It’s Make Me Laugh Wednesday, so I’m sharing a few snippets from The Dating Debate.
“It’s such a nice night. Do you want to walk past the shops?”
God, no. Maybe I should have come up with a suggestion. Downtown was full of shops that sold antiques and little glass figurines that served no purpose on the planet except to collect dust.
“This is me being completely honest. I’ve never understood why people want to do that, but I’m willing to give it a shot. How about we walk past a few shops, and you can explain to me why it’s supposed to be fun.”
“Challenge accepted.” She held out her hand. “The first rule of window shopping is that all couples strolling—”
“We’re strolling? I’m not sure I’ve done that before. Do I need to stretch first?”
“Stroll, walk, wander, however you want to phrase it. The first rule of strolling past shops is you must hold hands.”
“Okay.” I held her hand. “Now what?”
“I’ll explain as we go.” She gestured toward the shops across the street. Once we’d made it to the first shop window, she said, “Second rule is, you look at whatever is in the window display and comment on it.”
This particular shop sold antique dolls. A child-sized doll sat in a rocking chair in the window. It had realistic glass eyes that seemed to stare straight into your soul.
“So, what do you think?” Nina asked.
“I think that doll is terrifying and it would scar a child for life.”
***
West, this is important. I need to know I’m not just convenient.”
“What are you talking about?” Now he sounded frustrated.
This was not how I wanted to spend my morning. I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. How could I say what I wanted to say without sounding needy? I didn’t want to sound needy.
I heard the car door open and shut and then the sound of footsteps moving across the gravel lot. Had he ditched me again? Seriously?
My car door swung open. West stood there holding out his hand. “Come here.”
“Why?”
“I’m trying to fix this, and you’re making it difficult. Get out of the damn car.”
A smooth talker he was not. Still, I was curious about what he would say. I unbuckled my seat belt and grabbed my bag before taking his hand.
He pulled me from the car. “I’m pretty sure this whole boyfriend-girlfriend relationship thing, which apparently I’m bad at, is like window shopping.” He pointed at our joined hands. “We hold hands and walk through the parking lot, which shows anyone in the immediate vicinity, including you, that you’re not convenient.”
“Thank you for clearing that up.”
“I’d never call you convenient…you’re actually more of a pain in the ass.”
***
Happy Hump Day everyone. (Now for some shameless self promotion.) Order your copy of The Dating Debate today.