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She looked down at the white tablecloth.

“You’ve thought about that night, haven’t you?” I asked in a low voice.

“Yeah,” she said. “I mean, once or twice. Not excessively…”

The waitress returned with our salads.

I stared at Rose, wanting to press her for more, but felt it best to back off for a while.

We ate quietly for a minute.

“We can’t just pick up where we left off,” she said suddenly.

“No, I guess not. Let’s forget about it then and just have fun tonight, okay? We have more options here than in Afghanistan.”

“That’s for sure,” she said, smiling.

By the end of our dinner, we had fallen into a comfortable conversation that had her laughing lightheartedly.

As we were leaving the restaurant, I didn’t want the night to end. “You up for a comedy club or something?” I asked, trying to figure out where we could go next.

Rose took a deep breath. “Normally I would, but I need to get up early in the morning, so I should get home.”

“Maybe some other time then. Let me get a cab for us.”

“I’d rather go home alone, if that’s okay.”

“Sure,” I said, hiding my disappointment. From what I could tell though, she would be worth the wait.

“I’ll call you later this week, okay?”

“All right.” I stepped forward and hugged her around waist. A few seconds later, I debated with myself and then went for it, giving her a quick peck on the lips. “Good night, Rose. So great to see you again.”

“Yeah,” she said, a little flustered. “You too.”

“Hold on.” I stepped to the street and hailed a cab for her.

“Thanks again,” she said before climbing into the back.

“No problem. Talk to you soon.” After I closed the door, I watched the driver pull away, merging with the traffic. I thought briefly about heading to a nearby strip joint to blow off some steam, but with her on my mind, I decided against it.

She’ll come around, I told myself as I made my way home. And we’ll finish what we started…

CHAPTER 13

Rose

Back at the apartment after my dinner with Warren, I debated whether I should have invited him over.

My phone rang. I glanced at the screen and saw Melvin’s name.

Ugh.

“Hey, Melvin,” I answered. “What’s up?”

“You never called me back about our second date. You’re not backing out on me, are you?”

“No, I’ve been busy with work and stuff,” I said, although