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Bad idea, Casey. Very bad idea, I thought.
Still, I found it hard to keep quiet. I opened my mouth and had a bad case of verbal and emotional diarrhea. I couldn't help it. Everything just flew out like the flaming pile of shit it was.
“Okay, fine, you got me,” I said. “Yeah, I'm freaked out because I just lost my job, and I'm not sure how I'll pay the bills this month.”
Malcolm looked at me with an inscrutable expression his face, and once I'd realized what I'd said, I felt the heat rising in my cheeks once more.
“I'm sorry,” I added quickly. “It's not your fault. And it's not like you want to hear about my struggles.”
“Talk to me, Casey,” he said, his voice soft and gentle. “I have all night and nowhere to go. Especially, since my former best friend hates me, and I don't have a girlfriend I need to check in with since she cheated on me and I kicked her to the curb.”
He smiled and tried to play it off like he was making a joke, but that last bit hit me like a truck and stuck with me. I gaped at him, my jaw nearly on the table. I was floored by the admission. “Your girlfriend cheated on you?” I asked in stunned disbelief.
“Hey, we're talking about you, not me.”
“Sure, it's none of my business, but seriously – what a bitch,” I said. “A really stupid bitch.”
I found it hard to believe someone would cheat on a guy like Malcolm. Maybe if he had the personality of Greg, okay. That would make sense. But, Malcolm was hot, successful, and from the little I knew of him, I thought he seemed to be a nice guy. What psychotic bitch would cheat on him?
Malcolm chuckled. “That she is,” he said. “But I'm here to talk to you. I want to find out what made you snap tonight.”
“Why? Are you a shrink?”
“No,” he scoffed. “It's just that I don't like seeing good people upset.”
“How do you know I'm a good person?”
A rueful smile touched his lips. “I'm good at reading people.”
“How very noble of you, Malcolm,” I said. “But, I don't need a white knight to come in and save the day. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
“I know that, and it's one reason I enjoy talking to you,” he admitted and took a sip of his water, though his eyes remained glued to me. “You're so different from other women I've known.”
I rolled my eyes. “Because all women are just the same, and I'm the unicorn amongst them,” I said and laughed. “Come on, Malcolm, you can do better than that.”
“Fine,” he said. “I like that you aren't afraid to speak your mind and don't take crap from anyone. Including me.”
“Thank you. I think,” I said, a shy smile touching my lips.
“You're welcome,” he replied. “And yes, I meant it as a compliment.”
We finished with our meal, and I was a little embarrassed that I'd cleaned my plate off completely. Even more so, because Malcolm only ate about half his fries and a few bites of the burger. It made me think either he didn't care for the food or wasn't even hungry in
the first place. “So, were you really looking at Tinder earlier?” I asked. “Because honestly, I find that hard to believe.”
“Not Tinder, no, but something similar,” he laughed. “Even I have standards.”
“Please, of course you do,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Just the idea that you'd have to use a dating app to find a girl is crazy to me. I'd imagine that women throw themselves at you, Mr. Malcolm Crane, wealthy and attractive as you are.”
I meant it as sarcasm, but I realized too late that it came out more as a statement of fact. It was true though, even if I didn't mean to sound so smitten with the guy. Malcolm wasn't the type that would have any trouble getting a date.
“I'm not looking to date, actually,” he said as he frowned down at his empty water glass, swirling the ice around with the straw. “I'm not ready to date again. Not so soon, anyway.”
“Then why would you be on a dating app – unless –” my cheeks flushed and I didn't bother finishing my statement, since the answer was more than obvious. “Oh well, I guess there's other things you could be doing with women that doesn’t involve dating.”
He shook his head and gave me that crooked little grin of his. “Not looking for a hookup either,” he said. “In case you were wondering.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You're a really confusing man, Malcolm Crane,” I said. “I hope you know that.”
