Maybe Elliott can give me some pointers on how to care less and avoid falling hopelessly for every handsome face that looks my way.
CHAPTER 16
ELLIOTT
UNKNOWN
Happy New Year xxx
Maybe Loren is right.I probably should at least try to make small talk with my date after August went through all the trouble to set us up. Although, from the way he and Tamille are wrapped around each other, I’m not sure his motives were entirely selfless.
Either way, I don’t want him to give me shit for not even trying, so I take a deep breath and push my way onto the pavement dance floor to sidle up next to my date.
“Hey.”
A slow, coy smile teases Tamela’s glossy lips as she peers up at me through lashes that are way too long and thick to be real. “Hey,” she says back.
Now what?
Let’s see…
“Having fun?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Not really a lot to work with there. Time for a drink, I suppose.
And August wonders why I don’t go out on “proper” dates. Isn’t it painfully obvious? I don’t know this woman, have no clue if we have anything in common at all, and I’m just supposed to learn everything there is to know about her in a couple of hours?
At least at the bar, there’s not much small talk.
A woman flirts with you, you flirt back. At the end of the night, you ask her to your place, she says yes, and the deal is done.
We still have a couple of hours until the end of tonight, and I’m not exactly sure how to fill them when all Tamela seems to want to do is dance and I have zero rhythm.
Less than zero. We’re talking negative rhythm here.
I squeeze my cup a little tighter.“So what do you do?”
Why did I ask that question? This isn’t an interview. We’re not swapping resumes. Also, I don’t really care about her answer, so the question feels hollow.
Fuck. I hate small talk.
She pushes my shoulder, never losing the beat. “Right now, I’m dancing.”
I can see that.
I am way too sober for this. “What about when you’re not dancing?”
“Oh.” A giggle. “I’m sort of on a journey of self-discovery at the moment.” She twists her arms above her head while simultaneously rolling her hips, knocking them against mine. “Trying to find what brings me joy.”
Unemployed then.
No judgment here. I did my fair share of “self-discovery” a few years back. It just looked a lot…darker.
Less dancing and more drinking.
Her hands flatten on my chest, then slide down my stomach before heading north again.
