class.
Buy new furniture for your crappy apartment.
Thankfully our food arrives before I blurt out another lie about myself. I make it through dinner by asking Grant questions and talking as little as possible.
I find out that his dad is also a lawyer and practices criminal law back in Omaha. Then Grant tells me that he loves to cook and even considered being a chef before deciding to be a lawyer instead. He’s been to Europe twice—once to England and once to France. He hopes to go to Italy next. He’s a Nebraska Cornhusker fan. And he loves modern art.
“I feel like I’ve talked this whole time,” he says after the waitress clears our plates. “Sorry about that. You must think I’m one of those self-centered lawyer types. I normally don’t talk about myself that much.”
“It’s my fault. I kept firing questions at you. It’s one of my mentor duties. I’m trying to get to know you better.” I reach over for my purse. “I guess we should go. It’s getting late.”
“Yeah, I need to get in early tomorrow.”
The waitress brings the check, setting it in front of Grant, assuming we’re on a date. I reach for the bill just as Grant does and our hands meet.
“I’ll get it,” I say, sliding the check my way. His hand remains on mine.
“Let me pay.” He smiles. “It’s bad enough you had to give up your night to take out your mentee. The least I can do is pay.”
“I don’t know. There’s probably something in the mentor handbook that forbids you from paying.”
“To hell with the handbook. This one’s on me.” He retrieves his wallet from his coat and pulls out some bills, dropping them on the table.
We leave and he walks me to the car. “I had a good time. Thanks for suggesting this. It was good to get out and do something. I know I just moved here but I already feel like I’m spending too much time sitting around my apartment. If you don’t mind, maybe we could do this again.”
“How about this Saturday?” I ask, without even thinking.
Why did I say that? And did I have to sound so eager? Now he’ll think I’m desperate to go out with him again. And Saturday is date night. Everyone knows that. I just asked him out on a date!
He seems surprised. “Um, yeah, okay. Sure.”
“Well, I’ll see you at work.” I get into my car, a red 2000 Saturn. I watch as Grant walks behind me and gets in a brand-new silver Audi.
The rest of the night I replay all the stupid things I said and did over the course of the date.
Why does this always happen when I go out with someone I like? I always say or do something stupid and then I spend the next few hours, and sometimes days, reliving the scenes in my head. And if that’s not bad enough, I make all these assumptions about what the other person must be thinking about me. The post-date recap in my head is almost more stressful than the actual date.
This is why I never go on dates.
CHAPTER SEVEN
7
Thursday morning, Kayla and Paige are waiting in the lab for a detailed summary of last night.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I say when I see them. “I made a fool out of myself and I’ve been replaying it all night in my head. I hardly slept.”
Paige walks up to me. “What happened? I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”
“Trust me. It was bad.” I set my coffee down and go over to get my lab coat. “Let me clarify. It was bad for me, not for Grant. He probably thinks it went fine.”
“Then what’s your problem?” Kayla makes a note in a file, then gets her coffee and meets me at my station.
“I lied to him. Repeatedly. Like some pathological liar. The lies just kept coming out of my mouth. I couldn’t stop them.”
“What kind of lies?” Paige asks.
“Well, let’s see. Apparently I’m a runner and a photographer. In fact, I’ve even taken photography classes. Oh, and I volunteer at the Walker Art Center because I love art so much.”
They both stare at me, not saying
Buy new furniture for your crappy apartment.
Thankfully our food arrives before I blurt out another lie about myself. I make it through dinner by asking Grant questions and talking as little as possible.
I find out that his dad is also a lawyer and practices criminal law back in Omaha. Then Grant tells me that he loves to cook and even considered being a chef before deciding to be a lawyer instead. He’s been to Europe twice—once to England and once to France. He hopes to go to Italy next. He’s a Nebraska Cornhusker fan. And he loves modern art.
“I feel like I’ve talked this whole time,” he says after the waitress clears our plates. “Sorry about that. You must think I’m one of those self-centered lawyer types. I normally don’t talk about myself that much.”
“It’s my fault. I kept firing questions at you. It’s one of my mentor duties. I’m trying to get to know you better.” I reach over for my purse. “I guess we should go. It’s getting late.”
“Yeah, I need to get in early tomorrow.”
The waitress brings the check, setting it in front of Grant, assuming we’re on a date. I reach for the bill just as Grant does and our hands meet.
“I’ll get it,” I say, sliding the check my way. His hand remains on mine.
“Let me pay.” He smiles. “It’s bad enough you had to give up your night to take out your mentee. The least I can do is pay.”
“I don’t know. There’s probably something in the mentor handbook that forbids you from paying.”
“To hell with the handbook. This one’s on me.” He retrieves his wallet from his coat and pulls out some bills, dropping them on the table.
We leave and he walks me to the car. “I had a good time. Thanks for suggesting this. It was good to get out and do something. I know I just moved here but I already feel like I’m spending too much time sitting around my apartment. If you don’t mind, maybe we could do this again.”
“How about this Saturday?” I ask, without even thinking.
Why did I say that? And did I have to sound so eager? Now he’ll think I’m desperate to go out with him again. And Saturday is date night. Everyone knows that. I just asked him out on a date!
He seems surprised. “Um, yeah, okay. Sure.”
“Well, I’ll see you at work.” I get into my car, a red 2000 Saturn. I watch as Grant walks behind me and gets in a brand-new silver Audi.
The rest of the night I replay all the stupid things I said and did over the course of the date.
Why does this always happen when I go out with someone I like? I always say or do something stupid and then I spend the next few hours, and sometimes days, reliving the scenes in my head. And if that’s not bad enough, I make all these assumptions about what the other person must be thinking about me. The post-date recap in my head is almost more stressful than the actual date.
This is why I never go on dates.
CHAPTER SEVEN
7
Thursday morning, Kayla and Paige are waiting in the lab for a detailed summary of last night.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I say when I see them. “I made a fool out of myself and I’ve been replaying it all night in my head. I hardly slept.”
Paige walks up to me. “What happened? I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”
“Trust me. It was bad.” I set my coffee down and go over to get my lab coat. “Let me clarify. It was bad for me, not for Grant. He probably thinks it went fine.”
“Then what’s your problem?” Kayla makes a note in a file, then gets her coffee and meets me at my station.
“I lied to him. Repeatedly. Like some pathological liar. The lies just kept coming out of my mouth. I couldn’t stop them.”
“What kind of lies?” Paige asks.
“Well, let’s see. Apparently I’m a runner and a photographer. In fact, I’ve even taken photography classes. Oh, and I volunteer at the Walker Art Center because I love art so much.”
They both stare at me, not saying
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