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She looks at me, puzzled. “I thought you said you didn’t have social media.”
“I don’t. The one time I did, I gave her the benefit of the doubt. Turns out, the woman I wasn’t interested in wasn’t really a woman.”
“Oh, my god. You got catfished?”
“Yep, and never again. Okay, never have I ever used a fake ID.”
She shakes her head. “It’s legal to drink when you’re eighteen.”
“Lucky. In America, people can go to war at eighteen, but can’t drink until they’re twenty-one?”
“You’re preaching to the choir.” She cocks her head in thought. “Never have I ever…been called a player.”
This is one question I don’t hesitate to answer by gulping my drink. “If I had a nickel for every time someone called me that, I’d probably retire. So many woman I meet…that’s all they want.”
“Isn’t that a guy’s dream?”
“Why you’re young, dumb, and horny, sure. But eventually…doesn’t everyone want to be wanted for themselves?”
“And they don’t want you?”
“They just want to feel good in the moment. Once, that’s all I wanted, too.”
Mia won’t look at me. She seems uncomfortable. I laugh out of awkwardness. I must not be helping my case. Is that what she thinks of me? A player?
“I’m sorry. That just wasn’t an answer I expected.”
To do this right, I need to clear the air. “I admit I’ve slept with a lot of women, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want more than that out of life. There was a time where I thought I didn’t need love, and it didn’t need me. But things are different now. ”
I need her to understand that.
She opens her mouth to say something, then stops herself. “I think it’s your turn, right?”
I nod. “Never have I ever been in love.”
I wait with bated breath. Will she take a sip? Won’t she? If she does, who was—or is—she in love with? Regardless of her answer, I still want to pursue her. I also want to know, once and for all, how she feels about Vance.
She raises her glass to her lips, then hesitates. “What if you don’t know?”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
She shifts in her seat. “I don’t know what it feels like. Honestly? My love life has been complicated.”
“What do you mean?”
“What did you mean when you said, ‘things are different now?’”
Answering a question with a question. Did I just hit a nerve? I’ll have to revisit that later. As for her question, what do I have to lose? “Not too long ago, I found a reason to commit.”
“You met someone?” She looks almost crestfallen but does her best to mask it.
“You could say that. For a long time, I was in a situation where I couldn’t pursue her. Now that some time has passed, things are different.”
“How long have you known her?”
“A while.”
“Was she married? Is that why you couldn’t pursue her?”