He began rolling up his dress shirt sleeves, revealing the tan forearms underneath. “So what’s your beef with her?”
“Rent,” I replied. “I live in one of her buildings, and my parents live in another. Our rent has gone up three times this year. I can afford it, luckily, but my parents are having a tougher time. There’s only so much money you can squeeze out of someone before there’s nothing left.”
“This is probably going to come across as a dumb question,” Michael said, “but have you considered moving?”
“That’s the long-term plan. Save up enough for a down payment on a house and get out of these awful apartments.”
“And in the short-term?”
I let out a long sigh. “Moving is tough. Dad is in a wheelchair, which limits his options. Not every building is ADA compliant, and even those that are can still be a pain. Even if I found a place for them, they’ll probably lose their deposit for some bullshit reason, which means scraping together enough money for a new one. Then there’s moving. Renting a truck is at least a hundred bucks when you account for gas. Meanwhile, our rent has only gone up $50 each time. So it’s hardly worth the effort.”
“I’ve got a pickup truck,” Michael offered. “If you ever need help, let me know.”
“That’s a lot of trips to make.”
He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Still, though. Free is a great price. I’m being serious. If you ever need to move in a hurry, I’m your guy.”
I’m your guy. After two drinks and a shot, that phrase was starting to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. “I’ll take you up on that if I ever need a truck. That’s really sweet of you.”
“No biggie. I’m sure you’d find a way to repay the favor.” He flinched as soon as the words were out of his mouth. “I mean, with other favors. Or help at work. I meant it totally innocently, not…” He groaned and took a long sip of his beer.
“I knew what you meant,” I said. “Relax.”
“It’s been a long day,” he revealed. “Brunch with Sandra Trout was exhausting.”
He reached for the last spring roll at the same time I did. For a moment, my fingers brushed against his. We looked at each other.
“Dibs,” he said.
“Oh no you don’t. I’ll cut you if you take it.” I grabbed the knife from a bundle of cutlery. “You’ve seen what I can do with a manila folder. Now imagine how much damage I could cause with an actual knife.”
He held up his palms in surrender. “How about you use that knife to cut it in half? I’ll split it with you.”
I made a show of considering this. “Hmm. I get half a spring roll, and I don’t have to commit violence. Very well. I accept your proposal.”
Michael slumped his whole body down onto the table. “Thank God for that. If I lose any more blood, I’ll probably pass out.”
“Oh shut up, you didn’t losethatmuch blood,” I said while cutting the spring roll.
“I remember it being a lot.”
“It was a week ago.” I handed him one half of the roll. “Your body has recovered.”
“Let’s not take that chance.” He bit into it and grinned. I nibbled on my half and grinned right back at him.
I feel so awkward. Our banter was playful, but there was a tension to everything I did and said. It was probably because I was terrified of blowing it. Not that there was anything to blow… but there might be, pun intended. The unfortunate reality was that I hadn’t gotten laid inmonths,and it was beginning to wear me down. Every smile I gave, every joke I made, I was afraid of screwing things up with this guy I barely knew. My new colleague.
I need to get laid, I thought.Then I would be able to relax and act normal around him.
Michael glanced at his watch. We had been here nearly an hour and nobody else had shown up. I could feel him thinking about it. We’d had two drinks and an appetizer. I knew he was going to call it. I could feel him thinking of a way to break off and go home. I braced myself for the comment to come.
Instead, he asked, “Do you want to get out of here?”
I must have jerked in surprise. “Oh?”
“Maybe get some real food?” he asked hopefully. “There are a bunch of good places downtown. Or we could check out the live music at Shorty’s Lounge. I’ve got nothing going on, and I feel bad that nobody else made an appearance.”
I felt myself swooning at the invitation. I was loving Michael’s company, and I was downrightgladit was just the two of us rather than a large gathering of colleagues. He had a gravitational pull to his personality that made me want to say yes, to grab a real meal with him and get to know this man even more. And I desperately found myself wanting to see if he would flirt with me, like August had suggested to him in that text.