The Summer Proposal(3)

“Umm…sure.”

As soon as average Adam walked away, I laid into hot Adam. “Who the hell are you?”

“Sorry. My name is Max.”

“Do you make a habit of pretending to be someone else?”

He shook his head. “I just…I saw you sitting at the bar through the window when I was passing by, and you had such a pretty smile. I came over to introduce myself, and it was clear you were here to meet someone else. I guess I sort of panicked that you weren’t going to talk to me since I wasn’t Adam. So I went with it.”

“And what if my date hadn’t showed up? Would you have pretended to be Adam on a second date?”

Max dragged a hand through his hair. “I didn’t think that far ahead.”

Normally catching a date in a lie would make me angry, but finding out Max wasn’t Adam was more disappointing than anything. We’d had great chemistry, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed so much meeting someone new.

“Was every answer a lie? Do you even like Star Wars?”

He held up both hands. “I swear. The only thing that wasn’t the truth was my name.”

I sighed. “Well, Max, thanks for the entertainment. But I don’t want to keep my real date waiting.”

He frowned, but nodded and stood. “It was nice meeting you. I guess asking for your number would be stupid right about now?”

I gave him a look. “Yes, it would. Have a good night, Max.”

He looked at me for a few seconds, then slipped a bill out of his wallet and tossed a hundred on the counter. “You, too, Georgia. I really enjoyed meeting you.”

Max took a few steps away, but then stopped and walked back. He again took out his billfold, only this time he peeled off what looked like a ticket of some sort and placed it on the bar in front of me. “I’d really love to see you again. If your real date turns out to be a dud or you change your mind, I promise I will never tell you another lie.” He pointed to the ticket. “I’ll be at the hockey game over at the Garden at seven thirty, if you would consider giving me another shot.”

What he said seemed heartfelt, but I was here to meet another man. Not to mention, I was really disappointed. I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

With a sullen face, Max nodded one last time before walking away. I didn’t have time to process everything, but I felt a strange sense of loss when I watched him walk out the door. Though as soon as he disappeared from sight, my real date was next to me.

I had to force a smile. “Sorry about that. We, um, just had some business to wrap up.”

“No problem.” He smiled. “I’m just glad that guy wasn’t hitting on you, and I didn’t have to defend your honor. He was a tank.” Real Adam sat down. “Can I order you another wine?”

“That would be great. Thank you.”

“So…I take it you’re a big Star Wars fan?”

“Hmm? Oh, because of the costume.”

Adam pointed to the bar. “And the little Yoda.”

I looked down. Max had left his Yoda figurine behind. I guess he hadn’t been lying about being a Star Wars fan, considering he carried an action figure in his pocket. At least I hoped it wasn’t just a prop he used when he told strangers tall tales at bars and lied about his name.

? ? ?

Real Adam talked about artificial intelligence—a lot.

I tried to get my head back in the game after the Max letdown, but I knew before my actual date and I had finished a drink at the bar that this would be our only date. Adam was a nice-enough guy; there was just no connection, physical or mental. I wasn’t into computers or Bitcoin, which seemed to be a big thing for him, and he wasn’t into any of my hobbies, such as hiking, traveling, and watching old black-and-white movies. He didn’t even enjoy going to the movies. Who doesn’t love bingeing on popcorn and a gallon of soda while watching a big screen? Not to mention, when I told him about my work, he said he was allergic to flowers.

So when the waitress came by with a dessert menu, I politely declined.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t like a coffee or something?” Adam asked.

I shook my head. “I have to work in the morning. Having caffeine after noon keeps me up all night. But thank you.”

He nodded, though I could tell he was disappointed.

Outside the restaurant, he offered to share a cab, but I only lived eight blocks away. So I extended my hand to set the tone for the end of the evening.

“It was very nice to meet you, Adam.”

“You, too. Maybe we can…do this again sometime?”

It was so much easier to be upfront and tell a guy there wouldn’t be a second date when he was a jerk. But I always struggled with the nice ones. I shrugged. “Yeah, maybe. Take care, Adam.”

It was late April, but the cold weather just wouldn’t relent and allow spring to start this year, and a gust of wind blew while I waited at the intersection at the corner of the restaurant. I shoved my hands into my pockets for some warmth, and inside, something pointy pricked at my fingers. I slipped it out to see what it was.

Yoda.

His plastic ears were tapered to points, and there was a tiny chip on the left one. I’d forgotten I’d stuck him in my pocket when Adam and I had moved from the bar to a table. Looking down at him, I sighed. God, why couldn’t your owner have been my actual date tonight?