Samantha continued, "Oh, you know that? Then what are you thinking? This guy is nothing like the guys you have dated before. He is skinny, relatively short, and cute. Your type is guys that are like 6 feet tall (182.8 cm), absolutely Greak god body, and are a lot more, well, manly."
Layla responded, "Yeah, you're right. But, you KNOW, where that has gotten me. Not a single one of the guys I have dated before has been a good, no not even a decent guy."
"I know, I know. But, why HIM? Why not any other guy, you have plenty of choices."
Layla paused, then laughed a little, "Haha, Now I see why you are so concerned, he's your type."
"You know he is, ugh. He is cute, seems really innocent, and is even a romantic. You really have all of the luck. Why couldn't I find him first?"
"Even if you did, you probably would have scared him away."
"Screw you. But, spill, how did you end up inviting him here?"
"He came by my work."
"Worst Buy? Why? Jungle would have been cheaper and more convenient."
"Yeah. I don't know. But anyway, I was having a bad day. I had talked to my dad about helping with finances for college and he said that he couldn't. He had already taken out a load for his business, so he couldn't be a guarantor on a loan.
And you know all about the financial aid problem. I was just stuck and couldn't figure out how to pay for college without selling my car or high interest student loans that would take decades to pay off.
So, I was at work, working, just trying not to break down. Like I know building the car was my idea and that is a problem I brought onto myself. But, I would like to believe that wanting just one luxury in life wouldn't mean total financial ruin or tons of wasted time.
I mean to become a mechanical engineer takes 4 to 5 years of studying even with summer courses I still have to work. Then even after graduation I still have another 4 years of work experience I'll need to do to become a licensed professional engineer."
"I know, babes."
"I just want to invent new car parts and make cars even better than they are. Why is that so hard? I mean I already have studied all that I need to and then some. Why do I need to go to college to prove that I know what I already do?"
"I know. The world is an unfair place."
"Anyway, sigh. Anyway, I was at work, when this guy was just buying tons of computers, and while he was checking out I noticed that he didn't have any keyboards or mice, so I mentioned it. And when I did, the guy who was the absolute pinnacle of ice cold, changed. It was like I saw the mask slip and fall off of his face and plop onto the ground.
He had the absolute, most goofy, dumbfounded face I can describe. It was so stupid, and cute, that I just forgot all about my problems and I just didn't know what to do with myself. Then, when he actually started talking he was overflowing with charming sarcasm.
The conversation kinda just flowed and before I knew it I was asking for his InstaPic. Really, I thought I had gone crazy."
"Oh, Honey…"
"What?"
"Nothing, nothing. I'm just a little surprised. You never make the first move."
"And yet I did, weird huh?"
"Yeah…"
"What?"
"Nothing. But I'm glad."
"About what?"
It was only now that I decided it was time to finish going to the bathroom. Standing around any longer could get me caught. So I went into the men's restroom and did my business. While I was washing my hands I noticed that the tile work was really well done.
When I came out of the restroom and made my way back over to the table both Layla and Samantha were waiting with the others. While I walked I was also looking at the tile work for the rest of the diner.
Once I was back at the table Seth asked, "What took you so long? Did you get lost?"
I responded, "No, I just got distracted by the tile work in the restroom. But, really the whole restaurant has really good tile work."
Seth, confused, asked, "Tile?"
"Yeah, whoever did the tile work did a really good job. Nice crisp corners, level parallel tiles, smooth grout lines, and most importantly no sloppy smudge marks."
Looking at their confused faces I elaborated, "When I was a kid my family had a few properties that we were either renting out or renovating to sell. I spent quite a few weekends helping out, doing what I could. So I came to really appreciate a job well done in renovations."
Layla jumped in, "Oh, so you're a real handy man?"
"I do know how to add windshield washer fluid to my car."
Layla, clearly noticing my sarcasm, responded, "Really? I never could figure out where that goes."
This time Samantha asked, "But, do you really know how to do renovation stuff?"
"Yeah, when my mom's downstairs flooded I pretty much did all of the renovating myself. I just left the electrical and plumbing to people that were certified."
Samantha commented, "Oh, that's cool."
During the conversation the waitress showed up again and asked, "Does anyone want to order anything else or are we done?"
Everyone looked around and we decided that we were indeed done eating.
So the waitress then asked, "So, how will we be paying, tonight? All-together or separate?"
I was new to the group and didn't know how they did things like this so I just stayed quiet for the moment.
It seemed like the couples would pay together while Samantha would pay for herself. So I told the waitress that I would pay for Layla and I.