See? This isn't so bad {closed}

[Malcom Black]

Right. They weren’t planning a relationship. He felt really, really foolish. But he told himself to stop having moodswings like his pregnant mother, blinked as Edward held open the door for him, then shrugged his shoulders and stepped inside. It was a nice place—homey, not ridiculously busy, but warm inside with the tables very close. Judging by the way Malcom offered a grin to the hostess, held up two of his fingers and instantly got ushered to a table. He absently pulled out the seat for Edward, then settled down into a seat.

He supposed he should have known better than to have supposed a little thing like working security would scare the boy off. He seemed frighteningly determined to be with Malcom. He didn’t get it. But then, he’d never really viewed himself as that interesting—certainly not enough that anyone would have to blackmail him to go on a date and then stick at him through thick and thin.

He was definitely in over his head.

He was puzzled how Edward could be so curious about metas but not know Hammel was a school for them. Still, his policy wasn’t to enlighten when one didn’t know, and the students were difficult to deal with, so he shrugged. “Doesn’t really bother me. I had four younger siblings I had to babysit when I was growing up and five older ones. Any urge to strangle I had got beat out of me a long time ago. How do you handle all the complicated terms of medical school?”

There. Now he wasn’t entirely focused on himself. “I’ve got my own apartment in town,” he said. “Small place, but I like it. Why are you still in the dorms? I would’ve thought by now that you’d want your own place.”

[Edward Scott]

Edward smirked when there was nothing in response to the relationship planning thing that had been said to Malcom. At the restaurant Malcom took the lead and from what he saw, it had not been the first time that Malcom had been here. They were taken to a table and a chair was pulled out for Edward first before Malcom sat down. Edward shot an impressed look in the elder man’s direction and slowly took his seat but decided for the sake of not making Malcom blush to say nothing about it.

The topic turned to family and Edward flinched at the thought of his own family. He had a pretty messed up family. Thomas was however, the lucky sibling to come from his father’s seed being born when his father cheated on his mother. Thomas never had to grow up with Edward’s father and that was a bit of a relief. Edward gave a soft sigh and pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind.

It wasn’t important since he’d already adopted himself into the Shepard family as the son they’d never had. Drew was far to girlie for the Shepards to have ever considered him as a boy. Edward gave a small laugh at the joke about the medical terms.
”Well, you take fifteen words a week and you break them up into sets of five for each two days. Then you repeat them from the morning to the night and sometimes, even in your dreams. By the time you reach Sunday you’ll know all 15 words off by heart. It’s a system that never fails. ”
Edward quirked a brow and nodded knowingly at the man across from him.

Edward shrugged when Malcom asked if he wanted his own place and that he should have done by this time.
”Actually, I just got here in September. Me and my…my brother-”
Oh God. What would Malcom have done if he’d said Fiance?
”Used to have a place of our own. He graduated in September and got offered a job in Australia so he’s there and I’m… I guess the book brought me here. The book on Metas I’m working on. He’d not at all fond of the idea. It’s my dream and I can’t stop until it’s completed. So… what’s it like? Using your powers? What do you feel when you do?”
Just then the waitress brought bread sticks and two menus.

”What’s good here, Malcom? Do you wanna get a bottle of red to share between us?”
He asked glancing over his own menu.

[Malcom Black]

Malcom would have been grateful for that, had he known. He didn’t handle embarrassment very well, and he’d be the first to admit that a lot of the stuff he did unconsciously would have startled him had anyone called attention to it.

He smiled at his method, then nodded. “That’s a good way of doing it,” he admitted. “I never thought of it that way. Must make for interesting dreams, though.” He couldn’t even imagine.

He noticed Edward’s flinch at the mention of family and decided not to bring it up again. Just because his family was a major part of his life didn’t mean that other people were that way. Besides, your family was always a touchy topic at a certain point in your life. It was part of the human experience. Or, so it had always seemed to him.

Mind, he seemed to get along with that brother of his. Or enough to have lived with him, even if it seemed to be a little strained now. But family was family, and you always ended up accepting them after a certain time. He figured they’d work it out.

