that I have a decade of pilot experience, and that I’m discreet. He’ll call tomorrow with a change of heart.”
Didn’t sound much like that, but what do I know?
