J E F F R E Y BROOKS
xx
Evelina said what kind of food she liked, and Jeffrey just nodded, “Well, then that’s what we’ll have.” As they walked and talked, Jeff noticed how easy it seemed to be to talk to her. He often felt like he had trouble holding conversations with people, especially right after meeting them. He didn’t know if this was what people meant when they talked about meeting someone and having a connection that “clicks,” or if Evelina was just particularly patient and good at conversation. Either way, he didn’t mind it.
They’d been walking for a while when she stopped. By her word choice, Jeff guessed something was wrong, so he asked, “What’s wrong?” Her explanation brought two possibilities to mind. She hadn’t cashed her check and was genuinely short on cash, or she had changed her mind and was trying to come up with an excuse to get out of going to dinner with him. If he were being honest, he could accept either one, but he did want to know which was the case.
“I’ll pay for yours.” He didn’t even have to think about offering to pay, of course he would. When she agreed, he smiled, and quickly shook his head when she said she didn’t like owing people, “Don’t worry about it. I asked you, I’ll pick up the check. You won’t owe me anything.”
It wasn’t much longer before they got to the place Eve recommended. Jeffrey didn’t know what to order, so he just went with whatever she suggested.
“So, um,” Jeff didn’t want things to suddenly get awkward, so he felt the need to keep the conversation moving, “What do you like to do? Like. For fun.” The thought that she had known what he meant before he clarified crossed his mind. Because, of course she knew. He felt like he looked like a kid on his first date. His roommate and friends had been telling him he needed to get out there more, but if he were being honest, he didn’t give himself a whole lot of time to do so. He spent a lot of his free time studying, which, if he were being honest, was probably what he should have been doing. Typically, when he wasn’t studying, he was just doing whatever his roommate felt like doing. That was potentially dangerous, but she wasn’t all that bad.
Evelina said what kind of food she liked, and Jeffrey just nodded, “Well, then that’s what we’ll have.” As they walked and talked, Jeff noticed how easy it seemed to be to talk to her. He often felt like he had trouble holding conversations with people, especially right after meeting them. He didn’t know if this was what people meant when they talked about meeting someone and having a connection that “clicks,” or if Evelina was just particularly patient and good at conversation. Either way, he didn’t mind it.
They’d been walking for a while when she stopped. By her word choice, Jeff guessed something was wrong, so he asked, “What’s wrong?” Her explanation brought two possibilities to mind. She hadn’t cashed her check and was genuinely short on cash, or she had changed her mind and was trying to come up with an excuse to get out of going to dinner with him. If he were being honest, he could accept either one, but he did want to know which was the case.
“I’ll pay for yours.” He didn’t even have to think about offering to pay, of course he would. When she agreed, he smiled, and quickly shook his head when she said she didn’t like owing people, “Don’t worry about it. I asked you, I’ll pick up the check. You won’t owe me anything.”
It wasn’t much longer before they got to the place Eve recommended. Jeffrey didn’t know what to order, so he just went with whatever she suggested.
“So, um,” Jeff didn’t want things to suddenly get awkward, so he felt the need to keep the conversation moving, “What do you like to do? Like. For fun.” The thought that she had known what he meant before he clarified crossed his mind. Because, of course she knew. He felt like he looked like a kid on his first date. His roommate and friends had been telling him he needed to get out there more, but if he were being honest, he didn’t give himself a whole lot of time to do so. He spent a lot of his free time studying, which, if he were being honest, was probably what he should have been doing. Typically, when he wasn’t studying, he was just doing whatever his roommate felt like doing. That was potentially dangerous, but she wasn’t all that bad.