His response is immediate.
BLOCKED. We're done.
I laugh out loud.
"What?" Jamie demands.
"He says we're done because I like pineapple on pizza."
Hey! It's sweet and savory. Don't be a hater.
"He's not wrong." Jamie sets down the jar she's been holding. "Although honestly, this is already better than your last guy."
"Phillip was... nice."
"Phillip was bland as hell, just like every guy you've ever dated. He took you to Applebee's every time you had a date because he had coupons."
"He was a nice guy and dinner was always delicious," I say defensively. "The shrimp is good at Applebee's."
"Julie. It's not the restaurant. It's that he wanted life to be unbearably predictable and he could only have lights-off sex which apparently rendered him incapable of finding the clit." She shakes her head. "This guy is different. You can tell."
My phone buzzes again.
Fine. I respect your terrible taste. Dinner tonight? I promise no pineapple.
I look up at Jamie. "He wants dinner tonight."
Jamie rolls her eyes. "Shocker."
What time?
6? I'll pick you up.
It's a date.
Jamie is watching me with this knowing smile. "You really like him."
"I think I do," I admit. “He makes me laugh.”
"I like it. Just be careful until you're sure he's legit."
"Why?"
"You know why." She leans against the counter.
She means our father. AKA the reason I date men who are boring. Who never ask for too much, and more importantly, don't take too much, either.
Asher is the first guy I've ever been attracted to who lives life loud. But unlike my father, he's fun. Also, I know he isn't using me for money or to get a promotion, which is why my dad married my mom.
His boss had been family-focused and my dad needed a wife. So he went after my mom and married her because the boss in question had been her stepfather. And once he died, there was no need for dad to be married to my mother.
"He doesn't need me for anything," I point out. "You're the one who Googled him. He's definitely not dating me for money or status or a promotion."
Jamie nods her concession. "It's true. So far he passes the sniff test and is nothing like dad."
And thank God for that.
Asher picks me up at six. When I open the door, he just stares at me for a second. "Hi," he says finally.
