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He winks. “If it swims, I take care of it.”
The bartender comes to the table to get our order.
Will looks at the menu for three seconds and then orders. “Like a… like a Gewürztraminer would be good? Or an Eiswein?” He looks at me. “Do you want to split a bottle?”
I struggle not to make a face. The wine Will wants is white and extremely sweet. I was planning on grabbing something dark and bold.
“I think I’ll just grab a glass of cabernet.” I smile. “But that’s the great thing about this place. We can each get what we like!”
He smiles and hands the menu back to the bartender. “I’ll just have a glass of what she is having. I’m easy like Sunday morning.”
I offer him a weak smile. “That’s good to hear. Cheers.”
The bartender brings the wine over to our table and I pick up the glass. Everything that I do feels arduous and mechanical.
Will clinks his wineglass against mine and takes a sip. He considers the wine, then shrugs.
“Is it okay?” I ask.
He waves me off. “More than fine. It tastes like red wine.”
Sipping my wine, I look him up and down. I try to think of what I should ask him next. What should I ask my future soulmate? For some reason, my mind is a perfect blank.
“So… do you like the beach?” he asks.
“I love it. You know how it is, being from the coast.”
He nods. “Same, obviously. What do you do for work?”
I flush and force my smile to remain steady.
“I’m… in between jobs right now.”
His smile falls a little bit. I shake my head. “I know, I know. I just left working for a grumpy boss, and I’ve taken a few personal days to deal with the aftermath of all that. But I have an interview on Friday.”
“Oh yeah?” Will asks. “That sucks that your employment relied on a grumpy guy. I can’t stand grumpy people. I am obsessed with trying to cheer them up every time I see them. It’s not really the most fun thing.”
I tilt my head. “Are you me? I do that.”
Will laughs. “Maybe! Are most of your exes upbeat?”
I cackle at that. “No. As a matter of fact, my last ex was super grouchy.”
He nods and swirls the wine in his glass.
“I get the attraction. My last ex always rained on everyone's parade. She’s the reason I’m specifically trying to date people that are more cheerful and bright.”
“Wait, really?”
“Yeah, really!” He grins. “It’s like, no one cares about your emo problems. Right?”
My smile tightens as I digest that bit. He’s saying all the right things! And yet… they are falling on deaf ears. There’s something missing here. A fire, a passion, a push-pull of emotion.
I guess I can’t help but compare him to the months and months of time I had with Cole. Do I even want the upbeat kind of guy that I’ve always longed for? Or has Cole ruined that, too?
“Uhh, I guess?” I say, trying to keep the conversation alive.
I ask Will a question about his family and he happily chats about that for a while. The entire time he’s talking, I can’t stop thinking that he checks all my major boxes. He is beautiful. He’s a doctor. He seems to have a sunny disposition.
