Page 2 of Bookish Boys Don't Date Social Girls
His gaze falls to the table. “Oh, so, the plane crash and the boat propeller were bad then too, huh?”
I hadn’t even heard those stories. Man, I was tuned out. I tap my finger on the table. “Those would be good stories for around the campfire, I think.”
The server sets the bill on the table, and I snatch it before Jimmy gets a chance. I hand a fortune cookie to him. And setmine aside. “I’ll take care of this. And I’m sorry, but I really should get going. It’s getting late.”
He frowns and glances at the clock over the register by the doorway. “It’s only 7:00.”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I have a thing in the morning. I need to get to bed early tonight.”
I grab my purse and push away from the table. Jimmy follows me to the register.
“You don’t have to pay for dinner,” he says.
“I asked you out, remember?” I smile as I hand the bill and my credit card to the ancient Asian lady slouched on a stool behind the register. I add a tip to the slip she gives me and sign my name, before slipping my card and my receipt into my wallet and thanking her.
I push through the door, with Jimmy on my heels. “Thanks for coming tonight.”
“It was fun,” he says.
I don’t want to agree and give him the wrong idea, so I just smile again. I walk to my car and unlock the driver’s side door. We met here, so his car is somewhere else in the parking lot. It was nice of him to walk me to mine, though.
He opened the fortune cookie as we walked and now smiles as he reads aloud. “Your fortune is the people you surround yourself with.”
“That’s a nice one.”
“What does yours say?” He looks at my hands as if he expects me to be holding it.
“I didn’t open mine.”
His face falls like I just knocked his ice cream to the ground.
“Well, maybe I’ll see you around, Jimmy. I’ll stop by to say hi if I’m at the park.”
“How about we go out again? Have you seen that new cops and robber movie that’s out? What’s itcalled?”
Great. More blood. “I don’t think so, Jimmy. Thanks, though. But like I said, I’ll see you around. Drive carefully!”
I slide into my car and breathe a sigh of relief when the door closes me inside. As I start the engine, my hands shake a little like they always do when I tell a boy I don’t want to see him again. Jimmy stands outside my window, staring at me with his mouth agape. Guilt worms its way through me even though I haven’t done anything wrong. We simply aren’t compatible, and it isn’t worth trying to force it. I should know. I’ve dated a lot of guys and I’ve learned if the first date is a dud, every date afterward will be too.
I back out of the parking spot, careful to make sure my front bumper doesn’t hit him. Then I wave as I pull away. Hot Dog Cart Guy stares after me, in shock.
Chapter Two
“I’msorry it didn’t work with Hot Dog Cart Guy.” Ava climbs onto my bed and sits next to me, crisscross applesauce, leaning against the headboard.
“I am too,” Bek says, from her favorite spot in the retro bubble chair. My dad bought it for me when I was twelve and going through a 70s phase, but really, it has always been Bek’s chair.
“It’s no big deal. I still feel sort of guilty that it took him by surprise though.” I pull up the app on my phone to order a pizza. I tap on our last order and hit the reorder button. Three more clicks and pizza is officially in our future. I lean back against the headboard, shoulder to shoulder with Ava, and soak in the comfort of the moment. Over the years, this scenario, with Ava tucked up next to me on the bed and Bek curled like a cat in her chair, has become my favorite of all scenarios.
“Maybe you have helped make him a little easier for future first dates by explaining that his topics of conversation weren’t appropriate.” Ava pulls my pink, furry heart pillow into her lap.
I love my two best friends more than anything in the world. Where Bek always sees the best in a person, Ava always sees the best in a situation. “Honestly, there’s probably a girl out there who would enjoy his stories,” I say. “He’s a good storyteller, I just didn’t happen to enjoy the content. He doesn’t have to change. He just needs to find a different first date.”
“That’s true, Sam.” Bek looks at me like I’m her best student. “Just because the two of you didn’t hit it off doesn’t indicate that either of you is flawed in any way. Neither of you must change, you just need to look elsewhere.”
Ava leans her head against the headboard, a contemplative expression sharpening her usually soft features. “You know who I think you should date?”
I look at her and frown. She’s never played matchmaker before. “Who?”