If only he knew.

“Well, I’m sure he’ll come around eventually, if you’re really focused on that.” Why would you want to write a book on metas? It seemed like a strange thing to him, but the, growing up with a bunch of metas, he couldn’t understand the purpose of it. Then again, when he’d been younger, and had been convinced he was the odd one out…well, perhaps he could understand it after all.

So in the light of that experience, he smiled at Edward, trying to figure out how he’d felt before he’d started to use his powers, and after. “Um. It just feels like I’m focusing on something—like you do when you play an instrument or, uh…well, I guess meditation is the closest comparison I’ve ever felt.” He shrugged. “And if you do it too much, you get a headache. Not much to it.”

It was a little early for alcohol. Malcom kept those lines very carefully to make sure he didn’t tread over them, especially after several lectures from one sibling or another. But it wasn’t that early, so he shrugged it off. Why not? “Sure. Uh. They have good pizzas. Um. That’s probably not a good thing to say?” He cleared his throat. “I dunno. I don’t do very well with fancy things.” Why was he here? He failed at dating. He would have thought he’d already proven this. 

[Edward Scott]

Come around? Drew coming around was not going to happen. They were two completely different people and Edward thought that maybe Drew was in actual fact, a meta hater. He could think of nothing worse then his fiance being a meta hater. Edward shook his head at the comment about coming around.
"That won't happen. Not with Drew. He's... not a fan of the powers."
Edward smirked and shook his head lightly trying to make sure he seemed like he was in a teasing mood about it all.

Edward frowned and leaned forward when Malcolm started speaking about his powers and how he worked with them. How it felt to use them. Man, he needed to really remember all this. He wouldn't directly mention Malcom of course, just Malcom's power. The spark of fascination in Edward's eyes was shining and clear to see. Malcom would know just how interested he was in all of this and how much attention he was paying with just one glance at Edward. Edward nodded at the concentration and the headache thing.

"If you need more of those drugs, I could get you some. I do inhouse training sometimes at the hospital. It won't be hard to slip a few tablets. I mean for the headaches. Sex helps as well, just so you know and I'm game."
Edward was testing his luck with the last little teasing joke. He hoped that they had gotten past the upfronted behaviourisms between them now so that he could make his flirtatious joking without being growled at for it.

It was simply force of habbit that was making him spill these crude jokes. He never really meant for it to be abrassive or abusive toward those listening. Edward smiled at the failure in being charming from his date and decided to take the lead with this one. A warm smile touched his features as he looked over the menu once more then nodded.
"We'll have your best house red please and Malcom? Would you like to choose a Pizza we can share? I've little experience with this place. "
He said politely to the waitress watching Malcom.

It was sweet how flustered the other man was. Quite endearing really. Edward would have to take the lead where things like this were concerned it became aparent.

[Malcom Black]

“Oh.” He frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that.” His fiancée’s family had been something like that, but considering nothing had come of the relationship, he’d never had to worry about it. That was a small comfort to the very bad situation, but every little bit had helped at the time. “Hopefully it’ll work out, if it’s something that’s that important to you.”

And it seemed to be, judging by the spark in the other man’s eyes. He hadn’t been expecting that. But Malcom knew obsessions and so didn’t fret about it too much. Chances were it would work out once he realized Malcom was no more than a human being who could move things around with his mind, and so nothing really special.

He shook his head at the offer. “Nah. I don’t mind the headaches so much. Keeps me from overdoing. Besides, they’re not—uh.” He had just caught the second part, and before his tired mind could catch up with his mouth, he found himself saying, “Why? Are you offering?” And then he shut it and looked appalled at himself. He had been much worse when he’d been in the military. Get a bunch of men together in a stressful situation and high-brow humor didn’t happen. But his sisters had largely trained him out of it. Or, so he’d thought. “Anyways,” he managed after a moment, after fetching a breadstick so he could tug on that to still his nerves. “It’s not that bad. But thanks for the offer. Those pills were freakishly strong.”

