Page 32 of My Big Fat Shifter Wedding

His eyebrows shot up to his thick hairline of auburn-ginger hair, and the flush creeping up his neck fascinated me.

“I, uh, don’t know why I said that. Not exactly appropriate conversation for a first date.”

I shook my head vehemently to that notion. “No, I completely understand where you’re coming from, and I’m glad you don’t feel parentified.” Well, since he’d shared some family trauma, why couldn’t I?

“I kind of have an opposite situation.”

“Oh?”

I nodded, licking my lips uncertainly before deciding to jump in with both feet. Wasn’t that the mantra of this new chapter of my life, after all? Taking leaps of faith even when I didn’t know where I was going to land?

“Yes. Even though I’m the middle child, I kind of ended up parentified quite a bit. I didn’t even realize it until recently. I’ve been trying to put up some boundaries with my family, and I decided to challenge myself with new things.”

“I’m guessing one of those new things is my workshop?”

“You got it in one.”

“Well, I for one am quite grateful that you decided to branch out to new horizons. It’s for entirely selfish reasons.”

“Selfish, huh?”

“Of course. I’m happy for you that you’ve realized there was something in your life you wanted to change and that you’re changing it, but I’m also damn thrilled that you agreed to come to dinner with me. This isn’t exactly something I do often.”

“What, go on dates? Or ask out your students?”

“Both.”

Some women would be turned off by a man being bashful and blushing, but I wasn’t. In fact, it was safe to say that I actively liked it. It made me feel safe with Keith. Like I could be vulnerable and maybe even a little embarrassing around him. It wasn’t something I was really used to feeling with... well, anybody.

“Been a while?” I asked simply.

He was saved from having to answer by our waitress stopping by to take our drink order. I got a glass of white wine that would complement my fish, and Keith ordered a lavender mint mocktail that sounded quite tasty. Maybe I would have to steal a sip or two, if we got to that level.

Inwardly, I grinned at myself. In high school, we’d make a big deal of taking a sip from someone else’s drink and call it an indirect kiss. Now, however, I wouldn’t mind directly kissing the large man in front of me.

Slow down, girl! The food hasn’t even arrived!

Also, considering that we’d both have fish breath after dinner, maybe making out was the last thing I should be worrying about.

“It has been a while, yeah,” Keith said when the waitress left, and I had to remind myself what I’d asked him. Focus, girl! “I had a stint in my twenties where I went on several dates. Some of that evolved into a few months of dating, but nothing really beyond that.”

I appreciated his honesty, and it was a good opportunity to hunt for any red flags. How men talked about women that it didn’t work out with was more telling than they knew. “What happened?”

“Uh, a mixture of things, I guess.”

I gestured for him to continue, pleased when he did. I’d worried that the ease with which we talked in the workshop wouldn’t translate to a more formal environment, but no, the conversation was flowing naturally.

“I think the biggest thing was that I was in my twenties. If I could tell that guy what I knew now, maybe things would have gone differently.” He shrugged, and boy, did I understand the sentiment. “Part of it was also that I and the women I went out with were all starting out in our careers, so usually our schedules ended up not working out.”

“I can see that. If I didn’t have a job lined up with my family right out of college, I probably would have been putting all my energy into finding one. The job market was crazy then, and it’s utterly insane now.”

“I don’t envy the current generation entering the workforce, let me tell you that.”

“Speaking of generations, which one exactly do you belong to?”

“Are you asking me how old I am?”

“Trying to,” I answered, wrinkling my nose. “Going about it a bit clunkily, though.”