Dana got up and walked around to the other side and pulled her chair out, trying to ignore Ford’s eyes that were still on him. Jessica sat daintily in the seat and placed her expensive bag on the chair next to her. He scooted the chair in and looked up at the amused smirk on Ford’s face. Dana mouthed, “Fuck you” and sat back down.
Dana ordered the largest burger on the menu regardless of Jessica’s comments about how gross and fatty the selection was. After she ordered a glass of Chardonnay and a grilled chicken Caesar salad, she immediately started in about how stressful her day had been at the upscale boutique she managed. Dana fought off his urge to yawn, remembering how much that pissed her off. He threw in the occasional “Mm hmm… yeah… right… oh really… ya don’t say” at all the right places while he waited for their food. He refused to look behind him to see if Ford and Brian were still there, but he hadn’t seen them leave. He didn’t hear Ford’s voice, although neither he nor his brother were strong conversationalists. They were most likely watching the pre-game show that was showing on one of the many flat screens positioned around the bar. Damn, he wished he could be sitting with them. He looked up just in time to see that the Mets were already on the field warming up. He was about to divert his eyes back to Jessica when an update flashed across the bottom of the screen that one of his favorite players was still on the injured list and wouldn’t be playing in the game tonight.
“Dana! Are you even listening to me? That’s so rude of you to watch television while I’m speaking.” She batted her long lashes, looking like her feelings were truly hurt.
“I just noticed something. No big deal. I heard what you said.” Dana rubbed his forehead, wondering why he’d gotten back together with Jessica. He didn’t like rejecting anyone and he especially hated to see her upset. His father always told him he didn’t have a backbone and would constantly get run over. Maybe that’s why he couldn’t tell her no.
“Oh yeah? Then what did I say?”
Um. Something about wanting to—
“Here’s your Caesar, ma’am.” The waiter interrupted just in the nick of time.
Dana took a large gulp of his Miller draft. He wouldn’t mind something stronger, but he was driving. And hard liquor after a bust made him restless at night.
He ate his burger quickly, wanting to get home by at least the fourth inning. He wiped his mouth and signaled the waiter for another beer while Jessica daintily ate her salad. He cut his eyes to the television and back to her while she talked non-stop. When they first started dating, he thought it was cute the way she rambled on, thinking she was nervous around him. But he soon found out that she was simply in love with her own voice. He groaned internally. He and Jessica had very little in common. He admitted that he’d gone out with her because she was gorgeous, educated, and came from a cultured family. He never thought a woman like her would be interested in a simple man like him. A man who knew more about the new A22 long rifle by Savage that was coming out in 2018 than he did about the recent presidential election. He could talk all day about rimfire cartridges and the shoo-ins for the American Marksman competition next month but he was clueless about pop culture, which happened to be Jessica’s current topic of conversation.
“I can’t believe she would let Brad go. I mean, her standards are a tad high if you ask me. I guess you reap what you sow. She did steal him from Jennifer.” She elegantly wiped the invisible dressing from the corners of her mouth and sipped her wine. “You’re sexier than Brad, honey. I love it when you wear that leather coat and those boots. Makes me feel like I’m dating a bad boy.”
“I’m not wearing it as a fashion statement, Jess.”
“Obviously. Otherwise, it’d be name brand.” She pushed her half-eaten salad away and quickly pulled out a compact mirror from her purse.
Dana ran his fingers through the long hair on top of his head and looked down at his worn jacket. It’d seen better days, especially after this afternoon’s recovery.
She spoke to him between applying a fresh coat of lip gloss. “We have some new Varvatos leather jackets coming in next week. They’re only six fifty. I could put one to the side for you. You could even use my twenty percent discount.”
“You’re shittin’ me, right?” Dana said, feeling even more exasperated and tired. “Six hundred and fifty dollars. For a coat?”
“That’s on sale. It’s a great price. No need to thank me on the discount.” She smiled like she’d really done him a favor.