Isaac sat across the coffee shop table from Taryn, and was mesmerized by the sound of her voice. It sounds like windchimes, he thought to himself. He listened to her talk about her life, her education, her job and her family. Isaac was particularly attracted to the way her pretty black-brown eyes lit up when she talked about Iris. Isaac had never thought much about having kids himself, and the fact that Taryn had been only a year older than he was now when she gave birth to her daughter and she still loved her so much made her that much better of a person in his eyes. All around them, people talked, ordered drinks, and came and went, but Isaac could only look at Taryn. “I really admire what you’ve done,” Isaac said, and as he gave the compliment, he instinctively leaned forward and brushed a soft tendril of Taryn’s hair away from her face. Their eyes met for a brief moment, and Taryn looked back down into her cup of orange pekoe. “It hasn’t been easy,” she admitted. “So,” Isaac said slowly. “What about those guys at the magazine?” “What guys?” Taryn asked, fiddling with the tag on her tea bag. “The blonde guy and the makeup guy,” Isaac said. “Have you known them long?” “Oh, Cam and Gregor,” Taryn said. “Yeah, I’ve known them since college. They’re my best friends.” Isaac paused a moment. Taryn almost choked on her tea. “Oh, God no,” she said. “They seem like good guys,” Isaac pressed. “Oh, they are,” Taryn said. “I love them like brothers. But Cam is way too high strung for me, and Gregor … well, I don’t have the right equipment, if you know what I mean.” Isaac looked confused. “He’s gay,” Taryn said. Isaac’s face turned instantly red.
“Oh.” “I haven’t dated in a while,” Taryn said. “What about you? You must go out a lot. Plenty of pretty girls would like a crack at you, I’ll bet.” Isaac nodded. “We go on a lot of dates, mostly at home,” he said. “Tulsa, right?” “Yeah. Oklahoma’s a great place. Ever been?” Taryn shook her head. “No. I lived in California for a couple of years, but didn’t see much else.” “It’s hard for us to have steady relationships,” Isaac said quietly. “Living with our schedules is a lot to ask of a person.” Taryn looked at her watch. It was a beautiful one, a band of gold crusted with diamonds and a mother-or-pearl face. She tried not to think about the fact that it had been a Valentine’s Day gift from Riley mere months before he left her at the altar. “God, Isaac, it’s after midnight,” she said. “I have to work tomorrow and my mom is going to be worried sick.” “Oh, sure,” Isaac said. He jumped from his chair, and hurried around to help Taryn get into her coat. “Here,” he said, handing her a twenty dollar bill. “Take care of the check, and if you just give me your car keys, I can pull it up to the door for you.” Taryn was floored. She couldn’t believe an 18-year-old was exercising such impeccable manners. “Alright,” she said. As they drove back to the parking garage at Rutner Publications, they made some small talk. All too soon, they were back at Isaac’s rented Jimmy and the evening was ending. Isaac put his hand on the door to open it, then turned to Taryn. “I’d like to see you again,” he said quickly. Taryn smiled. “I’d like that too,” she said. She took a business card from her planner, and scribbled her home phone number on the back of it. “I’ll be expecting your call,” she said boldly. “Count in it,” he said. Then he leaned over, kissed her quickly on the cheek, and was gone.
“Have you ever dated either of them?”
