I Saw Your Profile Read Online Free PDF Page B

eaten several peanut butter sandwiches too
many.
         After what had to be
the longest five seconds of her life, she stood up to greet him. He reached out
his arms for a hug. She gave him her hand instead.
         “How are you, Kenny?”
         “Fine,” he said,
disappointed by her welcome. “All I get is a handshake? I know it’s our first
time meeting, but I thought we were way past that.”
         She kissed him on the
cheek. He smelled good. She recognized the scent. Perry Ellis. Michael’s
favorite.
          “That’s a little better.”
         He was lucky she gave
him that.
         He squeezed into the
chair across from her, unbuttoning his navy blue, double-breasted suit jacket.
He had obviously bought his starched white shirt ten or fifteen pounds earlier
because he had gap-osis. His gut looked like it was trying to escape and take
at least two buttons with it.
         “I see you ordered
already.”
         “Just tea. I tried to
wait for you, but…”
         “It’s cool. Sorry I’m
late, but traffic on ninety-five was a mess as usual.”
           Kenny had driven from
Delaware. He worked for one of the big credit card companies headquartered
there. The drive usually took about an hour, but during rush hour it could
easily double, especially on Fridays.
         He was one of her few
online friends who lived close enough to actually make a face-to-face meeting.
         She couldn’t believe
how big he was or that he never clued her in during any of their dozens of
conversations.
          “I’m glad we finally get the
chance to meet,” he continued. “You look great by the way, much prettier in
person than in the pictures you sent.”
         “Thank you.” She damn
near bit her tongue holding it in.
           He has the nerve to
mention the pictures? Ain’t this some shit. The ones he sent must’ve been taken
in high school.
           Instead she said, “I
hear this band is good. Ever heard of them?”
         “Yeah. I’ve played a
couple of gigs with the guy on the sax. They’re cool. So where’d we leave off
on the phone last night?”
         “We were back on the
age thing.”
           The waiter, a tall white man
with slick black hair who could pass for a model, came and took their drink
order. Arianna asked for white wine. Kenny requested a beer.
         Kenny continued. “So
what do you have against younger men? You were ready to blow me off once you
found out how old I was.”
         “I’ve got almost ten
years on you. I’ve never dated a man that young.”
         “We’re both grown. Age
is just a number.”
           “Guys your age usually
want a wife and kids. I can only provide half that package and it ain’t the
kids half.”
         “Not all guys want
that.”
         “Do you?”
         “Haven’t made up my
mind yet.”
         “Most do. And since
I’m not trying to get back on the mommy track, there’s no point in getting
serious with a guy who does.”
         The waiter brought
their drinks. “Have you decided on your meal or do you need more time?”
         Kenny gestured at
Arianna. She chose the catfish. He got the filet mignon.
         The band started to
play. They listened without speaking, sipping their drinks and tapping their
fingers on the table to the beat.
         As Arianna stared at
Kenny, her mind wandered back to college where she met Frank Crawford, who was
Kenny’s size. They sat next to each other in her behavioral psychology class.
She had thought about becoming a psychiatrist, but all those years of medical
school seemed like a lifetime so she majored in journalism instead and minored
in psychology.
         She and Frank became
study partners. He had a great sense of humor and she had a lot of fun with
him. So much fun, that eventually, she stopped paying attention to his looks,
convincing herself that size didn’t matter.
         One