“My sisters should open a winery with all the wine they consume,” I say. “I don’t give a shit if you drink the whole bottle. But are you ready to sleep over at my house?” She looks at me, and her mouth opens and then closes. She looks down at the glass in her hand and then up at me again and then down. “I don’t mean with me,” I say. “Although I wouldn’t say no,” I say softly, and she leans forward and puts the glass back on the table. “What’s the matter, sweetheart? Don’t want to sleep over?”

“Um …” she starts to say.

I throw my head back and laugh. “Stop being nervous. It’s just me.”

“Yeah,” she says, “but it’s here at this really fancy restaurant.” And I have to wonder if the wine is really working on her or if she’s opening up to me. “And I’m not fancy, and the girls are all smiling at you, and then you have me”—she points at herself—“with my Walmart clothes and the whole closet of skeletons.” She grabs the wine again. “I mean, how do I even compete with that?”

“Drink water,” I say, reaching for her water and giving it to her. “If we are going to have this conversation on why I want to be with you, then I’m going to do it with you understanding and listening to what I have to say.”

“I’m listening, Justin.” She raises her fingers to her ears. “My listening ears are open.”

“I want to kiss you,” I say, waiting to see if she says or does anything, and when her eyes only widen, I continue. “I want to take you into my arms, put my hands on your face, and kiss the ever-loving shit out of you.”

“Oh, my,” she says, “I think I need water.”

“I want to sit with you and learn everything about you. I don’t care what you wear.” I lean in, and her breath hitches, and her tongue pokes out to lick her lips. “Although I have to say that seeing you wear my clothes is putting me in a very difficult position.” I look down at my cock that has been rock hard since I sat down next to her and she put my sweater on. Her eyes move down, and she must see my outline because she leans forward again.

“More water,” she says, drinking. “Definitely need more water.”

“We both have a past,” I say. “How do you know I’m not ashamed of the shit I’ve done or what has happened to me? How do you know that we might have a bit more in common than you think?”