“I can understand that. I enjoy my solitude as well. But every once in a while, it’s nice to let someone in.”
Our eyes meet and for a moment, I can see the same desire and longing I feel reflected back.
“I’m starting to see that.”
“Ariana–”
She stands abruptly. “I have to go to the bathroom. I’ll be back.”
7
I splash a little bit of water on my face, trying to cool the flush in my cheeks. Why does he affect me more than anyone else? He’s just a guy.
A gorgeous guy.
A guy who listens.
A guy who makes me want to see him again.
Thinking about it makes my hands shake. Would it really be the worst thing in the world to give a relationship a try? Yes, the timing isn’t great. But if anyone is aware of how fucked up this world can be, it’s me. Bad things happen to good people and not
hing ever turns out the way I hope.
Maybe this is my chance to take something for myself. To tell fate to shove it and that I’m going to grab the happiness I deserve. All he’s asked for is to spend time with me. He’s not a bum and he’s definitely a decent person since he didn’t wake me up for sex that first night we met.
What have I got to lose? If things don’t work out between us then we’ll just go our separate ways. No harm done.
I come back out of the bathroom with my mind made up. But when I get back to the table, Vin is gone. Deflated, I sink down into the booth.
“You must have finally scared him off, you little cock block,” I mutter as Edward regards me with judgy eyes.
Then I see a crowd gathered around another table singing loudly. I sit on my knees in the booth to see better but it’s not until someone moves that I see a familiar silhouette in the center of the melee. Vin is belting out Happy Birthday at the top of his lungs. Then he switches to singing in Italian to the delight of the crowd, who end the song with whistles and cheers.
Our waitress, the one who just a few minutes ago was completely disinterested, is now beaming at Vin like he’s the answer to all of life’s problems.
“I can’t believe you just did that.”
“Why? It’s your birthday! Everyone should have a song on their birthday.” He waves at everybody before coming back to our booth.
His eyes light up when he sees I’m back.
“There you are. I didn’t want to start without you but it was a struggle. The food smells fantastic.”
He gestures to the huge platters sitting in the middle of the table. The ribs special consists of a half rack with grilled corn, macaroni and cheese and bread on the side. Everything here is delicious and guaranteed to give you a heart attack at some point. Not exactly the kind of food I’d expect him to be into but then again, he’s been surprising me every step of the way.
I settle back into my seat as he joins me.
“You have a nice voice.”
“Thank you. I was just trying to put a smile on her face. Working on your birthday is no fun.”
“No. It’s not.” The fact that he noticed someone else’s unhappiness is exactly the kind of thing that makes him so different.
He’s a genuinely good person. The kind that does the right thing because it’s right and not for points.
The kind of guy worth taking a chance on.
As we eat, he asks more questions about my life. What I like to do when I’m not working, what my hobbies are, what I’ve been reading. Then he tells me about himself. He’ll be twenty-six at his next birthday so he’s almost exactly a year older. He loves his family, football (or what I call soccer) and hates spiders.