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“I’ll be here,” Nova said. “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away.”
Ben laughed and shook his head. “Have you ever seen wild horses? I’m pretty sure they could.”
“That’s why I said it,” Nova told him with a wink. “Because there’s not a chance in hell I’d let you do the rest of this alone. Now, go. And drive safe.”
“I will.” Then he walked off, and he forced himself not to look back as he reached his car.
nine
“Willyou do the prayer song thingie?”
Ben blinked at the guy sitting across from him. His name was Jerome—the guy who claimed to be six foot two but was most definitely not, and he had very clearly used more than just a basic filter on his profile photo. Ben was starting to suspect some heavy Photoshop editing.
Not that he minded. He really wasn’t a superficial kind of guy, and it rarely took long for attractive men to turn ugly and ugly men to turn wildly hot once they started talking. But Jerome—with his dishwater brown hair, thin lips, and skin the kind of pasty that said he didn’t see the sun often—didn’t change much the more he talked.
He was a certified Mensa genius—according to him. He owned his own business but wouldn’t tell Ben what it was or what he did, and he claimed he’d had no less than five confrontations with misogynist men in coffee shops that week where he got standing ovations when he was done verbally taking them down.
In short, Ben was ready to jump into the freezing ocean just to save himself from having to listen to him anymore.
“I’m sorry,” he said when he realized Jerome had actually asked him a question instead of gone on talking about himself. “What did you say?”
“The song thingie.”
Ben tried not to laugh. “I’m going to need a little more context.”
“You said it was Chanukah. I know the Jews do the whole prayer thing like they’re songs, don’t they? I mean, Idoknow. My college roommate was a Jew, so I like to think I understand the culture almost as well as my own.”
Ben grimaced as he tried not to laugh. Or scream. He turned his head and tried to make eye contact with Nova, but for the first time in four dates, the bar was flooded with customers.
“Yes, Jewish prayers are often sung,” Ben tried to say politely.
Jerome nodded and sat back with his arms crossed, then gestured at the food. “Well. Go ahead. You can sing your Chanukah song.”
“I’m not going to do it here,” Ben said slowly.
Jerome narrowed his eyes on Ben. “Why the hell not?”
“Is that a serious question?” Ben couldn’t help but ask. “We’re on a date in a bar.” Not to mention, Ben had already taken care of it when he lit the chanukiah in his office for the last time that season. He’d locked up his office after he left, then stared at the light in the window for a long while before getting in his car and heading for Nova’s.
Something he was starting to regret.
“So what if we’re in a bar? You said you’re an atheist. Why do you even give a shit about the rules?” Jerome asked, his voice getting louder.
“Because I’m still Jewish,” Ben said. He rubbed at his eyes. “I really don’t want to talk about religion right now.”
Jerome stared at him for a moment, then said, “My roommate was a Russian Jew. Ever heard of those?”
“I—”
“I ended up becoming fluent in Russian after a single semester because my brain is just really good with languages.”
“Mm,” Ben said. There was no hope for him. He’d be lucky if he could escape before the damn bar closed.
“I actually got a call from the justice court that semester begging me to be on a jury because of my language skills,” Jerome went on. “The prosecution said it was incredibly rare to meet someone with my processing skills. My professors agreed to give me a pass on the final, and while I was in court, I was actually able to correct the judgetwiceon his interpretation of the law. And the second time…”
“Everyone clapped?” Ben asked flatly.
Jerome’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t appreciate being mocked.” He leaned forward, and suddenly, his face looked slightly menacing, and his voice rose to a near yell. “I mean, the fact that I actually responded to your date request is a miracle because you’re not my type. I just wanted to give you the experience of dating someone at my level so you might have better luck in the future. I mean, do you have any idea how many men and women are waiting on a date with me?”
