Page 2 of Time for You
“That’s just impostor syndrome talking.”
“Or maybe Iaman impostor,” Ellie replied. “Maybe I have you all fooled.”
“You don’t. Trust me.”
Ellie looked like she was about to say something, but she shook her head. “You okay?” she asked after a beat of silence that went on just a little too long.
“I’m fine. Just tired.”
“We should do something next time we’re both off. Something stupid.”
“You of all people know that’s not my style,” Daphne replied with half a grin.
“Which is exactly why we should do something stupid and impulsive.” Ellie dropped a kiss on top of Daphne’s head. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Positive,” she said, and leaned into Ellie’s shoulder. “G’night.”
“I mean it. Stupid and impulsive. We’ll get Michelle and Brittany and Vibol in on it and everything. Soon,” Ellie said. “And get some sleep, okay?” she added on her way to her room, leaving Daphne alone under the single light in their kitchen, with nothing but cold pizza and her thoughts for company.
Chapter Two
Daphne checked the time on her phone again and tried not to whip her head around the second the door jingled with a new customer. Behind the counter, a machine hummed as the barista worked on an order, and a group of elderly men held court on the chairs nearest the window. Daphne drummed her fingers on the table and sipped her drink slowly, hoping she wouldn’t look impatient if her coffee was more than half-gone before he even arrived. Her date had said he could probably make it by two, but like her, his job could be unpredictable and tough to schedule around, so it really wasn’t unsurprising he was a little late.
A half hour is more than a little late,Ellie’s voice whispered in her head.No dick is worth that.Ellie had slightly different opinions about men and dating than Daphne did, to be sure. Ellie wasn’t interested in romance, or dating, or really anything other than friendship and fucking. Which worked very well for her, Daphne had to admit. But that wasn’t the vision Daphne had for her life.
She had done her best not to think about romance for the last—well, a lot of years, because she was so sure it would distract her. Daphne didn’t need to go all soft and mushy while she was applying to med school, studying in med school, and scoping out residencies. She needed strict, uninterrupted focus.
She wasn’t sure exactly why she’d decided the time was right for dating a month ago, after years of self-enforced semi-celibacy. (That guyfrom that party two years ago only half counted, seeing as only one of them had gotten off, and it sure as hell hadn’t been Daphne.)
Her date, assuming he wasn’t standing her up, checked all the boxes for a future Mr. Daphne Griffin: tall (six three according to his profile, which meant he probably cleared six feet, once she accounted for the Dating App Inflation that Ellie said was currently running at about two and a half inches); blond (You sure you won’t look like twins?Brittany had asked, clearly underestimating the key role Peeta Mellark had played in Daphne’s middle school life); and the founder of a tech start-up, which meant he was ambitious, just like her.
“Daphne?” a deep voice asked, and she stood up, pleased to find he hadn’t been lying at all about his height.
“You must be Anders,” she said. He was broad, big shouldered, and thickly muscled. Clearly, he spent alotof time at the gym. Maybe too much.No judgment. We all have hobbies,she reminded herself.
There was an awkward moment where they did a little half dance, him leaning in for a hug while she moved out of the way, holding out her hand instead. She was acutely aware of all the times she’d been calledcold, but Anders let it pass with an easy grin.One point for Anders.
“I’ll just go get my drink,” he announced.
He returned soon after, with a mug of tea and a scone.Ascone. That he put right in front of his chair. “Today’s my cheat day. I do intermittent fasting the rest of the week,” he explained.
It wasn’t that Daphne particularly wanted a scone, but it would have been nice to be asked, that was all. “You were saying you’re working on a new app?” she prompted. She had been chatting with Anders for a couple of weeks, so she knew the rough contours of his job, but the specifics, as he’d explained over text, hadn’t made a ton of sense to her.
His eyes flashed but his smile didn’t waver, and it was over so quickly she decided she’d imagined that split second of annoyance. “It’s a podcasting app that uses generative AI,” he said.
“How does that work, exactly?”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Why?”
“Um, because I’m interested? I’m not super familiar with how AI can work to help podcasts, I guess,” she replied, a little taken aback by his suspicion.
“Oh.” He laughed, and the tension bled away. “You mean you don’t get it. Okay.”
“What did you think I meant?”
He shrugged and pinched off a piece of scone. “We’ve got some rivals who are interested, that’s all. Can’t be too careful, you know?”
Daphne didn’t know, quite frankly, but she nodded like thinking she might be engaging in corporate espionage was a super-understandable mistake anyway.Not everyone clicks right away. I just have to give it a little more time,she reminded herself. Texting with him had been if not great, then okay enough, so maybe they just needed a little bit of time to warm up to each other again.
