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“How old do you think I am?” he asked.
She squinted her eyes at him. “Not much older than me. I’d say…early twenties?”
He nodded. “I’m twenty-seven. Evan’s twenty-eight. What about you?”
“Twenty-two,” she said simply. “And I have nothing in my life figured out, in case you were wondering. Certainly not to the point that I could open up a restaurant in New York City. That’s…incredible.” He watched her in amazement, and she suddenly realized how crazy she must sound. “Sorry. I just…I’m impressed.”
“No need to apologize, though I do hope Evan’s not trying to steal my girl,” he said, reaching for her hand.
“Oh, I’myourgirl now?”
“For tonight, you are,” he said, pulling her to walk in the opposite direction. “And maybe tomorrow, too.”
“Well, I’m sorry for talking so much about Evan,” she said softly, noting the playful look on his face. He was teasing, but she honestly couldn’t blame him if he were upset. Who wanted to go on a date and have their date dote on someone else the whole time? “So, what do you do, Asher?”
“I’m afraid it’s not nearly so impressive,” he told her. “I’m in advertising. Which, I know, sounds cool, but honestly it’s just paper pushing all day.”
She squeezed his hand. “That’sverycool.”
He glanced at her, his eyebrows raised and he let out a sarcastic laugh. “Thanks, Mom,” he joked. He looked back ahead of them. “No, it’s pretty alright, ya know? I mean, it pays the bills and it can be kind of fun.”
She nodded. “Better than catering, right?”
“No wonder you were so impressed by the restaurant. You must love to cook,” he said, as if that were just dawning on him.
“I love to bake,” she corrected. “But, this will do for now. Truth be told, I have no idea what I want to do long term, but the company was hiring and I just went for it. I’m new to the city, so I needed something to keep the bills paid while I look for a new place and try to get my life somewhat together.”
“Where are you from?” he asked.
“Texas.”
“Ahh,” he said, wagging a finger at her. “I knew that was a Southern accent.”
She feigned a pout. “And I was trying so hard to hide it.”
He chuckled. “How long have you been in New York?”
“Not long,” she said.
“Are you planning to stay?”
“Funny enough, I like it here. I never pictured myself as a city girl, and I’m still not entirely convinced, but there’s something freeing about being here, isn’t there? Like…I feel so invisible. It’s kind of exciting.”
He stopped, pulling her under the awning of a building. “It’s exciting to be invisible?” he asked, turning her so that she faced him.
She nodded, pressing her lips together. “Kind of. Does that sound crazy? I’m from a small town and, well, everyone knows you there. Going to Wal-Mart without makeup on is like…front page news. Everyone knows everything you do, and it’s suffocating. Sometimes I just want to be able to live my life without people judging me, ya know?”
He raised an eyebrow when she huffed out a final breath. “What’s a Wal-Mart?” he asked.
She released an exasperated laugh, her laughter releasing her from the pressure she’d been under for so long. For a moment, she couldn’t seem to contain herself, which only made him laugh along. Whatever they were laughing at, it wasn’t truly as funny as the fact that they couldn’t seem to contain their laughter.
After a moment, she finally calmed down, patting his chest with her palm. “You are such a city boy.”
“Born and raised,” he told her. “So, I wouldn’t know much about small towns, but I know a lot about trying to live your life without judgement. I think that’s something everyone wants, no matter their zip code.”
“Maybe so…” she said, trailing off.
“So, how about we go up to my place and make some decisions that we could easily be judged for tomorrow?” he asked, running a finger along her arm.
