Page 2 of Mixed Signals
Why can’t I find a single human being that I connect with? My standards are not impossible. I want someone who makes me laugh. Who cares about what I do and what I say and what I think. I want to sit on the couch with someone in blissful, perfect, comfortable silence—pizza on the coffee table and my feet tucked under their thigh. I want someone to hand me the recipe section of the local paper while they read the headlines. I want to share all of my small, silly, silent moments.
I want someone to give me butterflies.
I stare at Bryce-who-lied-about-everything-but-his-name and watch as he picks at something in his teeth with his thumbnail.
Maybe that someone doesn’t exist.
“Did you go to college?”
There is no curiosity in his question, just a smug satisfaction and a callous condescension.A familiar insecurity pricks at the back of my mind, a twist in my stomach that pulls tight.
“I went to Salisbury.”
He laughs like I’ve made a joke and then reaches across the table with his fork for a bite of my cake. I don’t slap his hand away, but it’s a near thing. To me, dessert issacred.“Ah, the party school. That makes sense.”
I clench my teeth so hard I’m surprised my molars don’t crack right in half. “What does?”
“Bakers don’t need to go to serious schools, do they? It doesn’t matter where you went or what you did. You probably could have gotten a degree from circus school and been just fine baking your little treats all day.”
Circus school.
Little treats.
Oh, my god.
It takes me a second to collect my bearings. When I do reply, my voice is quiet fury laced with exhaustion. I am sotired.
“I graduated with honors with a dual degree in mathematics and engineering.” Not that it should matter. “I’m a baker and a small business owner, and I bet I do more in an hour than you do in a day.”
He scoffs.
I set my fork down on the table. This evening just rocketed to the top of my Worst Dates Ever list, and the competition is robust. I can’t believe I put on my green dress for this. What a freaking waste. “I think you should go grab the check.”
He holds up both hands, his eyes wide. “Woah, don’t be so sensitive. I didn’t mean to offend.”
I ignore him and slip another bite of coconut into my mouth. This rum sauce really is life-changing. Maybe after we wrap up here, I’ll sneak back into the kitchen and sweet talk the chef into sharing his recipe. I bet he’s better company than bampot Bryce.
He makes no move to get the check, as requested. I whip the napkin off my lap and drop it on the table. “That’s fine. I’ll go settle the bill at the bar.”
He rolls his eyes. “I was getting to it. You don’t have to be so rude.”
Alright. I’m the rude one. Okay.
I push my chair back and head towards the bar at the edge of the surf. I don’t usually come this far out for a date, but Bryce had been insistent about trying a new tiki bar right on the coast. Low hanging string lights. A couple of fires burning in large, round pits. The tide rolls in behind bottles stacked on old wine barrels. Bartenders move back and forth behind a small row boat that’s been flipped over and converted into bench seating.
It would be a romantic spot if my date was not a complete and total asshole.
Our waitress, Celia, waits behind the bar with her lips in a thin line, her eyes kind and understanding. She hands me the bill before I can even ask.
“Did the dessert help, at least?” she asks.
I snort a laugh and flip open the bill. “It was the best part of my evening.”
“I can get you another one,” she offers. When I shake my head, she makes a short, contemplative sound. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but that guy is a jerk. You can do better.”
“Yeah, you’re not wrong.” Unfortunately for me, I haven’t seen better on any of the dating websites I pay an unseemly monthly membership for. Bryce is pretty par for the course. “Any ideas on where to look?”
Her gaze trips over my shoulder as she pulls a thick evergreen rag out of her back pocket, shining the edge of a tumbler. Her face morphs into something glassy, appreciative, and she tilts her head behind me. “That looks like a good place to start.”
