Chapter 70: The Right Ambience
** Harper **
Yeah, she really shouldn’t have asked.
Harper wasn’t even sure how to feel about the answer. Jealous? Duh, of course a little. It’d be hard for any woman not to get jealous after hearing about her crush dating someone else. But at the same time, she also felt ... somewhat glad? If this was a place Eli associated with dates, then did the fact that he invited her here tonight possibly suggest something?
"It was only a one time thing," he added in a quick afterthought. "I never considered the date seriously and wasn’t planning on getting anywhere with it. Probably shouldn’t have picked this spot in the first place, since the atmosphere only made things worse."
"..." How did the atmosphere make things worse? Maybe she should reconsider feeling glad if this was a place he associated with bad dates.
Her expression might’ve shown some of that thought, because Eli quickly added again, "Um, I’m not saying this place is bad. It’s just not the right ambience for that kind of meeting, and I don’t think I’d come here again for a date like that."
"..."
"Um, what I’m trying to say is ..." He ran a hand through his hair, letting out a small curse. "What I’m trying to say, and doing a terrible job at saying it, is that I’d like it more when I get to choose who I want to spend time with at a place like this. It’s nice to be able to share something good with someone I know and enjoy the company of."
Oh. That sounded better. It still took Harper a moment to fully process what he meant though, and when she did, her brow knitted for a completely different reason. "You mean you were on a blind date?" It hadn’t even occurred to her that he could be talking about going on a date with someone who he didn’t "know and enjoy the company of". Then she got it after another moment. "Oh my God. It was one of those things your father made you do."
Eli let out a long exhale. "Yes ... Though they aren’t intended to be blind. It only turns out more or less so on my end because I don’t care enough to prepare."
Harper winced. She knew that Eli’s relationship with his father was rough, especially after his recent job change, but she still hadn’t thought that the conflict would stretch as far as to include this much of his personal life. She wasn’t sure what to say about something so disturbingly unpleasant.
And that was when she realized he had used the present tense.