Page 28 of The Love Wager

“No,” she said, laughing, “but I consider theeventmy rock bottom.”

“Well,” he said, looking amused, “I thought your rock bottom was an amazing fucking time.”

Hallie laughed at the absurdity of the situation. Being with Jack was so different than being with Ben; it was so chill. Although it was ridiculous that she was even comparing the two, since she barely knew Jack Marshall.

“Okay. Jack.” Hallie cleared her throat and looked straight into his devilish eyes. “I only know you in the context of rock-bottom night and the dating app. But we don’t reallyknoweach other, do we? Are you from here? How many siblings do you have? What does a landscaping architect do?”

“You’re obviously stuck in the speed dating line of questioning,” he said. “Yes, I grew up here. I have a sister, Olivia—she was the bride on the rock-bottom night—and a brother, Will. I also have a sister-in-law, a brother-in-law who happens to be my best friend, and two nephews.”

“And the job...?” Hallie was picturing someone who did yard landscaping, which she knew wasn’t correct.

“Um,” he said, grabbing a straw from the center of the table and unwrapping it. “The easy definition is that I design outdoor spaces. What about you? Is being a tax accountant as exciting as it sounds?”

“I know—it’s a job that’s literally used in movies to show how boring a person is.” Hallie laughed. “Want the viewer to know how bad your date was? Just say he was a tax accountant and that’s all the characterization needed. But it’s not boring to me. It’s lame, but there’s something very satisfying about numbers and reconciliation.”

Hallie watched as Jack started winding up the clear strawlike she and her friends used to do in high school. He said, “I think that’s really—”

“Don’t say cool. It’s not cool. I like my job, but in no way is it cool.”

He gave a little laugh as he held out the straw and gestured for her to flick it. “Fine, it’s lame as fuck.”

“Easy”—she flicked the straw and smiled at the loud pop—“that’s my career you’re talking about.”

“What do you want from me, Hal?” He dropped the cracked straw onto the table. “Tough to please much?”

She leaned back in her chair and kicked her legs all the way out in front of her. It was such a nice late-summer night, and she was glad she was out enjoying it instead of at home in her jammies.

“So how long have you been single, TB?”

Hallie glanced at Jack, and he looked ultra-relaxed, too, leaning back the exact same way as he looked at her with friendly curiosity and no judgment.

“Um...” She looked down at the date on her phone. “A year...?”

“Holy shit.” He looked at her like she’d just professed herself to be a llama. “You’re kidding me, right?”

“Why is that so shocking?”

She knew why. That dude had had a ring in his pocket less than a month ago and he was already back out there—obviously he was all about relationships.

“It’s not,” he said, looking at her with a tiny crinkle between his eyebrows. “But when you said your whole winter-of-your-twenties thing, I assumed it was a fresh breakup.”

“Oh.” That made sense.

“So... you’ve dated during that time, haven’t you?”

She cleared her throat. “Before joining the dating app?”

He just gave her aduhlook.

“Um, that’s a no, then.”

“Oh my God, TB, you are blowing my mind,” he said, and it was obvious he’d never considered someone could live their life without dating for that long of a stretch.

“That’s not that long, you know,” Hallie said. “I just didn’t want to rush into something I wasn’t ready for.”

“That’s smart, actually,” he said, and looked like he meant it.

“And itwasthe winter of my twenties.” She started explaining her thought processes and goals of the past year, feeling compelled to defend her actions even though he wasn’t asking her to.

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