“Yep, I’ll be fine.” I dug into my pocket and pulled out my keys. “I’ll see you Monday.”
“Hey, Q?”
I stopped and glanced back at Jake, lifting my eyebrows in question.
“Uh, I was thinking, maybe, if you wanted, we could go out. You know. Have dinner.” Jake sounded casual, but I noticed that he was shifting his weight from one foot to the other, and his eyes were intent on my face.
I bit the side of my lip. “I’m sorry, Jake. Tonight’s not good. I have to go check on Nate, and I’m just tired. It’s been a long couple of days.” I stretched my neck. None of that was a lie; I was suddenly exhausted.
“Next week, then? How about Friday? I’ll pick you up, and we can eat dinner and then maybe, I don’t know. See a movie. Play mini golf. Bug the campaign offices of our political opponents.”
I smiled for real then. Jake was so dang nice, and it was a welcome change from ... other people. “It sounds fun, but I don’t know.”
“What’s not to know? I’m not asking you to elope, Q. Just a date. One little date.”
When he put it that way, it would’ve been silly to say no. Besides, why the hell should I say no to a guy I liked, even if it was only as a friend at this point? Maybe once we’d spent time together, I’d realized there was something more. Maybe if Jake kissed me, I’d find that same spark I had with Leo.
And maybe pigs would sprout wings and fly.
But I’d never know if I didn’t give it a shot. With that in mind, I finally nodded. “Okay. Dinner on Friday sounds good.”
Jake grinned, his whole face lighting up. “Awesome. You just made my whole night.” He reached down to take my hand, giving it a quick squeeze before letting it go. “See you Monday, Q.”
I watched Jake jog down the sidewalk toward where I assumed his car was parked, surprised despite what he’d said that he wasn’t going into the diner if I weren’t there. He really was a pretty great person. I owed it to him—and to myself—to give our date a decent shot.
But now, tonight, I just needed to go home, climb into bed and rest my bruised heart.
