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“Try what?” he asked.

“The baba ghanoush!” she said, happy to take the bait. Even if she was a little loud in her response.

Cameron grabbed a piece of flatbread, dipped it into the puree, and then held it up. “Here’s to our first and final meal together, because I’m not sure we’re going to survive this.”

“What a way to go,” she said, bumping her bread against his like they were clinking glasses.

They both chewed in silence.

“It’s good,” Mindy forced herself to say. “Kind of like hummus.”

“Kind of,” Cameron said, gently pushing the appetizer closer to her. “But slimier.”

“Aww! You don’t like the baba ghanoush?”

“I want you to have the baba ghanoush!”

“Let’s try it with a carrot stick,” Mindy suggested. “Maybe it’s better that way.”

It wasn’t. They were both fighting off revulsion when a snippet of conversation drifted over to them.

“I’m sorry, sir, but you have to order more than just a glass of water.”

“Then I need more time, I guess,” they heard Anthony say. In a much louder voice, he added. “I have to use the restroom first.”

Cameron didn’t react to this. He kept his head down, even when he’d finished chewing and swallowed. Mindy felt Anthony pass behind her on the way to the restrooms. About a minute later, if even that, Cameron pushed away from the table. “I’ve gotta use the gents’,” he said. “Be right back.”

He didn’t wait for a response before hurrying away.

Mindy often had to fight against her own insecurities. The date with Anthony, for instance, which had ended with a whimper instead of a bang. At the time, she’d wondered if Anthony was gay. She still did. But maybe that was a way of making herself feel better, because she was starting to wonder the same thing about her current date. Just because a guy wasn’t interested in her didn’t mean he wasn’t into women at all. Then again, she was pretty sure about Anthony, and Cameron had just rushed off to see him. Hadn’t he?

Mindy took the napkin off her lap, dabbed at her mouth, and then set it aside before standing. She also had to pee. Or could probably go if she tried. So it was perfectly reasonable to walkin that direction, and if she happened to see them interacting…

She picked up the pace, although she slowed again when reaching the corner of the hall they had both disappeared down.

“What am I supposed to do?” she heard Cameron hiss. “I can’t take her home. We’re in the middle of a date!”

“I could explain to her,” Anthony said, his voice wavering. “We’ve known each other since we were kids. She’ll understand.”

“Only if you tell her the truth. Are you ready for that?”

“I… I don’t know. But I can’t handle this. It hurts too much.”

“What if I meet you afterwards? Will that make you feel better?”

“No! I want to be with you right now.”

Wow. There wasn’t much room for misinterpretation. Especially the emotion in their voices. Mindy was tempted to peek around the corner because the thought that they might hug or kiss each other was kind of hot. Why didn’t people write books about this sort of thing?

“I want to be with you too,” Cameron replied. “But I can’t talk about this now. She’ll wonder what’s taking so long.”

Mindy rushed back to the table. She grabbed a fork and scooped up some of the dip, so it would look like she was busy eating. Her heart was racing, but not because she was angry, even though she had every right to be. This was a pity date! Or something similar. But it was hard to feel rejected when her dream guy was only interested in other men. At least she wouldn’t see Cameron walking down the hall with Angela Simmons instead of her.

“Sorry,” Cameron murmured as he returned.

“Did you get some reading done?” Mindy teased.

It took him a moment to get the joke, but he laughed. “No. Everything is fine.”