Right. The younger man was going to take the lead. The waitress was someone he knew fairly well, and was giving him a curious and slightly amused look. Malcom smiled sheepishly at her, gave a little shrug, and then said, “How about the chef’s choice tonight? If you’re not allergic to anything—” this was to Edward “—then that’s the best option. He makes a different special every week, and it’s usually fantastic.”

And Malcom liked surprises. Most of the time.

[Edward Scott]

Edward didn't know about Drew working out. His passions were colliding and maybe that was why he was less inclined to go live in Australia with Drew. He was more then eager to spend his time dwindling from one lovers bed to another's arms while working on his book and his carreer. That was what Edward wanted and the fact that he was with Malcom told him that something was wrong in his relationship with Drew. Ever since that major fight about commitment it had been increasingly harder to commit. Wasn't that always the case though.

When you were told to do something you were less inclined to do it, especially if you had other things in mind. Of course, Edward's focus returned completely when he heard what Malcom asked about the whole sex thing and his eyebrows raised up then dropped to flash Malcom a smirk. Maybe he would get closer to Malcom tonight after all, despite expecting the opposite to occur. Edward kept from saying 'anytime you need the offer it's there' and instead turned his eyes to the menu nodding at what Malcom had to say about the headaches.

"The Chefs special sounds like a plan. I'm up for that. "
He nodded and held out the menu to the waitress allowing her to wander off to place their orders. His eyes glazed over the man before him.
"Loosen up, Malcom. I like what's on your mind so don't curb your lips from spilling. "
Edward purred at the man, a seductive look entering his eyes. 'The offer stands'. That was the message in his eyes and underlining his words.

What luck had befallen Edward? He liked it.
"I could pretend to be a girl and giggle and wave my hands dramatically while talking if that will help you speak freely. Our minds make us think and feel sex more then we think and feel anything else. As men we were built for sex. "
Edward stopped an raised his eyebrow a little.
"Or should I veer off the topic?"
Wine was brought and wine glasses were filled.

Edward was grateful since he was sure some of the tension would ease between them and Malcom might just become more open to suggestions after two bottles. Edward tested the wine, nodded that he agreed it wasn't off and started sipping deeply. The warmth spread through him quickly and eased into his bones. He still felt like he was walking on ice but it was not as thin and the cracks were starting to mend together again, to his relief.

[Malcom Black]

Problem was that Malcom hadn’t really had anything on his mind. Oh, sure, he’d made the statement, but it had just kind of slipped out—a reflex, he would have claimed, from different days. Younger days. He supposed that was the benefit of seeing a younger man. You started acting like you were the young man. Or maybe you just descended to their level. That was it. Shame, as Malcom had spent most of his life trying to figure out how to grow up faster. He didn’t know why, except that being a kid hadn’t ever gotten him anything he wanted—attention, meta powers, money, or an ability to actually do something in the world. Now as an adult, he got them all. Which was a shame. Some of them he would have rather done without. But he found his eyes caught on Edward’s as the other man stared at him, and listened to the words, feeling mesmerized, confused, and appalled.

Nope. Edward was not shy. When the wine came and was poured, he latched onto it as if it was a life raft and took a sip.

Built for sex.

One sip wasn’t going to cut it. He downed the glass. Which was a shame, because it was very good wine. He just felt as if he needed something else to focus on, and the slight burn of the wine was a good distraction. Okay. Now he could focus on the conversation and try to figure out where he’d lost control.

Then again, who was he kidding? He wasn’t sure he’d ever had it.

“None of the girls I know have ever done that,” he said firmly, then paused. “Or, none of the girls I wanted to know. So please don’t.” Safe topic exhausted, Malcom sought briefly for a polite way to say please don’t ever do that in public again or I won't be responsible for my actions and settled on, “And as for the topic, I think that’s one more interesting when expressed in private.”

Actually, no. That wasn't going to help. But how was he supposed to say ‘I don’t do sex on the first date?’ He supposed he should just let it out, even though he doubted Edward would believe it. The better plan, he figured, would be to drink lightly of the alcohol and escape in one piece. If such a thing was possible.

