AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Got it. Will it be one check or separate?”
Daniel seems ready for this question. “We’ll be on one check, thanks.”
I lift my brows. “Thanks?”
After she leaves, Daniel talks about surfing. He tells me a long, meandering story about losing his guitar on the beach. The story doesn’t seem to have a conclusion so much as Daniel just gets distracted and doesn’t finish it.
Somehow, I’m okay with that.
I find myself comparing Daniel to Cole. Yes, Daniel does tick a number of boxes. He’s blond, he has long hair, and he dresses very casually. Not like Mr. Doom and Gloom, who is nearly always in khakis or dress pants. Daniel is shorter than Cole, but Cole towers over most people except his brothers. And then there’s the energy… I’ve been insisting to everyone who will listen that my perfect match will reflect my energy back to me.
Unlike Cole, who always has to have something smarmy to say back to me. It’s infuriating.
Daniel is the man I’ve been dreaming of. He is flawless and should make me feel… something.
So why does Daniel leave me feeling a whole bunch of nothing? And why do I keep thinking of Cole rolling his eyes and groaning with every new story that Daniel tells?
It’s upsetting. I toy with a fork and stay quiet. It’s not a worry for Daniel, who fills the silence with an easy stream of chatter. I find myself wondering if I’m even necessary for this conversation.
Our food comes. I watch him add a mound of Parmesan to his pizza without tasting it first.
This guy is a little strange, I’ll admit.
“So where are you from originally?” I ask. “You never did say.”
“Here and there.” He inhales two pieces of pizza and half the breadsticks.
“And what do you do for a living? I saw that you have a photo of you cooking on your Cupid’s Arrow profile. When you settle in somewhere for a while, do you cook?”
He lets out a long laugh. “Professionally? No way. Do you know how little a cook makes?”
“No.”
“Well, it’s not enough.” He holds up his hand to get the waitresses attention and orders another drink.
“So what do you do?” I press.
Daniel smiles at me. “This and that. I was trying to be a pro-surfer, but all the boarding competitions are totally clogged with sell outs that have brand names behind them. It’s super cutthroat.”
“Uh huh.” I take a bite of my pizza, eyeing him as he scarfs down two more slices. “So do you have family money or something?”
“Psh. Naw.” He lays waste to another piece of pizza. “Trust fund babies are kinda scuzzy. They are all like, ‘I’m a nepo baby, I need daddy get me a job, wahhhh’. I prefer my life to be more holistic and positive.”
“So… you’re saying that you don’t have a steady job?”
“Listen, babe. I’m too busy digging on the sweet bounty of Mother Earth to be tied down like that.”
“...right. So… what are you passionate about? I’m guessing you favor environmental charities?”
Daniel nods. He starts telling me a very long story about saving a beached whale. He stops every few sentences to expound on another topic, leaving whatever he was talking about in the dust. I pick at my pizza and eat the olives off my salad.
Daniel meanwhile finishes an astounding three quarters of the pizza, all of the breadsticks, and half of the cake. Once the pizza has gone cold, he nudges it toward me.
“Are you sure you don’t want some?”
I shake my head. “No, thanks. Wait, what happened with the whale?”
“Oh.” He pulls a sad face. “It went on to the next life.”
