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Tate would never. He was such a sore loser. Now that I had some space to reflect on it, Tate was a loser in general, nothing but a cluster of red flags. Actually, he was a full stop sign. He never had a stable job, he didn’t want to hang out with my friends—he called women females. I shuddered.
Laci said something to me once, right after the breakup—that women will date men for potential that most will never actually achieve. We make excuses for them and want to help them be better, more than they want to help themselves.
We don’t see people as they are, we see them as we are.
I liked who Matty is.
And that wasn’t me viewing him through rose-colored glasses. It was actually the opposite. I was trying not to be bitter and angry when it came to men, but I couldn’t help it. I was so disillusioned by what happened with Tate that it was hard for me to trust or even want to consider dating again.
But for Matty, I might consider it.
Not that he was interested. But I was.
Laci spotted me on the way to the deep freezer. “Girl, you gotta get better insoles.”
“I know.”
“And what’s up with all the ‘Careless Whisper’? I can hear you all the way to the front.”
She didn’t wait for my answer before going into the freezer. A moment later she came out with a tub of the vanilla ice cream we used on our apple pies. “That’s a lot of saxophone. Hey, what app did you catch Tate on?”
I looked up at her over my screen. “Tinder. Why?”
“Just wondering.” She peered out the kitchen window into the front. “The Roth family just came in. You can have them. I’ll get their drink order so you can finish your break.”
I looked at her, confused. “Isn’t it your turn for the Roths?”
“Yeah, but you had that walkout. And you took the weird guy.”
I laughed. I didn’t mind that I took the weird guy. I didn’t mind the weird guy at all.
8
RHIANNON
IT WAS TWO O’CLOCK. I’d just come back from my break and Laci was leaving for the day. It would just be me, Matty, and a single line cook until the dinner team showed up at five.
Matty was stretching with his hands on his hips next to his table. The cape dipped to the floor every time he did a lunge.
Laci slid up next to me holding her purse. “Is it just me or is this zero fucks thing sort of cute?”
“It is cute,” I said, smiling.
“He’s growing on me.” She pursed her lips. “I think the UTI would be worth it.”
I scoffed.
“Do you think he’s single?” she asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Hey, Matty!” she shouted. “Are you single?”
“Oh my God!” I ducked into the server station.
Laci waited. “You are?” She looked over at me. “He’s single.” She turned back to him. “Are you straight?” she yelled.
I smacked a hand to my forehead.