[Edward Scott]

How could a male possibly not have Sex on the brain. To Edward, that was impossible. Did men's desires face once they hit thirty and it was all down hill from there? He had heard that men turn into woman once they pass thirty, assuming Malcom was thirty, because that would really scare Edward if he wasn't thirty and had stopped wanting to spread his seed already. Edward lived for those orgasms. Most men did. Yeah it was sweet being close to a lover but girls appreaciated that enough for both sexes so he was just not in the mood to follow suite.

Edward blinked when Malcom downed the whole glass of wine causing him to gasp and stare at the other male. Was Edward manging to make him feel nervous already? Edward hadn't meant to. He was well over the line again, it seemed. How unfortunate for him. He'd done so well. Edward pouted for only a second before sighing softly.
"Slow down there, Malcom. Remember the night we met? Surely we don't wanna repeat that."
Edward tried to sound as convincing as he possibly could.

Edward gave a little laugh at the comment about the girls not being girly.
"Those girls were my favourite flavour. They were only good for a week or so though. In highschool of course."
Edward smirked back at Malcom then remembered his appalled reaction to what he'd said earlier and he winced hoping Malcom wouldn't go crazy about this frank confession either. It felt like he was speaking to Drew's father.

Sure Drew got shocked when he brought up these things and especially when he brought up sex but Drew shrugged it off and laughed a little to try and keep his horror from affecting poor Edward's happy mood. Edward raised his eyebrow at Malcom's words about sex and then frowned lightly.
"What? Are you a woman underneath there? "
Edward brought the wine glass to his lips and fixed his eyes on the plate before him. Oh who was he kidding?

He was never really ever good with these things. Prim and proper had never been his style.
"Malcom, I'm a Manchester boy. I'm what you'd call white trash. I'm sorry if I offend or appal you. Drew's been trying to kick the trash out of me for years now. It ain't workin'."
Edward took the bottle of wine and refilled Malcom's glass again.
"If you need alcohol to put up with me, who am I to say no? Go for it. I'll look after you. "
Edward almost whispered the last part, glacing over the male.

[Malcom Black]

Actually, Malcom did want to repeat that. Getting drunk wasn’t his main solution for dealing with his problems, but it was a damn good second, and if he was drunk, he didn’t think so much. But Edward’s words did recall him to himself, and he stared at Edward for a moment, then slowly set the glass down. “Yeah, you’re right,” he said. “I don’t. Thanks.” He thought. Truthfully, this whole conversation was making him uncomfortable. So he made a slight gesture under the table to the waitress to signal for her to pick it up. What had he been thinking? Accepting a date with a blackmailer and a person who seemed to frustrate him at every turn? It was a stupid idea. But time to make the best of it and act like an adult.

For once.

And no, he wasn’t going to admit that revelation to his sister. Ever.

So he leaned back in his seat and really looked at his date. Reluctantly, his lips twitched into a faint smile.

“You know, I guess they were mine too, back in high school.” His voice was a little quieter now, still a little hesitant. “Actually, I used to have a lot of flings. No, I’m not a woman, and yeah, I guess like every man, I’ve got one thing on the brain.” He shrugged. “But I dunno. I guess I found after a while that having a lot of flings didn’t stand up to having just one person you really cared about. Sex is great, and hell, I can tell dirty jokes with the best of them. Spending ten years with almost all men in high-pressure situations does that to you. But I guess time and losing stuff—and people—I cared about taught me that it isn’t the most important thing.” He leaned against the table, then tilted his head to the side.

