Page 66 of Ten Years and Then…
She smiled, just as prettily as the first day they’d met. “I’ve been thinking about you too. And today I thought—why don’t we grab dinner? My treat. And we can tell each other everything we’ve been thinking about.” She paused for a moment, which he was pretty sure was for dramatic effect. “And, yes, I’m officially asking you out on a date, just so we’re both on the same page.”
Nora, three hours later
“So I’ve got three interviews in two days. I’m heading down to Manhattan tomorrow. I’m glad we could get together beforehand.”
“So am I,” Nora said. It had been—nice. Not magical, not amazing. But nice. Comfortable, mostly. Ben had talked more than she had, quite a bit more. But he did have a lot to talk about and it was all interesting—the story with his brother and the yacht captain, and how Ben had snuck into a press conference at Gracie Mansion, and the ridiculous Christmas gifts his family gave each other.
She definitely knew him better now, and she wanted to keep knowing him—one new story at a time. That could start right now; they were outside the front door of North Hall. It was quiet out, and dark; only a handful of lights on in the windows of her dorm. If ever there was a moment to seize with him, it was this one.
“Well, here you go. Home safely.” She could absolutely invite him upstairs; her roommate wasn’t back on campus yet. Or at least she could kiss him goodbye; maybe that would be enough for now.
Or not; she leaned in, and he turned his head so that all she could reach was his cheek. She kissed that, and he patted her on the arm.
“I’ll call you when I’m back. I had a great time, Nora. See you soon.”
And he was gone. What the heck had just happened? What had she done to turn him off? She’d thought he liked her—he was the one who’d asked for a date, out of the blue. And then he didn’t even want to kiss her?
Nora didn’t know what it meant, except that it definitely wasn’t good.
Daniel, the same time
They were at the Green Lantern Café. Daniel had made a point of not sitting at the same booth he and Nora had sat in for their first date. That felt disrespectful, somehow.
But other than that, he was completely focused on Valerie. And she seemed to be equally focused on him. She listened to him go on and on about the interview in Chicago. He’d stopped himself several times to apologize for talking too much, until she finally said, “Daniel, I’m going to be a lawyer. If there’s anything I’m good at, it’s speaking for myself. If I didn’t want to hear what you’ve got to say, I’d tell you.”
He blushed a little at that, but he couldn’t argue with her words, or the smile that went with them. “Okay. Objection sustained—is that right?”
She chuckled. “Close enough. Go on, counselor.”
“So, yeah. It’s next Wednesday. They’re flying me out, putting me up in a hotel, all expenses paid. And then three interviews the next day. I think one is with human resources, and then one with the team I’d be working with and then just one on one with the guy—well, it could be a woman, I don’t know—anyway, the person I’d be reporting to.”
“Three interviews in one day? Sounds to me like you’re a finalist.”
That’s what it sounded like to him, too, but he didn’t want to say it out loud, so he just nodded.
“How do you feel about all that?” Her smile faded a bit as she asked it. “I lost my cool a little with my first serious interview. I know it’s hard to believe, but even I get nervous sometimes. But part of that was, I wasn’t really prepared, and I tried to fake it and I could see they weren’t buying.” The smile came back. “Never again, though. Every interview afterwards, I made sure I was ready for anything. I might make mistakes, but never the same one twice.”
It was hard for Daniel to picture her making the same mistake once.
“I am nervous, yeah. But I’ve been reading up, I think I’m ready. And I have this whole next week to make sure.”
She nodded. “You know what? I’m going to help you be absolutely sure. The next few days are kind of busy for me, but next Tuesday, you’ll come over to my apartment and we’ll do a practice interview. Deal?”
They weren’t even through their first date, and she was offering to do that? It was hard to believe; why would she go through all that trouble for him?
Because she liked him. Hadn’t he gone over all that yesterday? Why should it be so impossible to believe that Valerie could be interested in him, could want to spend time with him? Could want good things for him?
Maybe Nora wasn’t the only girl in the whole world who saw more to him than he saw himself in the mirror.
“Deal.”
They sat there for another hour, talking and laughing, and then he walked her to her car.
“This was—it was great, Valerie. I’d really like to see you again, and not just for interview practice.”
She gave him the big smile, the prettiest one. “I’d like that, too, Daniel.”
He leaned in, and kissed her then. On the lips, just for an instant. So quickly that it barely counted as a kiss at all.
