Dinner Date.

"I don't know why you called me here," she said in a huff. I took a look around; it was a nice restaurant, with an excellent review. Most girls wouldn't have hesitated to complement the lush ambiance or swoon over the quartet in the corner. Unfortunately, Jessica wasn’t like most girls.

“I just wanted to talk to you,” I said simply. I brought the wine up to my lips and took a small sip. It was fresh, dirty and drier than I remember.

“Really?” she scoffed, “And you couldn’t do that over the phone?”

“No.”

The waitress appeared, her pen at the ready. I took the time to order for myself. A simple fettuccini with a pesto sauce. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Italian, but neither was Jessica, so there was a slight victory with that. Jessica grinned at me and called my bluff. I watched as she ordered two of the most expensive dishes on the menu, along with another bottle for the table.

“I hope you don’t mind,” she said with a sneer. The waitress looked at me with wide eyes to confirm the large order, to which, I just nodded. She left us. Jessica drank half her glass in one large gulp, leaving a print of her red lipstick on the rim. “Dinner was on you, right?”

I smile. “Of course,” I said, “A gentleman always grabs the bill.”

She huffed, “Some gentleman you are.”

I sighed and placed my hands in my pockets. As she was eyeing her favorite waiter, and then another stocky bus boy, I peered through the calendar on my phone. Tomorrow I had a lunch date with Megan P. and then later, I was taking Becca to the movies. Wednesday, was for Kim and her twin sister Kate. Thursday; brunch with Tina and a late lunch planned with Erica. Friday, Megan M. had me for a picnic, and finally Saturday, I set up a family meal. I wasn’t looking forward to it, but Sunday would be my dad to regroup and figure out what was so wrong with me.

“Are you going to be on your phone the whole night?” Jessica said with annoyance.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said and replaced my phone, “Anyway. I just need to know. Why did we break up?”

Jessica laughed for a moment, until she realized I was serious.

“Please,” I said, “We had something great for a few years, and then, next thing I know, I’m trying to catch all my clothes from the street. I don’t know what went wrong.”

“I knew it,” Jessica sat up straight in her chair, “I told you, we are not getting back together. I can’t believe you really thought-”

“I didn’t bring you here to get back together,” I said. Jessica replied with a simple, ‘Oh,’ and actually seemed disappointed. “I just want to know where I went wrong.”

“You want me to tell you what a horrible piece of shit you are?” I was surprised to see my plate of food placed in front of me. Our waitress was quick with the delivery and avoided eye contact with both of us. She excused herself quickly and made a dash to the kitchen.

I chuckled to myself. Jessica rolled her eyes and shook her head. She played with her food and said without looking up, “I feel like I should tell you, but I honestly don’t want to hurt your feelings.”

I folded my napkin on my lap and smiled at her. “Jess, I really don’t think you’ll be able to.”