Page 17 of Santa Baby Maybe
Uncomfortably awkward, and I had no real reason to be. Or maybe I was just feeling shy? Around W.B.?
“You came,” I stated.
He shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “I was in the area and I was curious.”
I knew he didn’t live in LoDo, but rather had one of those luxury apartments in the River North District. Which meant if he was in the area on a Sunday…
“Another date?” I concluded.
He looked at me and then sat on the desk next to me. He nodded. “We had brunch.”
I wrinkled my nose.
“What?”
“Blind date brunch? That’s a lot of pressure,” I told him.
“Why do you say that?”
I shrugged. “Well, first you’re faced with the question ofshould I or should I not drink on this date?It’s early afternoon. It’s a Sunday. Do you go with a Bloody Mary, which might say something about how you spent Saturday night, or keep it simple with iced tea? Then again, that might send the signal that you can’t loosen up and have a drink on an early Sunday afternoon. Which could suggest you’re uptight.”
“That does sound like a lot of pressure. I didn’t think that much about it. I just had a beer.”
I winced again and it was clear he was studying my face.
“That was wrong?”
“Was there a TV on in this restaurant?” I asked.
He seemed to think about it. “There was.”
“Which means there was a football game on, because the East Coast games all would have started.”
“Maybe.” He shifted on the desk.
“Did you check the score?”
“Like twice, three times tops! I don’t know what the big deal is. It wasn’t like we were talking about anything interesting. Just eating freaking twenty-dollar eggs. I might have glanced up to see the score. I’m a man. Who has a fantasy football team. I don’t have any control over that.”
I patted his leg. His very thick, hard thigh. I wondered if he was a runner. “I’m taking it there are no plans for a second date?”
“No. She said I obviously wasn’t committed to our getting to know each other. I have to commit to that?” he asked exasperated. “I can’t just get to know someone? Talk, chat, have a beer and see where it goes? No, now, I have to commit to a freaking first date.”
“I’m sorry.” Only I wasn’t really. I was mostly just amused at his struggles.
His eyes narrowed. “No, you’re not. You’re smug. I would like to see you try blind dating.”
“I have,” I insisted. “And it was just as bad as you’re experiencing. All this expectation and hope every time, only to be let down when you can tell it’s not working. Either I’m not into him or he’s not into me.”
“What guy wouldn’t be into you, Joy? You’re gorgeous and genuinely sweet,” he said matter-of-factly.
I flushed from the top of my head to my toes. I don’t know that anyone had ever called me gorgeous before. Because mostly I wasn’t. I was easy to look at, sure, but not gorgeous.
I tucked my hair behind my ear and shook my head. “You’re being generous, but thank you.”
“You have a hard time with compliments. Why is that?”
“I don’t,” I said, still fussing with my hair.
