Chapter 293: Dating: 0, Emotional Damage: 1

By seven o’clock, I had already changed my shirt twice, checked my hair more times than I care to admit, and seriously thought about faking a rare medical condition to avoid going out altogether.

That last option sounded really tempting when I realized I’d been standing in front of the mirror for almost five minutes, trying to figure out if I looked like someone ready for a casual dinner or like someone who’d spent way too long trying to look effortlessly put together...not that I was trying, of course.

In the end, I went with a dark blue shirt, black jeans, and a jacket that made me look just a tad more polished than usual without giving off that vibe that I was dressing up for a date.

And that was crucial since this wasn’t meant to be anything heavy.

Just dinner. Connor was a nice guy, had shown interest since the wedding, and I thought it was about time I stopped living like my emotional life had been stuck four years ago.

At least, that was the excuse I kept telling myself.

Dad had watched me leave my room with an expression that suggested he’d already picked names for our future grandkids and maybe even enrolled them in a decent school.

"Have fun," he called from the living room.

"I’ll try," I replied.

"And don’t come home too late."

I paused at the front door and turned to him.

"Dad, I’m twenty-five."

Dad smiled innocently. "Is there a difference between you and a baby?"

Before I could respond, headlights swept across the front window.

"That’s Connor," I said.

His smile widened even more.

Connor was leaning against his car waiting for me. He looked relaxed, which made me feel a little guilty since I’d spent the last hour treating dinner like a some high-stakes diplomatic meeting.

He had on a simple black jacket over a light shirt, his red hair slightly tousled in that effortlessly cool way.

When he spotted me, his face lit up. "Hey."

"Hey."

"You look nice."

I glanced down at my outfit. "Thanks. You too."

He opened the passenger door for me, and I got in.

"Your dad was watching from the window," Connor said, getting into the driver’s seat.

I looked back at our house. Sure enough, Dad had vanished from the living room, which somehow made his presence even more obvious than if he had just stayed there waving.

"Oh God."

Connor chuckled as he started the car.

"I think he likes me already."

I laughed, feeling some of the tension I’d been holding onto ease up a bit.

The drive to the restaurant ended up being surprisingly comfortable.

Connor didn’t pepper me with questions or try to fill every silence, which I really appreciated.

He played some soft music and casually pointed out things along the way, making comments about the restaurants we passed or people walking their dogs.

Before long, I realized I was actually enjoying the ride.

"You seem a bit nervous," he said after a while.

I glanced at him. "Do I?"

"A little."

I looked out the window. "It’s been a while since I’ve been on a date."

That was technically true.

Connor nodded, not pressing for more details. "I figured."

"You figured?"

I couldn’t help but smile, turning back to look out the window again.

The restaurant was nice without being too formal, the kind of place where people could dress up if they wanted to, but nobody would bat an eye at someone in jeans.

Warm lights hung above the tables, soft music played beneath the hum of conversations, and the scent of grilled food hit us as soon as we stepped through the door.

Our table was at the back, near a big window overlooking the street.

Connor pulled out my chair before taking his own, and I thanked him, silently hoping I wouldn’t embarrass myself over the next couple of hours.

The first few minutes were a bit awkward. We chatted about safe topics, mainly work and the wedding...Connor cracking jokes about Joey’s wedding speech and how some guests had drunk a little too much before dinner.

"I still can’t believe Joey cried so much," Connor said.

"He’s a bit of a softie." I said, "You should see him when he wants to party though."

"He looked like he just won an Oscar."

Eventually, we started discussing our jobs. Connor shared more about his work with Maya and the entertainment industry...the actors they worked with, the crazy schedules, the odd requests, and the occasional disasters that came from having too many famous people in one place.

"You’d be surprised how many adults need reminding not to post certain things online," he said.

"I teach university students, trust me, I’m not surprised."

He chuckled. "What do you teach?"

"Psychology."

"Do you enjoy it?"

I answered without hesitation, "Yeah, I do."

Saying that to someone outside my workplace felt different.

I realized I hadn’t really talked about my job with Connor before, and when he asked questions, it didn’t feel like small talk. He seemed genuinely interested.

I told him about my favorite subjects, the students who pleasantly surprised me, and those who made me question whether university was really worth it.

Connor listened with a quiet smile.

At one point, I realized I was laughing. Not just politely...like, actually laughing.

Connor had shared a story about an actor who refused to show up for an interview because the hotel didn’t have the exact brand of bottled water he liked, and I almost choked on my drink.

"You’re lying."

"I swear."

"That’s ridiculous."

"I wish I were."

I shook my head. "Rich people are so fucking bizarre."

"You have no idea."

After that, the evening just got easier. I found myself relaxing into my chair, eating dinner, asking him questions instead of just answering his, and somewhere between the main course and dessert, I realized I genuinely liked him.

Connor was funny, patient, thoughtful, and good-looking in that straightforward way. He made conversation easy without demanding constant attention, and he never made me feel like I had to put on a show.

That’s why it bothered me so much to realize I wasn’t falling for him.

There was nothing wrong with him, nothing missing.

The issue was me.

As fucking usual...

While Connor was chatting about a project Maya had on her plate, my mind drifted for a moment.

I glanced down at my plate, but my thoughts had already taken off somewhere else.

Melanie.

The memory hit me so suddenly that it felt like someone flung open a door in my mind.