Page 20 of New Girl in Town
She pushed out her bottom lip. “You don’t sound swayed.”
“I’m thinking it over,” I said, taking a bite of my meal. “I don’t want to fall at the feet of the first man who is nice to me or easy on the eyes. I want to make a choice in this whole thing.”
“So his being younger than you has nothing to do with it.”
“No. I’ve moved past that,” I said, and took a sip of my wine to show just how beyond it I had moved.
“When you were at prom he was watching Saturday morning cartoons and needing bedtime stories.”
My eye twitched, but I continued to sip my wine. “You know, you’re probably right about that.”
“I bet he drank warm milk with his sitter before bed. That’s how he got so big and muscley.”
“I know exactly what you’re trying to do Melinda,” I said, putting my glass down and giving her a prim look, “and it isn’t going to work... and besides, who doesn’t like warm milk before bed?”
“What exactly am I trying to do, Aurora?” she asked.
“You’re trying to get me to admit that his age is what’s really holding me back. I swear, I just want to make an informed decision. I want to see what else is out there,” I lied. Melinda flashed me a smile, and I recognized the mischievous look in her eyes.
Lord have mercy on my soul. She could always call my bluff, and I knew she wasn’t going to let it go.
“You were getting into night clubs when he was touching his first boob. I bet he was having those weird junior high boners in class when you were—”
I threw my arms up and let out a groan. “OKAY! I’m a big fat ageist!”
“Gotcha,” Melinda whooped in triumph.
“You’re the worst. Hand to god, honest truth, you make me want to strangle you.”
“Out of love, right?”
“You know, the emotion I was going to point to wasn’t quite that, but it is just as intense. A fine line, and all that.”
Melinda giggled and picked up her wine glass to toast me. “To my darling Aurora, and the young man she’s encountered.”
I rolled my eyes but lifted my glass. “Thanks.”
“Now, back to the matter at hand.”
“Melllll, can I please enjoy this steak, and then we can discuss my love life afterward?”
“You know, if you were a vampire it wouldn’t be that big a deal. They do this all the time.”
I blinked. “If I was a what?”
“They are like centuries old.” She jabbed a finger at her bookcase behind me. “I mean, I have tons of books on the subject. Romance books but informative all the same.”
“I’m not a vampire, you madwoman.”
“No, but what you are is a woman who wants choices, so let me help with that.”
I fixed her with a skeptical look and asked, “Help how?”
“Speed dating.”
I spluttered, almost choking on the steak. “What?”
“Speed. Dating,” she said again, making me cough harder. “You want a change, so why not just have all the choices laid out, and in a timely manner too!”
