Page 22 of Sharing Shadow Secrets
“My ex is thirty-seven.”
“Older woman. Look at you.”
Another surprising fun fact about Brandon.
“Maturity wise …” He trails off, then shakes his head.
“Why didn’t it work out?”
“Every reason. Mainly, she struggles with sobriety and that’s … a lot. The weight of her calling one day and being messed up and me dropping what I’m doing to get her or take care of her and talk her into getting help. It was an emotionally taxing relationship.”
Sounds like it.Brandon’s a better person than me, being there for her through all of that.
“That’s tough,” I say.
“Yeah.”
“Well … I’ve never had a real boyfriend. I’m a pro at situationships and fuck buddies.” I shrug, and he furrows his brows, looking down at me. “What?” I ask, not understanding his expression.
“Who called off these situationships? You or them? Because I bet it’s you.”
I tilt my head. “Why do you bet it’s me?”
“Sometimes you seem a little guarded.”
“That’s fair.”
And not a lie.
He pauses in front of a white and blue painted brick building. “Want to eat here?”
The logo is reminiscent of an evil eye, and the name looks Greek. I’ve never eaten here before and now want to.
14
“Ilike the feel of this place,” Taylor says, and I’ve really enjoyed all of our conversation so far. We’re going straight for the deep stuff and that’s so much better than small talk.
“Let’s sit on the patio?” I ask, and she nods. Stepping up to the hostess stand on the sidewalk, I ask, “Do you have any tables for two outside?”
“Yeah.” The girl grabs a handful of menus and guides us past couple after couple, each sitting at wrought iron black tables, until we reach an open one.
Looks like a nice date spot.
As we take our seats across from one another, she sets a wine list between us.
“Just water for us,” Taylor says, picking it up and handing it back to her. I softly smile, appreciating that.
“Tell me about yourself,” I say after the hostess walks off. “You’re starting a business. You’re really good at social media. What else should I know about you?”
“I grew up in the north suburbs. So north, some might argue they are not suburbs, just rural America. I’ve lived downtown since college and generally really love Chicago.”
“What did you study?”
“You will never guess,” she says teasingly.
“Marketing?”
Taylor shakes her head, and she is gorgeous. I’ve always been drawn to light eyes and dark hair. Maybe I’m a narcissist since I have the same look, but I love it. My eyes flick down to her cleavage.
