Page 39 of An Overdue Match
“Maybe.”
“Too bad for you, I have a great memory.” He reached a foot out under the table and tapped her ankle.
Her head snapped up, and he grinned at her. “Want me to be a gentleman and go first?”
Her jaw seemed to unhinge in surprise, which made him smile even wider.
“What? You think I don’t know how to be a gentleman?”
She quickly composed herself, sitting straighter in her chair and settling her hands in her lap like a debutante. “I’ve seen no evidence so far that would corroborate that statement, no.”
He shrugged. “Maybe you haven’t been looking. Or maybe your perception has been skewed.”
“I highly doubt that’s the reason. Maybe it could be you’re a flirt who manipulated a situation to your benefit, obligating me into a date after I turned you down.”
Tai dramatically rubbed his chin in mock contemplation. “No, that can’t be it.”
She huffed.
He laughed.
“Okay, Your Honor, I submit to the court evidence number one. I will answer the questions I posed to you in order to ease whatever discomfort you may feel by revealing these three simple things about yourself.” Tai waited, but her expression didn’t change. “If you recall, the questions were, What life lesson have you learned the hard way? Do you enjoy being yourself? And what would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you? Lady’s choice. Which question would you like me to answer first?”
She sat silently, seeming to consider and then reject every response that came to her mind. Finally, she reached forward and took hold of her water glass, bringing it to her lips and taking a sip. After she set the glass back down, she settled an assessing look on him. “What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?”
Tai sat back so his shoulder blades rested against the cushion of his chair. “That’s the easiest of the three.” He paused and let the silence stretch between them, much like a fisherman lets a fish swim after taking the bait before he starts to reel it in. “I wouldn’t do anything differently.”
Her lashes fluttered as she blinked. “Nothing?”
“Not a thing.” He leaned in conspiratorially and dropped his voice. “Want to know why?”
She dipped her chin in assent.
He kept the upper half of his body there, leaning across the table, and looked her squarely in the eyes. “Because I no longer make decisions and live my life based off what other people might think of me.” He let his statement sink in, then slowly sat back to his previous relaxed position.
Her fingers danced along her collar bone like a nervous butterfly. “Everyone cares what people think of them.”
Tai shrugged. “I concede it’s safe to say most people have a base desire to be liked and accepted, but it’s dangerous if we start living and making decisions that will only please the people around us and not make us happy.”
She tilted her head, studying him. “Is that something you’ve learned from experience?”
“Ah, now we’ve moved on toWhat life lesson have you learned the hard way?” He fiddled with the tablecloth, then smoothed out the wrinkle he’d created. “To answer both those questions, yes. I learned that living to please others is confining instead of defining. Caring more about what they think instead of what I think is essentially stuffing myself in a box. Sometimes one that doesn’t feel like it has any holes to let in oxygen.”
He could feel her gaze take in the rose tattoo peeking out from above the collar of his shirt. “Trying to picture me before my care meter got busted?”
Her brows furrowed. “Yes, but I’m having a really hard time doing so.” She lifted her eyes to his. “What was the catalyst for this epiphany, if I may ask?”
“I have asthma. It was pretty severe as a child. My mom worried about me a lot and became one of those super overprotective helicopter parents. She was so afraid that something would trigger an asthma attack that I wasn’t allowed to do much of anything.”
“That must have been tough.”
Harder than he admitted, especially to his mom. “I tried to live up to her expectations for me, to stay safe and not do anything that would worry her or cause her to judge my actions, but...” He shook his head. “Anyway, now I do things I was never allowed to do as a child. Kayaking, hiking, and skiing are some of my favorite pastimes. And I’m a tattoo artist, which is an occupation that has caused a few judgy looks to come my way, especially when I came back to Little Creek and people jumped to the conclusion that I was still someone who was up to no good—although I’m sure you’re surprised to hear that.”
“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Uh-huh.” He smirked.
“Here we are, folks.” The server stopped beside the table and lowered two steaming plates before them. “The chicken-fried chicken for the lady and the country-style steak for the gentleman. Can I get you folks anything else right now?”
