He flicked a bit of rice at me and I ducked, giggling. A nearby waiter gave us a weird look, but I ignored him. After all, this was the most fun I’d had all day.
From there, the not-date sort of glided along on its own. We talked about his job and how things had been going at the hospital he worked at. Working in medicine had always been interesting to me, but it wasn’t something I could do. Granted, people’s lives were as dependent on him as their afterlives were on me, but his job required so many hours and sweat and blood and tears. It had to be something he loved or it would run him ragged.
We also talked about his family, but only for a moment. I’d met his mother and father only once. It hadn’t gone well. He had a younger sister named Grace, though, and she took a shine to me. He said she was doing well, much to my relief. Anyone with a family that judgmental needed all the luck life could get them.
An hour crept by before Terrell glanced at his watch and groaned. “I gotta get back. We start early tomorrow.”
I spared him a sympathetic look. “Sorry to hear that.”
He shrugged. “It’s cool. Company’s paying for this trip anyway.”
Luckily, he had cash so we wouldn’t have to wave down our almost nonexistent waitress to pay the check. I didn’t argue about paying for the meal because I knew it’d be fruitless. I could have talked Michael out of it, but not Terrell. He’d been born and bred a true gentleman, and therefore would never allow a lady to pay the check. I thought that was rather archaic thinking, but sweet in its own way. Not that I’d ever tell him or Michael that, ever.
Night had stretched out its limbs and painted the sky black, leaving Jersey to be lit by streetlamps and car headlights. The city itself seemed to be in motion. I stuffed my hands in my pockets, staring determinedly at his chest. If I looked into those dark eyes from this close, he’d surely steal my soul.
“Thanks for dinner. It wasn’t nearly as disastrous as I thought it’d be.”
He chuckled. “You’re welcome. The dinner tomorrow is at seven o’clock sharp. What hotel are you staying in? I’ll pick you up.”
I told him and he copied it down into his Blackberry. We stood there in a brief awkward silence, trying to figure out the most appropriate way to say goodnight. I had been considering the fail-safe handshake, but he leaned in and kissed me on the cheek, voice soft in the cool air of night.
“Night, Jordan.”
I watched him walk away towards his car, and the lingering sensation of his lips on my skin didn’t leave until he pulled out of the parking spot and disappeared down the road. My hands fumbled for my cell phone as I shuffled down the sidewalk and collapsed on a nearby street bench, praying for the person on the other end to pick up.
“Hello?”
“Tell me I’m an idiot for going on a date with my ex-boyfriend.”
A pause. “What ex-boyfriend?”
“Terrell.”
Another pause. “No way. Tall, dark, handsome, pediatrician, cut-like-Morris-Chestnut Terrell?”
I palmed my forehead. “Do I know any other Terrell’s, Lauren?”
“Hey, I had to be sure. What the hell is he doing in Jersey?”
“Medical conference. We bumped into each other at the park and he asked me to dinner. He just left.”
Lauren let out a rush of breath. “Damn, girl. How are you holding up?”
“He just kissed me on the cheek. This is the first time I’ve breathed in like two minutes.”
“I figured as much. I don’t get it. I thought the two of you didn’t leave on good terms.”
“We didn’t but…I don’t know, Lauren. It seems like he’s not mad anymore.”
“Well, two years is a long time to think about your relationship,” she admitted. Then, all of the sudden, her voice became rather indignant.
“Wait a minute, I thought you took Michael McSexy with you?”
I rolled my eyes. “Would you stop calling him that?”
“I’ll stop calling him that when it stops being true,” Lauren asserted in an irritated tone. “Anyway, is he or is he not with you?”
“Yes, he is. And that has nothing to do with Terrell,” I shot back.
She groaned. “Is it really so terrible that he’s sweet on you, Jordan?”
I raked a hand through my hair, trying my best not to sound exasperated. “I’ve told you before that it wouldn’t work out. It’s too complicated.”
“Oh, and hooking up with your ex who lives in another state is not?”
She had me there. Dammit. “I’m not saying that’s what I want.”
“Then what do you want?”
Her question stopped me in my tracks. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t.”
She paused again. “Well, now’s a perfectly good time to find out. You know I only want what’s best for you. This sort of chance doesn’t come along every day.”
“I know,” I said. “But how the hell am I supposed to find out what I want?”
“If I knew, I’d tell you. All I can say is sleep on it. Maybe tomorrow morning you’ll wake up with an answer.”
“I hope so. Thanks.”