Page 52 of The Rules of Dating a Younger Man
“Nope.”
“Well, that shows your age.” He winked.
“Anyway…” I rolled my eyes. “I’ve never been drawn to an older woman before. So it’s not a habit. It’s the first time for me.”
“So you’re inexperienced with older women, then…”
I sighed. “I guess you could say that. But I don’t see that as a bad thing. Alex has never dated a younger guy either. So we’re even.”
“Hmm…” Wells tilted his head. “Any mommy issues?”
“Wells!” Alex shouted from behind him.
“It’s fine, Alex,” I said, hoping she could hear me. Taking a deep breath, I admitted, “My mother did leave home when I was nine.”
His expression turned serious. “Do you think that could have something to do with your attraction to an older woman now?”
Quite honestly, I found that assertion annoying. It actually made me a little angry, but I tried not to show it. I needed this guy on my side. “I don’t see what my mother leaving has to do with anything. If you want to deconstruct my mother’s abandonment and somehow correlate it to my attraction to Alex, go ahead. But it would be impossible to prove. Is it possible that there’s some connection to my mother I’m not aware of? Maybe. Anything is possible. But it’s not a conscious correlation for me. Why does there have to be a reason for me to want to be with Alex besides just really liking her?” I paused. “Does your family history dictate who you’re attracted to, Wells?”
“Definitely not.”
“Well, there you go.”
“Fair enough.” He nodded. “What do you like best about her?”
“How much time do you have?”
“All night, my friend.” He took a sip of his drink.
“I’ll say this… My absolute favorite thing about Alex is her heart. Just the circumstances of how we met tell you what a good person she is, so giving of her time. The more I get to know her, the more examples I find of that. But, honestly, man, I could never list all the things I love about her. It’s just…everything.” I closed my eyes momentarily. “I love everything.”
When I looked again, Wells seemed lost in thought with a goofy smile on his face. “Any other questions?” I asked.
He sighed. “Yeah. When are you gonna come to Connecticut so I can size you up in person?”
“Whenever Alex invites me, I’m there.” Feeling a weight lift from my chest, I winked. “You can hook me up with a spa service.”
“You’re too damn perfect. Not sure there’s much we can do for you. I would suggest maybe teeth whitening, but yours are pretty damn spectacular as is.”
“Well, you both have an open invitation to come to Manhattan. Anytime.”
“That’s something I can get down with.”
I had a sudden thought. “Are you single, Wells?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“I know a guy. He just became single recently, too. Name’s Deek. He’s good shit. Lives in my building. I can hook you up.”
“Deek. I like the sound of that.”
“You like ’em big and brawny?”
His eyes sparkled. “Do I ever.”
“Tatted up?”
His eyes widened. “Fuck yeah!”