Chapter 37 - No Accidental Flirting
Wednesday arrived.
Which should not have felt significant.
It was one date.
One woman.
Dinner.
I had done this several times already.
Celeste.
Celine.
Audrey.
I understood dating now.
Mostly.
Probably.
Then Victoria Reyes texted at 5:42 PM.
still on?
yes
Then—
good. for compliance purposes: still a date
I laughed.
Fuck.
She had learned the language.
Tori picked the restaurant.
Not expensive enough to feel performative.
Not casual enough to accidentally become—
we just happened to eat together.
Good.
I arrived first.
She arrived three minutes later.
Dark pants.
Simple top.
Hair down.
Very pretty.
I noticed.
Obviously.
But there was something else about her.
She looked—
comfortable.
Like she hadn't spent forty minutes deciding what version of herself to bring to a date.
I liked that.
Annoying.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi."
She sat.
Then looked at me.
"You look nervous."
"I am not."
"Okay."
I stared.
"That sounded unconvinced."
"It was."
"This is already going badly."
Tori smiled.
"No. You're cute when defensive."
I paused.
There.
Flirting.
Intent already documented.
No verification required.
Oddly efficient.
"Thank you."
She laughed.
"You really do accept compliments like invoices."
"I acknowledged receipt."
"That is exactly what I mean."
We ordered.
Then—
nothing awkward happened.
Which somehow made me more suspicious.
No forced questions.
No—
What's your favorite movie?
No résumé exchange disguised as getting to know each other.
We started with work because that was familiar.
Then somehow moved into bad management.
Then career choices.
Then travel.
Then people who thought owning a business meant they had to post motivational quotes at five in the morning.
Tori said—
"If someone posts 'sleep when you're dead,' I assume their organization is badly staffed."
I stared.
"Yes."
She looked amused.
"That enthusiastic?"
"I have opinions."
"I noticed."
"It's bad advice."
"Obviously."
"Sleep is not an inefficiency."
"Exactly."
I pointed at her.
"See?"
She laughed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
But—
there.
That feeling again.
I didn't need to explain the entire argument.
She already understood the premise.
Interesting.
Tori asked—
"Do you actually enjoy running businesses?"
"Yes."
"Or are you just good at it?"
I paused.
Good question.
"Both."
"Which part?"
"Solving things."
She nodded.
"Of course."
"What does that mean?"
"You have fixer energy."
I frowned.
"Is that bad?"
"Depends."
"On?"
"Whether you know when something isn't yours to fix."
Oh.
Fuck.
I looked at her.
She took a drink.
Completely calm.
"You say that like you've met me for more than a month."
"I've seen enough."
"Dangerous confidence."
"Am I wrong?"
Unfortunately—
no.
"I've gotten better."
"At not fixing?"
"At deciding what deserves fixing."
Tori nodded.
"Better answer."
There.
No praise.
No—
wow, you're amazing.
Just—
better answer.
I liked that more than I should have.
Then she asked about my businesses.
Not revenue.
Not scale.
Not—
How much do you make?
Instead—
"How do you know when to stop expanding?"
I laughed.
"That took me a while."
"What's the answer?"
"When the reason becomes 'because I can.'"
Tori looked at me for a second.
Then nodded.
"Yeah."
"Yeah?"
"I've seen product teams do the same thing."
"How?"
"Feature exists because someone senior asked if it was possible."
I laughed.
"Then nobody asks whether users need it."
"Exactly."
"Business acquisition but software."
"Same disease. Different budget."
I smiled.
Fuck.
We stayed at the restaurant longer than planned.
Then Tori asked—
"Coffee?"
"Yes."
No hesitation.
Interesting.
At the café, conversation became less safe.
Not bad.
Personal.
She asked about family.
I answered.
I asked about hers.
She answered.
She had siblings.
Parents who still asked whether tech was a stable career even though she'd been doing fine for years.
I laughed.
"Parents remain consistent."
"Your family?"
"Business family."
"All of you?"
"Almost."
"And Science Education happened how?"
I sighed.
"There it is."
"I still need answers."
"I graduated."
"Yes."
"Then business happened."
"You're hiding an entire story inside two words."
"Yes."
She smiled.
"Fine. Later."
Later.
She said it casually.
Like there would be one.
I noticed.
Eventually—
Tori leaned back.
"So."
There it was.
Dating discussion.
I prepared.
She smiled.
"Relax."
"I am relaxed."
"You visibly straightened."
"Posture."
"Sure."
She asked—
"Celeste, Celine, Audrey?"
I stared.
"You remembered."
"You gave me your weekend schedule."
"Against my better judgment."
"It was useful."
"How?"
"I know you're not pretending casual means secretly waiting for one person."
Fair.
I nodded.
"Still seeing all three."
"Good."
I looked at her.
"Good?"
"Yes."
"No questions?"
"I have questions."
"Of course."
"But they're not really my business yet."
Oh.
Good answer.
Very good answer.
Then—
"I'm not asking you to stop seeing anyone."
"Okay."
