Page 15 of Kisses

Todd gets up from his seat and states, “I’ll be right back.”

I ask, “Are you doing what I think you’re doing?”

“You’re smart. Figure it out.”

I watch as my friend makes his way toward Kandace. I can’t believe this; he is going to make an ass of himself with this woman. I start to get up from my seat, Todd abruptly stops. I walk over to him. Now, I know why he stopped. Kandace is with another man. This guy looks like a joke – baggy jeans, oversized shirt and a red Yankee hat worn backwards. I look at Todd and back at Kandace. She smiles and hugs this guy. Kandace slides into the booth and he slides next to her, planting a kiss on her cheek.

I rest my hand on his shoulder and say, “Dude, not worth it.”

He sighs, “I guess she does have a boyfriend. My fucking luck.”

Todd is unlike me. When he is interested in a woman, he is all in. Unfortunately, his connection with this woman was just a one-nighter. Todd doesn’t do one-nighters. I feel for my brother. We both walk back to our table. The waitress comes back with our bill. We pay and leave, not even finishing our food.