Page 70 of The Singles Club

“Ow.” I held my hand over the back of my head.

“Are you okay?” He touched my hair, and I backed away, focusing on the pancakes. They were more than ready to be flipped.

“Do you have another spatula?” I asked.

“Yes.” He reached into a drawer and handed it to me.

I flipped them just before they got a little too well done. A deep golden brown, but not burnt. “Would you mind getting the plates and silverware?”

“Sure.”

He handed me a plate, and I began scooping the cakes off the griddle. By the time I was finished, he had set everything up on the counter, along with the butter and syrup.

“What would you like to drink?” he asked.

“Club soda is fine.”

We sat down to eat, and I watched as he took the first bite.

“You weren’t lying. These are delicious.” He took in another massive bite before he swallowed down the first. He must’ve been starving by now. I at least had had a little something before I went out.

“I’m sorry I pushed you to do that dating site,” I finally said. “You didn’t want to, and I—”

“It’s okay.” The corners of his mouth rose, and warmth filled his eyes. “You didn’t make me do anything. I wanted to try.”

“I should have looked at your profile, made sure it was private.”

“I’m a big boy. This is on me, so don’t worry about it.”

After finishing only one pancake, I didn’t feel much like eating more.

“What I worry about is you giving up,” I admitted.

He didn’t say anything as he finished off his last bite.

“Are you giving up?” I asked. “On love?”

“No.” He took my empty plate and placed it on top of his.

My muscles unraveled at that one word. I didn’t realize how tense I’d been before that.

“I can clean up,” I said. “Go pick out a movie.”

“You cooked; I’ll clean up.”

Instead of heading to the living room, I helped load the dishwasher while he rinsed.

“You don’t have to hold your end of the deal anymore,” I said. “When you’re ready to date, just do it on your terms.”

He turned off the faucet. “What about our dance?”

“We can still do that… if you want to.”

He turned, his eyes searching mine. “I do want that.”

“Okay, dating coach fired, relationship coach still in business.”

“You can still coach me with pretend dates.”