Page 19 of Love in the Stacks
“Hi!” I wave. “I’m Nicole. You must be Dylan?”
Dylan lolls his eyes in my direction, where he proceeds to scan my body up and down for an uncomfortable amount of time before saying, “I dig the hair.”
“Uh, thanks,” I say, shaking off the cringey feeling as I sit. Dylan is also wearing a suit, but where Brent’s looks too slick, Dylan’s looks too sloppy. It hangs on his thin frame, the untucked shirt spilling onto his lap like a dinner napkin. He has brown hair, buzzed low against his scalp, and brown, bloodshot eyes.
Olivia and Brent make introductions all around. The guys have already ordered a bottle of wine for the table, and we each have a glass of water as well. I sip mine, grateful to have an excuse not to talk. After twenty awkward minutes of small talk, during which I learn that Brent works for a tech company—“schmoozing” is how he describes it—and Dylan says nothing at all, a server approaches our table.
“Have you been to Molecule & Morsel before?” he asks. Olivia and I shake our heads. “We are a molecular gastronomy restaurant that serves only the most experimental and avant-garde dishes. Our menu changes daily and is limited to three options. Here are tonight’s listings.”
He hands us each a wrinkled piece of what looks like notebook paper that has been crumpled and then smoothed out again. Handwritten in pencil are three lines: foam-infused risotto, molecular ravioli, and Lancashire hotpot with beer-braised cockles.
A smile pasted to my lips, I slide my eyes to Olivia, who looks every bit as uncomfortable as I feel, but is probably doing a better job hiding it.
She raises her eyebrows but politely orders the risotto. That seems safe, so I do the same. Brent opts for the ravioli, and Dylan asks for the “hotpot” with a smarmy wink.
When the server brings our plates, I look down to see a tablespoon of risotto suspended in what looks like green sea foam with a single kernel of roasted corn perched on top. I look over at Olivia’s plate—same as mine—then back to mine, then back to Olivia’s again.
“Enjoy,” the server warns before walking away.
“Is this food?” I whisper across the table to Olivia.
“Uhhh,” she equivocates, scratching her forehead, “so it would seem.”
Just then, Dylan erupts from beside me. “Of course it’s food, you bumpkin!” he bellows, swaying alarmingly far into my space. “It’s science food!”
People at the tables around us turn to stare. One guy even pulls his phone out and holds it up like he’s preparing to record the scene.
Dylan’s close enough now that I can smell alcohol on his breath. Instinctively, I lean away. Olivia narrows her eyes and hisses, “Brent, is your cousindrunk?”
Dylan leans toward her across the table, his chest pressing down against his plate, smearing food across the front of his jacket. He whispers loudly, “I was pregaming. Brent said not to say anything and just stay quiet.”
“Dude!” Brent protests. “I told you not to be a cockblock!”
Olivia and I exchange a look and simultaneously stand up from the table.
“Don’t worry, you didn’t need his help.” Olivia’s nostrils flare as she glares at Brent. “Lose my number!” she bites out before storming away.
I hurry to catch up, and we burst through the front doors together, flooding onto the sidewalk outside.
Olivia looks at me, wide-eyed and flushed. “Oh my gosh,” she whispers.
I try to stifle my laugh, but a small burst escapes. Olivia snorts, then quickly covers her mouth. My shoulders shake from the effort of holding it in, my eyes watering. Olivia grabs the arm of my sweater, pulling me out of the doorway and down the sidewalk until we collapse against a brick wall, both wailing with laughter.
Choking on the words, I exclaim in faux offense, “He called me a bumpkin!”
Olivia howls. “I didn’t know people still used that word!”
When we finally compose ourselves, Olivia says, “At least we didn’t have to eat that weird food!”
“Science food!” I shriek and we fall apart again.
Walking back to the car, I bump Olivia’s shoulder. “Sorry about Brent.”
She shrugs. “No big loss.”
“How did you meet him anyway?”
“Dating app. It was only our third date. The first two were decent enough.”
