Free Consenting Adults by J. Lea López Page A

pathetic.
    Charlotte ordered a cream soda float again. Steven opted for
butter pecan. He wondered if that was more or less pretentious than pistachio.
Reaching for his wallet, he let the cashier know he'd pick up the bill for all
three again.
    “Please don't,” Charlotte protested. “I can get my own.”
    “I’m sure you can. But I’d like to get it.” Was she really
going to put him through this again?
    “Once was more than enough.” Her eyes were stern and dark.
    “I insist. I want it to be my treat.”
    “I’m perfectly capable of paying for myself,” she said.
    “I never said—”
    “No, you never said anything about that, I know.”
    So what was the issue?
    “But by insisting like you are, you’re basically implying
that my four-dollar ice cream might put me into crippling debt if you don’t
step in and do something.”
    His face burned. “Hey, come on. It’s not like that.”
    “It’s insulting, the way you’re throwing your money around.
And it’s not even that much money.” She set her jaw and he knew she
wouldn’t back down this time.
    He watched her walk outside without so much as a look back
at him. He was stunned. And embarrassed.
    “Don’t take it too personally,” Deb said from behind him.
“She doesn’t like me paying for things, either. And she used to live with me.”
    Charlotte lived with Deb? He would've asked more about it,
but he was still dumbfounded over her reaction.
    “It’s only ice cream,” he said.
    “Maybe for you.”
    “Not for her?” Really, it was only ice cream. He wasn’t
trying to buy her soul.
    “You’ll have to ask her that yourself.”
    He handed his check card to the cashier again. He’d at least
pick up Deb’s tab. The clerk waved him off.
    “You’re taken care of.”
    “What?”
    “The young lady paid for your group.”
    His embarrassment turned to sheer delight. He looked
outside, where Charlotte had already settled at a table, engrossed in her ice
cream. When he and Deb joined her, she smiled at him, looking rather proud of
herself. He’d have to remember not to underestimate this one.
    The three of them sat for a little while and talked about
everything and nothing. It was nice to hang out with these two women. It
felt... grown-up. He owed a lot to Deb for the way she'd helped guide him in
his coursework, and now in his job search. He started out as an English major,
with a concentration in creative writing, and didn't add on the Education until
his sophomore year, which extended his studies from four to five years. Deb was
there to answer all of his questions, help get him into mandatory classes even
after they'd filled up, and now she'd offered to pay him out of her own pocket
to be her assistant for the fall semester, or at least until he secured a
full-time teaching position.
    She also got bonus points for bringing Charlotte into his
life. He couldn't imagine how he'd never met her on campus before now, in a
creative writing class or something. Maybe she wasn't an English major. If she
wasn't, she needed to be. Plenty of people had told him that he would never
make a living writing encouraged him to study something more lucrative, but he
never caved to that pressure. Maybe Charlotte had. He'd make it his mission to
convince her she had talent worth pursuing as a career instead of chasing money
as a nursing major or whatever she was. At the very least, that would be his
excuse for trying to chat her up every chance he got.
    Charlotte stood and started saying goodbye. She had to leave
for work again. He still hadn't figured out where she worked and wondered if it
was just an excuse to leave. She kissed Deb's cheek. What would it take for her
to interact with him that way?
    “See you later,” she said in his direction.
    That was good enough for now.
    “I think she thinks I’m obnoxious,” he said to Deb when
Charlotte was out of earshot.
    “She thinks most guys are.”
    He watched her leave and decided he liked her. A