“Nice.” I tried not to laugh, but he was growing on me, and the jokes that would have annoyed me months ago were making me smile, laugh, and appreciate the humor behind them. “But what does that mean?”
He shrugged. “Every time I explain my job in detail, I get this blank stare in return. So let’s just say I work in computers and leave it that.”
“You won’t get a blank stare from me.”
He raised one eyebrow. “Doubtful.”
“Try me,” I said, wiping my hands with my napkins and placing my hands in my lap, giving him my full attention.
“Wow, you stopped eating and everything. This is serious.”
“Yep.”
“Okay, here goes.” He took one more sip, then cleared his throat and began. “I work for a company named Wiz Tech, which is a multibillion-dollar tech conglomerate. I analyze the company’s computer needs at all levels and give recommendations on software and hardware improvements. I also plan and direct the installation and maintenance of said hardware and software. ”
I nodded as I attempted to process everything he said without appearing to have a blank stare.
“You failed,” he said, throwing a fry at my face. I caught it and popped it into my mouth.
“I did my best. But I will say it sounds like you’re a really important guy. I have heard of Wiz Tech, by the way. Don’t they have offices everywhere?”
“Fifty-six countries so far. Working on expanding to a few more by next fiscal year. When that happens, I’ll need to travel over there for a week and get them started.”
“Anywhere cool?”
“Germany and the Philippines, to name a couple.”
“Nice!”
“I love it. I really do.”
“Is that what you always wanted to do?”
“I knew I wanted to work with computers and be on the technical side of things. When Wiz Tech hired me out of college, they set me on a pretty great trajectory, and last year my boss retired and I was asked to replace him. It was a shit year for me in other areas of my life, as you know, but work-wise it was the best of my life.”
“We should have celebrated that promotion.”
Dev paused. “We did. Pete and Maren had a little thing for me at the bar. You didn’t come.”
“Oh,” I said, biting my lip and scrunching my nose. “I forgot about that. I’m sorry.”
“Naw, it’s cool. We hadn’t known each other all that long, and we kinda hated each other, remember?”
“Right.”
“Look, I can tell you feel bad, but you shouldn’t. I’m pretty sure I probably called you Mistress of Evil that night,” he said, reaching across the table to nudge my elbow with his fingertips. I swallowed hard, fighting the guilt that I felt.
“Well, if you get promoted again, I’ll be there. I promise.”
“Good. As crazy as it sounds for me to say this, it really wouldn’t be the same without you.”
I could feel my cheeks redden. “Why is that crazy?”
“I don’t know,” he said, breaking eye contact and looking down at his burger. “Up until a few weeks ago, we couldn’t even stand to be in the same room together. And even then—”
“Good point.”
“Life is unpredictable, isn’t it?”
“Understatement of the year,” he said, taking one last sip of his drink with an expression I couldn’t quite decipher. Appreciation? Contemplation? I just wasn’t sure. We’d always spent so much time pushing one another’s buttons that I really only knew when Dev was pissed or deliberately being difficult. I didn’t know his other looks. But I realized how badly I wanted to.
“Ready to get outta here?” he asked, gesturing toward me, still munching on fries. “You weren’t kidding about how much you love those. I think I had, like, five.”
“Five handfuls,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I’ve never seen anyone inhale food like you do.”
“Healthiest way to eat,” he said with a snicker.
“Right.” There was still a tempting pile of fries in the bottom of the bag.
“Oh for God’s sake, would you just finish them so we can shop?”
“In a rush?”
“No, not at all,” he said, looking surprised. “Just want to get my shopping on.”
“Hmph,” I said while chewing my fries.
“Dev?” The voice came from near the register. We both turned to see a tall blond waving as she stood with two of her friends. “Is that you?”
“Oh shit,” he muttered. “Listen, I, uh…”
“It’s me, Abby,” the blond said as she approached the table. “Remember?”
“Abby, hey,” Dev said, rising to his feet. “How are ya?”
“Fine, fine,” she said. “It’s been a while.”
“Yeah, it has. How’ve you been?” he asked, and I grew irritated that he hadn’t yet introduced me. I cleared my throat, prepared to do it myself. “Oh, this is Lyra. Lyra, Abby.”
“Is this her?” Abby asked.
“Her?” I asked, looking at Dev for an answer.
“Your ex.”
“Oh no. That, uh, that didn’t work out.”
“Really?” Abby asked, raising an eyebrow while biting her lip. “Interesting. You still have my number?”
“I think so, yeah.”
“Text me. We’ll hang out.”
Dev pressed his lips into a thin line and reached for his coat. “We were just heading out. It was good to see you, though.”
Abby looked disappointed and opened her arms for a hug. With a forced smile on his face, Dev hugged her before extending his arm to me. “Ready, Lyra?”
“Yep,” I said, taking it all in.
“Sorry about that,” he said as we walked out of the restaurant. “She’s just this girl.”
“Tinder?”
“Yep,” he said, pressing his lips together in a thin line again. I could tell he was embarrassed, but I didn’t want him to be.
“Look, you went through a rough breakup; you blew off some steam. Nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“I’m not embarrassed.”
“Oh, okay, I misread you, I guess,” I said, still processing Abby and everything she said. “What I don’t get is why she assumed I wasn’t your girlfriend.”
“What do you mean?”
“She told you to text her right in front of me.”
“Oh,” Dev said, tilting his head up with wide eyes. “Someone’s jealous!”
“No.” I shook my head. “Not at all. I just think it was weird that she assumed we were just friends.”
“Well, she probably saw you going to town on those fries and just assumed.”
“Oh my God, shut your mouth.” I swatted him playfully on his arm.
“I’m just playing!”
We walked in silence until we reached the crosswalk. “So are you going to text her then?”
Looking confused, he tilted his head to the side. “No. Why would I?”
“Just curious,” I said, smiling to myself when he looked straight ahead.