I'll Have what He's Having
#4 of Reader's Choice
I'll Have what He's Having
"It's a caramel frappé," Malcolm replies.
You give him a smile and a nod as you stand up and walk to the counter. You're approached by a female lemur in a green apron. She happily asks what she can get you and you tell her that you'll have a caramel frappé. After a few moments, she rings you up and you pay for your drink, then she goes over to one of the machines that hisses and gurgles as she prepares it.
After she hands you the frappé you turn around to catch Malcolm's eyes lower than would be appropriate for casual conversation. He looks back away from you but shows no signs that he's concerned you caught him looking. You walk back over to the table and sit down across from him again.
As you glance as his face he gives you a disarming smile, showing off his pearly fangs for the briefest of moments before he slides the book off the table top and tucks it in a shoulder bag at his side.
"Hey," you say as it disappears from view, "I was curious what you were reading."
"Oh, nothing special," he says and looks back at you. "I figured you were more interested in talking about me than a book."
"Well, yeah, but--"
"Besides," he interrupts, "you haven't even told me anything about yourself, yet."
You shake your head then grin before you go into details about your job for a bit, then your modest apartment not far from downtown and finally with a little emphasis, that you're single. Malcolm seems interested in the former two but for the latter his expression is hard to read. Finally, you ask, "and what about you?"
"I live in a loft, downtown. Two blocks away. Easy walk to work, and it's nice not needing a car."
You nod in response then add, "Are you single?"
"That's a little complicated."
His inflection piques your curiosity. You know it might be a little rude to pry, so you sip your frappé and patiently wait to see where he directs the conversation.