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Chapter Six
Joshua
“…Alright, so that’s that for this lecture. We’re out of time so see me after with questions,” I said. The sound of bags being packed and people getting up filled the room. I leaned against the desk I’d commandeered for myself and waited for the inevitable line to form. It wasn’t so bad this class, which was surprising because I gave a lengthy lecture prompted by my conversation with Naomi. I wanted to clear up the correlation between development theories.
She was in the back of the class, as usual, talking and laughing with blonde kid, Jacob. He put his hand on her shoulder and she didn’t shy away from his touch.
“JJ?” I blinked and looked at the student right in front of me.
“Hi, sorry Audrey. What’s up?” I asked. I started answering questions until it came down to the last student and we were alone. Naomi smiled, her expression friendly.
“Hey Dr. J,” she said.
“How are you?” I straightened off of the desk and started to pack my briefcase.
“I’m here, so I was just wondering about the…entire last part of the lecture with Freud,” she sighed. “Sometimes I get him, other’s I just don’t. Why was everything sexual with him?”
“Ah, well that’s hard to define without delving into Freud’s own mind. Everyone has a take on psychology at the developmental phase and for him, it simply started with the sexes,” I said. I couldn’t stop myself from looking at what she wore. Shorts again and a simple t-shirt that got a bit tight around her breasts. Her hair was wavy and loose down her back. I wanted to run my fingers through her hair but of course I didn’t. I wanted to touch her just as casually as Jacob had and I had half a mind to ask her about him. Were they dating? Did she know that he obviously liked her?
Naomi asked me more specific questions and I answered them for her. When she stepped towards the door, it felt like she was leaving too soon. Again, I wanted to reach out and touch her arm or something.
“See you next class,” she said and left the room. I waved too late and then shook my head, sighing. I needed to go on a date with someone who I could actually date. So, I texted my sister; Know anyone to set me up with? I left it at that and stepped out of the room, into the hallway. Before I made it out of the building, Amy texted back; omg YES! Amy had been wanting to set me up on a date since I bought my house and officially moved back. I hoped that whoever she was, she would be okay with taking things slow.
#
I stood nervously in front of the steakhouse Sophia and I were meeting up at. That’s all I knew about her, was her name and Amy had shown me a picture. I found myself chanting, “please be normal,” under my breath while I waited with a few white lilies in hand.
“Joshua?” a girly voice came from behind me. I turned around, Sophia was pretty. She had dirty blonde hair and big blue eyes.
“Hi, hey, I didn’t know you were waiting inside. I probably…should’ve checked,” I said with a nervous chuckle.
“That’s okay, I probably should’ve known to wait outside,” she laughed, seeming just as awkward as I felt.
“These are for you,” I said and handed her the flowers. She took them, her expression said that she was impressed.
“Thanks, they’re beautiful,” she said. I stepped to the door and held it open for her and we walked into the bustling restaurant. I stepped to the host’s podium and gave my name. We were shown to a booth on the quieter side of the dining room.
“So, uh…how was your day?” I asked when we got settled and were left alone by our waitress.
“It was pretty good. Just another day in the life of a physician’s assistant,” she said and smirked. Her smile seemed a bit smug to me and she was looking at me as if she expected me to ask more about her job.
“Isn’t that basically a doctor?” I asked.
“Right, we’re nurses that can diagnose and treat illnesses, we can perform certain procedures on patients too,” she said.
“Sounds…stressful,” I said honestly. Sophia laughed and agreed with me. She started talking more about her job until the waitress came back with bread for the table and to take our drink and appetizer orders. We made our orders and the waitress left again.
“Your sister told me that you’re a professor at the university,” she said.
“Yes, I teach psychology. This year it’s general psychology and developmental,” I said. As soon as I mentioned the word, an image of Naomi flashed in my head and…well she was a lot more attractive than Sophia. And I could pretty much guarantee that Naomi and I would be having a much more interesting conversation by then.
“Wow, that’s interesting. Did you study psychology with the intention to teach it or…?” Sophia reached for her glass of water and took a sip.
“I did work in a practice for a little while but I’d just rather teach,” I said.
Sophia took a hard turn in the conversation, “Amy also mentioned that you were married before?” I cleared my throat, surprised she went there so soon. Before the appetizers even hit. “I’m sorry, when I’m curious I can’t help myself when asking questions,” she said quickly. “We don’t have to talk about it,” she added.
I reached for my own water and took a gulp. Thankfully, the waitress came back with our real drinks and the appetizer we ordered. As soon as my cocktail was set on the table, I picked it up and took a drink.
When the waitress left with our entrée orders Sophie repeated herself. “You don’t have to talk about your marriage if you don’t want to.”
“That’s okay. This is what first dates are for, right? To get to know each other?” I paused and took another drink from my glass. Sophia nodded, her expression was tentative but still curious. “Uh, my ex-wife cheated on me and had been cheating on me for a while until I found out and we ended mutually. The bond just wasn’t there between us anymore. Now she’s…getting married to the guy she left me for,” I said. “Why’d you want to know?”
“Oh, well…like I said, I was just curious and…marriage is something I think about,” she said. I pressed my lips together and played with my glass—turning it around on the table.
“That’s…cool,” I said, nodding. I wondered if Sophia talked about marriage on all of her first dates. “Have any hobbies?” I asked. Sophia laughed but answered my question, we talked about kitesurfing and general beach things. I could tell she was sort of fishing for another date out of me but the whole marriage talk threw me off. I couldn’t think about getting married again so soon. Honestly, I just wanted a fling, something light but with some strings attached. I didn’t mind a few strings.
As we talked about Sophia’s job some more over our entrees, I realized that Naomi really got under my skin. I wanted her and it was looking like I wouldn’t tolerate anyone else. Fuck if that didn’t give me a headache and effectively end the date for me. I didn’t stay for dessert, instead, I left one fifty on the table while Sophia was in the bathroom and slipped out. I hurried to my car and quickly peeled out of the parking lot.
“How the fuck is this going to happen, now?” I muttered. I was crazy, there was no way I’d go through with it. Dating Naomi was a pipe dream that I needed to forget all about.
