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I decided not to overthink anything. I knew I had a way of doing that all too often. It was a blessing and a curse. I often tried to read between the lines, and sometimes there was nothing there to read. That had never stopped me from finding something. So I decided this time to let it go.
It had been an enjoyable evening and I had learned a lot about him that I planned to use tomorrow night at the coffee shop. I started out wanting to help Dylan find someone he deserves. The more I got to know Dylan, the more I wanted him to find someone who deserved him as well.
Why did I have a feeling things had just gotten complicated?
CHAPTER 4: DYLAN
“Porter, you going out with us tonight, bro?” Ethan called to me from across the crowded locker room as we finished dressing after practice.
It was Friday evening, and I’d waited a long week for tonight to go over to Zia’s place. I hadn’t told the guys yet that I had other plans, not only for that night, but also for the following night on Halloween.
Now was as good a time as any.
“No, I have other plans this weekend. You’ll have to go without me this time,” I said.
“Uh-oh, this must be a girl. It’s not Katy, is it?” Ethan really had it bad for that girl.
“No worries, man. It’s not Katy. I thought things were heating up with you and her. I haven’t talked to her since that night at your place when she was talking to you,” I told him to ease his mind.
I could see the relief wash across Ethan’s face, though he was trying for nonchalance. “If it’s not Katy, then who is it? Anyone I know?”
“No, it’s nothing big right now. It’s more like a project I’m working on that someone is helping me with.” No sense in going into detail. If things didn’t work out, I wouldn’t want to look like a sucker in front of these guys. Especially since the more time I spent with Zia, the more I thought that she was not interested in anything more than helping me with this arrangement we had made.
She was all business, and tonight was just her way of researching her subject, though I couldn’t deny the thrill I felt about spending the evening with her anyway.
After I left the locker room and headed home, I took my time getting ready and made myself a bite to eat, grilling some chicken and vegetables on the George Foreman. Once I was dressed and ready to go, I grabbed my jacket and started walking the couple of blocks to her apartment building.
At eight-thirty p.m., right on time, I knocked on her fifth floor apartment door and ran a hand through my hair as I waited for her to answer. It didn’t take long before the door opened.
I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful this girl was, as she stood there in casual clothes, mismatched socks on bare feet, and wisps of her hair escaping a loose, messy bun. She looked great all dressed up to go out the previous times I had seen her, but this was different. She was comfortable and soft. I was speechless.
She ushered me in and took my jacket before showing me to her sofa. I sat as she went to the kitchen and brought me back a bottle of beer, a glass of wine in her other hand for herself.
I thanked her for the beer as I sat back and got comfortable. About that time, Clara came out where Zia and I were. Zia introduced me, although I had already been somewhat acquainted with Clara before through mutual friends.
“Hi, Dylan, it’s so nice to meet you. I hope you two have fun tonight. I was just heading out, but I look forward to seeing you again soon. We’ll have to all hang out sometime, like a double date or something.” Clara grinned widely and looked at Zia when she offered the double date.
The thought was appealing, I had to admit, and I wondered what Zia had told Clara about our arrangement. Was there a chance she had portrayed us to Clara as something more than just a social experiment?
Unable to hide my smile, I answered, “Great, I’ll look forward to it.”
“Sorry about that,” Zia apologized once Clara was out the door. “So how was your game last week?” She grabbed the TV remote turning on Netflix and sat back on the sofa with her legs tucked underneath her.
“It was great if you don’t consider that we lost by two points. It was a close game, though, and we played hard. We played a good team,” I explained.
“I’m glad to see you’re such a good sport about it,” she returned. “So tell me about you. Where are you from? Tell me about your family.” She sat the remote down and shifted to where she was angled more toward my direction.
“Well, I’m originally from Houston, but we moved to Tennessee for a while after my mother died when I was two. My older brother, Devin, and I were raised by my dad.” At the mention of my mom, I hoped I wasn’t putting a downer on the mood. I wasn’t looking for sympathy, it just was what it was.
“Oh, I’m so sorry about your mom. Did your dad ever remarry?” she asked me.
I thought about it for a second. “No, he really never settled down with any one person after my mom. I guess you could say he played the field a lot after that. I don’t think he really ever got over my mom, so it was almost like he tried to fill the void she left by dating one woman after another.”
“Do you remember your mother at all?” she continued.
“No, not really. Sometimes I dream about her, but I don’t know if they are memories, or just things my mind makes up to fill in the gaps, you know? I was so young when she died. My brother remembers her a lot better than I do,” I told her.
I was about three quarters of the way through with my bottle of beer at that point, and Zia stood to go back into the kitchen for another as she continued the conversation. “So it was just you, your dad, and your brother growing up? No women?” She handed me the new bottle.
