"Right," she says, "so if one person owns a house and the other one doesn't, that could create a problem early on in dating."
"How?" he asks. "Wouldn't that be perfect? They can both move into the house that the one owns. Done deal."
"Maybe," I say, "but it could also mean that you have different life goals, different ways of spending money. It could create problems down the road.”
“ I just feel like it's looking for problems. I saw this show, Married at First Glance," he tells me and I smile. Who is this man? "I was on an airplane, okay?" he says, probably thinking it might not be the most macho thing to admit. "Anyways, these people had never even seen each other. Got married, sight unseen, and fell madly in love."
"Yes, but shows like that gather the data, do the research. They make sure that the couple will be a good match. That's what I'm doing."
"Oh, I see," he says, "so run the data on me. How do I fare?"
I swallow. "I don't know anything about you."
"Maybe you can screw the data for one night. I think your gut is telling you it's a yes, while your head is telling you it's a risk."
"That's exactly what's happening," I say.
"So how will you decide?"
She bites the side of her lip. "This is ridiculous. I told myself I'm not dating anyone else who doesn't fit this criteria. I was going to make Cream of the Crop my bible."
"You still can," I say. "No pressure. But I think you'll always be wondering about that guy who drank hot cocoa with you at the coffee shop. The guy who got away."
I smile. “Maybe you're right," I say, “and I think that right now, that's not a risk I'm willing to take."
Chapter Three
Mills
I can tell by the way she bites her bottom lip, she truly isn't a risk taker. But as she gathers her bag, filling it with her books and computer, I like her ability to take a chance on me. It tells me she's not as closed off as she might say. And it has me wondering why.
"So have you lived here long?" I ask her.
She shakes her head. "No, I just got hired at this university so I'm new to town."
"And what do you think of it?”
She smiles, putting her messenger bag on her shoulder. "I like it," she says as we walk toward the door, "but I am a little lonely. It's weird moving to a new place. I spent so many years in college with other students. Now I am on my own, a real grownup, and I'm realizing it's a little lonely. The other night, I found myself on a rescue shelter site, contemplating a cat or a dog, just someone to keep me company."
"I'm a dog owner myself," I tell her. "I have a little terrier named Brussels."
“After the city or the vegetable?"
I smile. “The vegetable. When I brought him home and he somehow managed to eat a whole plate full of them, it was destiny."
"That's adorable. While I am a fan of Brussels sprouts," she raises a finger, "I admit that I have more of a sweet tooth.”
“I could tell by the whipped cream.”
She grins. “Extra whipped cream. And from what I can tell, you have a bit of a sweet tooth yourself."
Outside, the air hits us hard. It's windier than I was expecting. "The owner of the gym where I’ve been working suggested going down the boardwalk, that there's some food trucks, but it seems a little cold. What do you think?"
"I'm up for it if you are,” she says. "I know where he's referring. They have a covered awning with outside heaters. I think we'll be okay."
"Perfect." I want to reach for her hand. And so I do.
Her eyes widen, surprised. "Okay,” she says slowly, looking at our hands.
“Is this too forward?" I ask. “Because when I like something, I go all in.”
"It's forward. But surprisingly, I don't mind," she says. "In fact, I really like it. Are you trying to win me over to prove my book wrong?"
"No, that has nothing to do with it," I say, “but how do you know I’m not the cream of the crop?”
“I suppose I don’t,” she says, “…and I guess I need to find out.”
Mallory
As we near the food truck square, he asks me about my career, if I love it after going to school for so long.
I decide that I need to open up if I want to learn who this man is. “It’s strange, I spent my whole life working on my career and now that I have it, I'm a little disappointed."
"Really?" he says.
"I know, right? It's not that I don't like what I do. I do. I find it fascinating and interesting. But I find myself looking around a classroom and there are all these hormones raging and the undergrads are in relationships. And PDA is a real thing these days."
"How old are you?" he asks me.
"I'm 27, but I feel like I'm going on 37 or 47.” I sigh. "What about you?"
"I'm 44," he tells me. “Too much of an age gap for your book?”
“Not particularly.” I shrug. “And since you're a risk taker, it wouldn't bother you, would it?”
"I've never been married, never had children."
"And do you want those things?”
"Oh wow," he says, "I guess we are cutting right to the chase."
I nod. "Sorry. It's a habit. I’m trying to analyze the data, analyze you."
"I'm not sure how I feel about being referred to as data, but…" He grins. "I want to be married. I want kids. Hey, I have no problem being the old dad."
"Okay." I say, laughing, "I'd like kids too, but it’s not a deal breaker, not having them.” As we round the corner, I point to the right. “It's right here. What sounds good?"
"Wow, there's tons of options and you can't go wrong. Not with any of them."
Then at the same time, we say, “Falafel.” And then we laugh. Maybe we are more alike than I thought.
We head to that vendor and Mills places an order, and I place mine right after him, though we order the same thing. He pays and we make our way to a table once our food's in hand.
"This is delicious," I say, taking a bite. The creamy tzatziki sauce is mixed with the crisp lettuce and cucumbers and the warm falafel wrapped in pita.
"It is," he says. "For a small town, I admit, you do have a good offering of food."
"Oh, we have tons of good places here, pizza and pho. There's an incredible bakery and a farm produce market."
"That's surprising. But that's what my cousin Trent has been saying for the last year. Oh, actually you might know him," Mills adds. "He works at the university too."
"Trent who goes with Trista?” Mills nods and I keep talking. “They seem very happy. Every time I've seen them, I can't help smiling. You can tell they found their forever kind of love."
"Is that what you're looking for?" Mills asks me.