“Marlow set you up with anyone interesting so far?”
His pause says everything.
“You mean anyone that reminds me of you? Anyone that comes close to you? No, Eslin.”
I close my eyes for a second, trying to steady the thrum in my chest. Then I sigh and lie to myself.
“You have to stop that, Grant.”
He feigns ignorance. “What?”
“You know what you’re doing,” I say, cutting my eyes at him.
He lets out a sigh. “Fine. I’ll try,” he says with a grin, and we both know he’s lying.
Just like he probably knows I don’t want him to stop.
“To answer your question, no,” he continues. “I haven’t met anyone interesting.”
“But you have gone out with women?”
He glances down at me. “Now, you’re going to have to stop doingthat.”
“Doing what?”
“Acting like you’ll maim or murder any woman I so much as smile at.”
I laugh, too loud. “No! I’m just making light conversation with a friend.”
“Right. Just friends.” He nods slowly, knowingly. “Well, then yes, friend. I’ve gone out with a few women. At Marlow’s request.” It felt like heneededto add that part.
“Have you gone out with anyone more than once?”
He sighs again, deeper this time. “You really want to do this?”
I raise my hand like I’m in a support group for victims of self-inflicted heartbreak. “Emotional cutter. Party of one.”
A pause.
“Fine. One. That’s it. We went out twice but never hung out again.”
Something like hope dares to flicker in my chest. “Why not?”
“Because she apparently forgot she was in love with someone else. A woman.”
I stop walking and look up at him. “Come again?”
“At the end of our second date, which was fine, just nothing that would likely ever happen again, her former roommate showed up on her doorstep.”
“Oh my god. Like… during the goodnight kiss?”
“Just before,” he says. “And the woman tells her she’s been in love with her for five years and couldn’t watch her fall for someone other than her. The person who knows her so well, she memorized her sleep rhythm.”
I stare. “She said that? Her sleep rhythm?”
“Yep. Said I hadn’t memorized her breathing patterns well enough to be worthy of her woman’s love.”
“Wow.”