"But I'm also not going on dates with you platonically."
"Also okay."
"I like you."
There.
Again.
Direct.
No performance.
No little joke afterward to soften it.
"I know."
Tori's eyebrows lifted.
"That confident?"
"You told me."
She laughed.
"Right."
"I appreciate documentation."
"Please stop calling emotional honesty documentation."
"Fine."
Pause.
"Disclosure."
"Worse."
I smiled.
Then I asked—
"Are you dating other people?"
"One."
Interesting.
"Casually?"
"Yes."
"Do they know?"
Tori stared.
I sighed.
"Sorry."
"No, I'm just appreciating the fact you ask that automatically."
"Occupational hazard."
"Yes, they know."
"Good."
She smiled.
"You approve?"
"I approve of informed consent."
"Very sexy."
I almost choked.
Tori laughed.
"Sorry."
"You're not."
"No."
We talked until the café started cleaning around us.
Bad sign.
Or good.
Probably good.
When we finally stood, I checked the time.
Three hours.
Fuck.
It hadn't felt like three hours.
More inconvenient data.
Outside, Tori walked with me toward where I was getting picked up.
No hand-holding.
No touching except once when she lightly moved aside to let someone pass between us.
No kiss request.
Nothing.
Which should have made the end easier.
Instead—
I was annoyingly aware of her beside me.
At the pickup point, she stopped.
"Can I see you again?"
"Yes."
Too fast.
She noticed.
Tiny smile.
"Thursday next week?"
I checked mentally.
Free.
"Yes."
"Dinner?"
"Yes."
"Date?"
I stared.
She smiled.
"Compliance."
I laughed.
"Yes. Date."
"Good."
Then—
"Goodnight, Lia."
"That's it?"
The words escaped before I could stop them.
Tori looked at me.
Oh, fuck.
I stared back.
She smiled slowly.
"What were you expecting?"
"Nothing."
"Sure?"
"Yes."
"Okay."
Then she stepped slightly closer.
Not touching.
Just enough.
"I don't rush physical things because somebody else got there first."
Fuck.
Celeste.
She knew.
Of course she knew.
I said nothing.
Tori continued—
"When I kiss you, if I do, it'll be because that's where we got. Not because I'm catching up."
There.
Very calm.
Very reasonable.
Very—
dangerous.
I swallowed.
"Okay."
She smiled.
"Verified?"
Fuck her.
I laughed.
"Verified."
Then she left.
No kiss.
No hand.
Nothing.
And I thought about her the entire ride home.
Annoying.
Celine and I had dinner two nights later.
The timing was normal.
The restaurant was familiar.
So was she.
Easy conversation.
Good food.
The usual teasing.
But—
less flirting.
Not none.
Just less.
I noticed.
Eventually.
We were halfway through dessert when Celine put her spoon down.
"So."
I looked at her.
"That sounds serious."
"A little."
"Go."
She smiled.
Then—
"I think I'm going exclusive with someone."
There.
I blinked.
Then smiled.
"Good."
Celine stared.
"That's it?"
"What else?"
"I don't know."
"Do you like her?"
"Yes."
"A lot?"
Her expression answered before she did.
Oh.
Good.
Really good.
I laughed softly.
"Then good."
She leaned back.
"You're weirdly easy about this."
"We agreed casual."
"I know."
"And I like you enough not to make your good news about me."
Celine went quiet for a second.
Then—
"Damn."
"What?"
"That was emotionally competent."
"Fuck you."
She laughed.
Her name was Elena.
Someone Celine had been seeing longer than me.
They had apparently reached the—
I don't really want to date other people anymore
—stage.
Healthy.
Clear.
No weird overlap.
No secret girlfriend.
No one had cheated.
Nobody needed to cry in a restaurant.
Almost disappointingly functional.
"She's lucky," I said.
Celine smiled.
"That's very gracious."
"Don't get used to it."
"Too late."
Then she looked at me.
"Can we still be friends?"
"Sure."
"No weirdness?"
"Depends."
"On?"
"If you start asking me for free business advice."
She laughed.
"That's fair."
Before we separated, she hugged me.
No kiss.
That category had closed.
And I was—
fine.
Actually fine.
I had liked Celine.
Still did.
But she had been right.
We were good at dating.
We had never really started moving toward anything deeper.
Not every good connection needed to become a relationship.
Useful information.
Celine stepped back.
Then smiled.
"Good luck."
"With what?"
She stared.
I stared back.
Then—
"Nothing."
"Celine."
"Absolutely nothing."
"Say it."
She laughed.
"Celeste. Audrey. Victoria."
I closed my eyes.
"Do not call it a roster."
"I didn't."
"You thought it."
"Deeply."
I started walking away.
Then she called—
"For what it's worth?"
I turned.
"Tori sounds dangerous."
I stared.
"What the fuck?"
She laughed.
"You talk about her differently."
Then left.
Great.
Apparently everyone had become Chloe.
Audrey and I had dinner Sunday.
Fourth date.
Quiet.
Easy.