Page 35 of Late Fees

Yeah, bordering on screeching.

“Will you sing for me sometime?”

“Of course. I joined an a capella group with a few girls from class. We have our spring concert in a few weeks, right after spring break. You know, if you want to come.”

“Yeah, that’d be awesome.”

“Cool.” Hope was resurfacing despite the awkward conversations we’d had earlier. I just hoped we could keep it there. “What about you? What are you studying?”

“Theater and instrumental music. Double major.”

“Oh wow, what instrument do you play?”

“Bass.”

“Wow. How do you lug that sucker around?”

“It’s not that bad.” He took a sip of his drink.

“Oooh, when I think of bass, I think of a scat cat beatnik in a dark, smoky bar. Do you play a lot of jazz?”

He laughed, but his laugh had a tinge of mocking to it. “Uh, no. I’m in the orchestra, so basically symphonies and stuff like that. Mozart, Beethoven.”

“Yep, got it.” I shrugged. “But couldn’t you do both?”

He tapped his fingers against the table. “I guess I could, but could you really see me wearing all black and playing in a jazz quartet?”

“Why not?”

He looked annoyed. Like what I was suggesting was preposterous or insulting. Was it? Was I insulting him without even knowing it?

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I’ve been playing the bass for a long time, so I’ve heard literally every joke. It just gets old sometimes.”

“Well, for the record, I wasn’t joking or making fun of you. Like, not at all. I think you’d look pretty hot in a jazz quartet…beatnik or not.”

He leaned closer to me. “Really?”

I nodded, giving him my most flirtatious smile. “Really.”

Our physical attraction was undeniable. But was it enough to make up for our differences and lack of chemistry? I wasn’t sure.

Kevin must’ve felt my hesitation because he placed his elbows on the table and took my hand in his. “You know, my mom hated my dad on their first date.”

My jaw clenched. Part of me was horrified at the very possibility of him suggesting we’d end up married. But the other part was intrigued, interested, curious. And the biggest part of me knew he was just trying to make a point.

I may as well hear him out, right?

Tilting my head to the side, I asked, “Oh, yeah?”

“Yep.” He nodded, wiggling his eyebrows. “She thought he was an ass. They argued a lot. About stupid shit, you know, kind of like us.”

I narrowed my eyes. “So, what changed?”

“He grew on her, I guess.”

“He did, huh?”

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