Page 60 of Dating and Other Theories
“Not necessarily. Not if he thought it might be impolite or inappropriate. Or unwelcome.”
“Hmmm,” Jinny said.
“Do you want me to ask him?”
“No!” Jinny shook her head violently. “Don’t you dare.”
“He’d probably appreciate the directness.”
“My reproductive organs are not goods to be bartered via mediator. I’ll manage my own love life, thank you very much.”
Esther stared at the surface of the pool, wincing internally. If Jinny ever found out she’d been behind Jonathan asking her out, she would be super pissed. “Why don’t you just ask Yemi out yourself?”
“I think he might be a little old-fashioned. He might not like it.”
“I don’t know. Sure, he goes to church with his parents every Sunday, but he’s never struck me as chauvinistic or narrow-minded. He might be relieved you’d made the first move.”
“Maybe.” Jinny picked up her People magazine again.
Now that Esther thought about it, they’d make a great couple. They were both Catholic, both close to their families, and both ridiculously smart. Plus, Yemi was a good guy who seemed like he’d be a terrific boyfriend. Considerate, attentive, loyal. Much better than most of the men Jinny had dated. And the two of them seemed to get along really well.
Esther didn’t push it though. She’d said what she had to say, and now the ball was in Jinny’s court. Her matchmaking days were over. Even though she’d accomplished her goal of keeping Jinny and Stuart apart, it wasn’t worth the guilt and secrecy.
Another door slammed overhead, and Esther saw Jonathan head for the stairwell.
Shit.
Maybe he’d walk around the outside of the building to his car without cutting through the courtyard. He must have seen that Jinny was out here with her. Hopefully he’d want to avoid an uncomfortable encounter.
“Hey,” Jonathan said, striding toward them.
Shit.
Jinny looked up from her magazine and smiled warmly. “Hey!” Only someone who knew her as well as Esther did would be able to detect the edge under her cheerful exterior.
Esther nodded a greeting and took a swig of beer to disguise her discomfort.
Jonathan’s eyes lingered on her for a moment before moving back to Jinny. “How’ve you been?” His keys were in his hand, and they jingled as he flipped them around his index finger.
“Good,” Jinny said without letting her smile slip. “I’m good. How about you?”
Jonathan’s eyes flicked over to Esther again, then back to Jinny. “I’m good. Great, actually.” He flipped his keys again. Once. Twice. Three times. “Well, I’ve gotta…” He tilted his head toward his car, already backing away.
“Sure,” Jinny said, still smiling at him.
“I’ll see you,” he said, looking at Esther again.
“Yep.” She raised her bottle and took another drink.
“Bye!” Jinny called out. Her smile faded as soon as his back was turned. “Geez, that was mega awkward,” she said when he was out of earshot.
“Yeah,” Esther agreed and guzzled the rest of her beer.
Esther started paying more attention to Yemi at work.
She watched him closely every time Jinny came up in conversation, and even more closely whenever the three of them were together. After four straight days of observation and data collection, her results were still inclusive.
Yemi was too difficult to read. He was reserved, even-keeled, and unfailingly polite to everyone he talked to—even the people Esther knew for a fact he disliked. If he was secretly harboring an attraction to Jinny, she could detect no obvious signs of it.
