Page 15 of Ever After

He turns his head and faces Jay. “Anything for you, sir?”

“I’ll have another IPA.”

“Any food for you two?”

I turn to face Jay to see what he thinks. He shrugs his shoulders and says, “Do you have a menu we could look at?”

“Certainly. I’ll bring that right out.”

I wonder what Jay thinks of me because all I’ve done around him is drink. I was drunk when I stayed the first night with him. Who stays with someone the first day they meet and on vacation? But it’s no different from hooking up with someone the first day you meet, followed by the walk of shame. All those girls have survived. My excuse was all the adrenaline and alcohol from that night. He didn’t end up killing me. So that was a plus. I guess nothing else could get as bad as what happened a few days ago. Unless he ends up killing me…

“Here is your drink, miss?” the waiter says and hands me my drink.

“Thank you.”

“For you, sir. Here are the menus. Let me know if you want to order anything?”

I pull my sunglasses off and scan the menu for something to eat. I spot a guacamole burger that sounds appetizing right now.

“Do guys care what a girl eats?” I ask.

It’s been forever since I’ve dated. I don’t know if I should pig out right in front of him or not. Wait. Why do I care? This will go nowhere.

He looks over at me with scrunched eyebrows and shakes his head. “No. Why?”

“Because this guac burger they have sounds good.”

“Why would I care if you eat a burger?”

“I will end up looking like a pig because of it.”

“Trust me, men don’t care. And if they do, run, because that tells you they’re shallow and only care about your looks or how you make them look.”

I’m glad I asked. That’s good to know when I date again.Dating.I can’t even think about doing that all over again. It seems like so much work to go through the whole getting to know one another and trying to impress them. I don’t even know how to date anymore. It’s been so long.

* * *

We’ve been sitting here in silence ever since we finished our food. We were both clearly hungry, because we devoured our food.

“Have you dated anyone else since your ex?” I ask. That’s the best I could do to start a conversation. I think to myself.

Jay laughs and says, “No, between work, canceling everything from the wedding, and buying a new house, I haven’t even had time to think about dating. That’s why I decided to keep this trip. To have some time for myself to relax and chill.”

“Is she still with your friend?”

“I don’t even know. I kind of knew something was going to happen to our relationship, but I kept pushing it along.”

“That’s how I felt. I kept waiting for our problems to get better, but they never did.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”

“Have you ever wanted kids?” I ask.

“Yeah, I do. One day. What about you?”

“I do, but maybe just one.”

“Same. Kids are a lot of work.”

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