eyebrow and said nothing. Was he going to make me say it? “He said that I was fun to chill with, but I wasn’t someone that a man would ever want to settle down with.”
“Shit. That’s awful.” He stared at me as he took a sip of his cocktail.
Why would you tell him that? I turned the glass that held the last of my cocktail.
“What made him think that? Are you a little crazy when you get into relationships?”
“I don’t think so.” Am I? “Maybe I am.”
“So, dating apps?”
“Derrick, my best friend from Michigan, thought it would be the safest way to have my NYC moment.”
“Derrick, who is he? And what is an NYC moment?”
“My best friend back home. He’s my neighbor.” The waiter set the appetizer on the table and placed small plates in front of both of us. “Thank you.”
“You want to drink the juice out before you eat the meat and dough.” Anderson took a small bite out of the Khinkali and sucked the juice out. “Your best friend is a guy?”
“Yep. Derrick is Avery’s brother. You know Avery, right? Genevieve’s best friend.” I repeated Anderson’s steps and slurped the beefy broth out of the dumping.
He intertwined his fingers, making a steeple. “I know Avery.”
Nervous laughter bubbled out of my mouth as I spoke. “Is there a history between you and Avery?”
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hear about the history between the two of them, but there was no going back.
“We have history, but it’s not a sexual history if that’s what you are asking.”
“I didn’t mean to invade your privacy. Sorry.”
“You didn’t invade my privacy. It’s a natural question. What about you?”
I stopped in the middle of a bite. “What about me?”
“You’re an attractive, well-spoken woman. Why are you in need of practice, and, more importantly, why haven’t you had sex in three years?”
“Two-and-a-half.” I corrected before finishing my bite.
“After two months, does it really matter?”
“Two months?”
“Yes. The appropriate time to wait after breaking up or ending a relationship that lasted longer than six months.” Anderson rattled off.
I could only stare at him.
“What?”
Thank goodness for the waiter appearing at the table again. “How are the Khinkali?”
“It’s delicious,” I replied.
Anderson watched me, and for the second time in the day, I could have sworn he wanted to say something.
“Are you ready to order?”
I smiled up at the waiter. “I’m sorry. I haven’t even looked at the menu yet.”
“Do you like beef?” Anderson spoke up.
“I’m from the Midwest. Of course, I like beef.”
He nodded with a smile. “May I order for you?”
“Please.”
“We’ll both have Boeuf à la Stroganoff. And another round, please.”
“Of course.”
Anderson turned his attention back to me. “Where were we?”
“I was telling you about my love of MSU football.”
As the words came out, a wave of sadness came over me. This would be the first MSU homecoming I’d be missing since I had emergency surgery six years ago. There was nothing about game day that I didn’t love, and for the first time, the reality of my new partnership hit me.
“What are you thinking about?”
His question surprised me. “I’ve only missed one MSU homecoming game in the last fifteen years. I’m going to miss it this year.”
“When’s the game?”
“Saturday.”
“Did you think about missing the games before you used your connections to pitch a solid idea?–” he tilted his head, “–several hundred miles away.”
“I think I may have mentioned that I had no confidence that the Graham Morgan would be interested in helping open a coffee shop in the Big Apple.” Before he could correct me again, I added, “the meeting was for a single coffee shop. I understand that the deal is for a chain of coffee shops.”
“I was going to say do not refer the New York City as the Big Apple. You may not be an official resident at this moment, but you will be soon, and we don’t do that here.”
“I love that this is the Big Apple. You know, take a bite out of the Big Apple.”
He glared, “saying it over and over doesn’t make it better. Just so you are aware.”
“Touché.”
“So, you didn’t think you were going to get the deal, but you are still here during this special homecoming event.”
“Event? Wait. Are you not a football fan?” I was more nervous about this answer than of the question about Avery.
“I’ve never been to a college football game.”
I just laughed. “You’ve never been to a Big Ten game. That’s better than just your basic college football team. Where did