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Back The Dating Game
Chapters (54)
  1. Cover
  2. Back Cover Text
  3. Praise
  4. Booklist
  5. About the Author
  6. Dedication
  7. Part One
  8. Chapter One
  9. Chapter Two
  10. Chapter Three
  11. Chapter Four
  12. Chapter Five
  13. Chapter Six
  14. Chapter Seven
  15. Chapter Eight
  16. Chapter Nine
  17. Part Two
  18. Chapter Ten
  19. Chapter Eleven
  20. Chapter Twelve
  21. Chapter Thirteen
  22. Chapter Fourteen
  23. Chapter Fifteen
  24. Chapter Sixteen
  25. Chapter Seventeen
  26. Chapter Eighteen
  27. Chapter Nineteen
  28. Chapter Twenty
  29. Chapter Twenty-One
  30. Part Three
  31. Chapter Twenty-Two
  32. Chapter Twenty-Three
  33. Chapter Twenty-Four
  34. Chapter Twenty-Five
  35. Chapter Twenty-Six
  36. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  37. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  38. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  39. Chapter Thirty
  40. Chapter Thirty-One
  41. Chapter Thirty-Two
  42. Chapter Thirty-Three
  43. Part Four
  44. Chapter Thirty-Four
  45. Chapter Thirty-Five
  46. Chapter Thirty-Six
  47. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  48. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  49. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  50. Chapter Forty
  51. Chapter Forty-One
  52. Epilogue
  53. Author’s Note
  54. Acknowledgments

Exit Strategy

Chapter Thirty-Four

Roberto

“Should I get hot wings?” Sara asks. She looks at me over her menu, biting her lip as she considers this important quandary. “Like, I’m not hungry at all. But at the same time, they’re just one of the best foods invented, so how do you not?”

I laugh. “It’s up to you.”

We’re sitting in a sports bar near campus. It’s one of the few places that actually resembles a college bar. Only a few places in town cater to students—most establishments are wine bars and swanky restaurants courting tech employees.

She flips the page of the menu, her freshly painted nails sparkling in the dim light of the pub.

Sara told me about the breakup as soon as I opened my door. The words sort of tumbled out of her mouth, “Braden-and-I-broke-up-and-I-know-we-are-not-talking-but-I-need-my-best-friend-and-can-we-just-skip-the-drama-and-go-get-a-beer?”

So I said, “Okay, let me get my keys.” So far, we’ve talked a lot about sports games neither of us saw but we heard happened, the weather being nice again, a dog she saw from across the street, and now, Buffalo wings. Which is fine with me.

“Are you guys ready to order?”

I look up to see our waitress, a thirtysomething woman in a black minidress and high ponytail. Her name tag says Natalie.

“Uh...” I glance at the menu. I realize I’ve spent the last four minutes studying Sara instead of the beer selections. “I’ll take a Guinness.”

That seems like the type of thing they probably have everywhere. Natalie nods and scratches a few words onto her notepad. I close my menu.

“Do you have a recommendation for wine?” Sara looks up from her menu.

Natalie narrows her eyes. “You look pretty young. Can I see some ID?”

“Oh.” Sara pulls her purse onto the table. “Sure.” She hands her the card quickly and turns back to her menu.

“This is expired, Lauren.” Claire taps her notepad with her pen.

“Yeah, I know.” Sara crinkles her nose. “I’m here for school. Doing my fifth year, and haven’t been back to Ohio to renew it.”

The waitress nods knowingly. “I’m from the Midwest too, small town in Iowa.” She winks. “I’ll get you a beer.”

Natalie sets down Sara’s fake ID and scoops up the menus.

Once she’s over by the bar, I hold up my hand to block the side of my mouth and whisper, “Did I miss something? You didn’t ask for a beer, right?”

Sara shakes her head, a huge smile spreading across her face. “Nope. I was gonna get a rosé.” She laughs. “But I wasn’t gonna argue after that.”

“Yeah, that was smooth,” I say.

Sara reaches for a pretzel from the bowl in the middle of the table. She examines it before taking a nibble.

I chuckle.

“What?” she asks, her eyes wide.