Free Heartbreak for Dinner: It's Kind of a Long Story by Annah Rondon

Jonah sitting at one of the round tables by the fireplace and walked
over to them with measured breaths. When Jonah spotted me, he immediately sat straight.
I was expecting another one of his glares but instead received a smile as he motioned
to an empty chair at the table.
    “What are you drinking?” he asked as I took my seat.
    “Vodka tonic, please.”
    He got up and went to the bar, leaving me and Olivia to gossip excitedly.
    “Oh my God, he’s so hot I don’t know what to do with myself,” Olivia
gushed as soon as he was out of earshot.
    “He’s cute,” I said half-heartedly, and Olivia handed me a strange
look.
    Jonah came back with my vodka tonic and another drink for himself.
He sat down next to Olivia and slid my cocktail across the table. I’d never felt
a gravitational pull as powerful as the proximity to his presence, and in spite
of his obvious beauty, it was evident my interest extended to something far beyond
the physical. I wanted to ask a million questions in a matter of seconds. How old
was he? Where was he originally from? Did he like children and how many did he want
to have? Did he prefer the missionary position or girl on top? I chuckled lightly
at my foolish thoughts as Olivia and Jonah looked at me, puzzled expressions on
both their faces.
    “Are you drunk already?” Olivia teased me across the table.
    “No,” I giggled. “I was simply remembering something. So Jonah,” I
turned to him and changed the subject, “tell us about yourself.”
    “What is it that you want to know?” he looked at me, a flirtatious
stare that made my heart bounce to the moon and back.
    “You know, the usual stuff. Where are you from, what do you do, yada
yada yada,” I said casually, hoping he didn’t realize how incredibly intrigued I
was.
    “Well,” he began, “my name is Jonah Hunter. I am 25 and a Libra. I
like long walks on the beach and candle lit dinners . . .”
    “Fine,” I frowned at him and pretended to examine my nails. “Mock
me all you want.”
    “Alright, seriously. I’m 25 and from Texas, born and raised. I have
two brothers and a sister. Uh,” he searched for other things to say. “I don’t like
watching sports, but I like to play ‘em. I’ve been here for almost a month now,
doing the whole Europe thing for the first time. I earn a living on the family business,
but that’s boring and I don’t want to talk about it. Asides from that, nothing else
to say, really. Just a good ol’ country boy.” He flashed me a boyish smile and at
that moment, I knew.
    “So who do you live with over there?” I asked.
    “I use to live with my girlfriend, but we broke up a year ago, so
now it’s just me and my dog, Rex,” he replied and seemed wistful for a moment. “What
about you, Miss Know-It-All. What’s your story?”
    Being that I was unemployed and single, I didn’t have much to contribute
in the way of conversation, yet Jonah kept firing questions at me as Olivia looked
on, a reflective look in her eyes. I was sure they’d already gotten to know each
other during the day, yet I still felt uncomfortable being in the hot seat. The
questions came one after the other: Where did I live and with whom? Did I have
any siblings or pets? What did I want to do now that I had lost my job? How come
I gave up on the idea of a master’s degree? I didn’t really understand why he
cared as he hung on to my every word, laughing at my jokes and idiotic answers.
After about five minutes of that I felt self-conscious, while Olivia tapped her
heel impatiently on the marble floor.
    “We should go,” I offered, getting up from my chair. “I’ll get the
tab.”
    “It’s already paid for,” said Jonah, and we all got up to head for
the first floor. After about five minutes of frantically waving our arms at passing
taxis, we finally caught one.
    “Azucar,” I told the driver as I sat in the front seat. He nodded
and drove off in silence.
    “What does that mean?” Jonah