“I’ve seen white trash, kid, and you ain’t it.” He nodded his thanks to the refill but then pushed the glass aside. If he took another one, he’d lose any resolve he had on this. He’d had some good mentor figures when he’d been growing up, and although he laughed at the thought of him with the train-wreck of a life ever being one, he also acknowledged that he did want to make sure Edward knew that one thing. “I think you just caught me off-guard. You seem nice, Edward, and you’ll be fantastic in your field. I salute you for that. I’m just not used to people saying that to me anymore.” He eyed him, sure that the reaction to his preaching would not be pretty. But he continued anyways, “But if sex is the main thing you want out of a relationship, then I don’t think you should be seeing me at all—I think you need a shrink instead.” He sighed and slumped back again. “Now go ahead and bite my head off for my patronizing tone or whatever. I should be used to that by now.”

[Edward Scott]

Malcom's words hit home almost immediately after they'd fallen on Edward's ears. It was true. What was he doing? What was he thinking? Just another fling? Was it fair to do this to Malcom when he didn't really seem really certain about it. Edward could tell that he was driving the man insane inside. Edward sighed and looked away for a moment then back at Malcom shifting uneasily. Malcom had said he'd give him a chance but every single muscle in the man was tense. He'd never known anyone like Malcom.

The man acted very much like a woman. This then that then this then that. Edward bit into his bottom lip and eyed the other male nodding slowly. He had a funny feeling that everything that came from Malcom's lips was for a reason. Malcom wasn't the type to speak about jelly beans and roses but rather the type to make significant points with the topic of his conversations.

"Okay, I'm not a Meta. I'm not a mind reader. What did I do to make you go all tense again? What did I say?"
Edward whispered softly. The fact that they weren't gelling properly might have been a big warning sign but Edward just wanted to give it a shot because Malcom was by far the most attractive person he'd ever seen since Drew. Not Basil or Teegan or even Ethan could compare. Edward was incredibly attracted to the other man.

The words cut deep but Edward didn't want to bite anyone's head off, especially not such a fine and handsome head as the other man across the table had. Edward smiled softly and shook his head.
"You don't seem to want to give this a chance. I was right from the begining. This is a sympathy thing for you and you scared of this. Sex isn't just sex. It also could be more but you're seem hellishly impatient."

Edward gave a sigh and made to get up.
"I'm sorry. I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I don't know what could happen with us, between us, around us but maybe it's best we just..."
Just what? Just be friends? Just take it an hour at a time cause more then that seriously didn't seem to be working? Just what?

"It's better if I just leave. I'm not running but I'm not gonna trap you either, beautiful, handsome son of a bitch. "
Edward whispered the last past as he got to his feet. This too and through was not working at all.

[Malcom Black]

Was he tense? He supposed that he was after all. His lips curved down into a frown as the other man spoke, and he shook his head.

“It’s not what you said,” he admitted, with a slight shrug. “It’s just that you remind me of…uh, someone I knew.
Uh. Me, a little. And I ended up pretty screwed up. It’s not your fault.” He shook his head as well and sank down farther in his chair, pushing his hair back into a pseudo Mohawk before it flopped back down. Yeah. Why was he here again? This whole idea was so very stupid. He shouldn’t have even been here. The last success he’d had romantically had been with Yulia, and that he wouldn’t have counted as a success. He’d liked her, sure, but one night stands…left him feeling uncomfortable.

Edward here probably felt different. Hell, at this rate he probably was a woman. That thought wasn’t a pleasant one, but he was good at shrugging it off.

“Maybe I’m hellishly impatient. This wasn’t a sympathy thing, and yeah, I’m scared. But I don’t really care what you think, ‘cause when it comes to things that I’m scared about, or worried about, this kinda looks pathetic.” Malcom liked to say (when he was drunk) that he’d seen the devil and had promptly run away. When he was really drunk, he’d added some more sordid details. But yeah, he was scared of…whatever Edward was trying to get, because he didn’t know what it as. He just didn’t care if Edward knew he was scared. All people got scared. It was stupid to have a pride issue over that.

He rose to his feet as Edward got up, and his brows climbed.

“At least take some food, will you? Or stay and enjoy the bottle? Look, if it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll go.” He said nothing about hard feelings and didn’t ask what’d I do? His offer was lacking malice, sure, but it also didn’t seem to indicate a great deal of want for Edward to say. The way Malcom saw it, he had nothing to offer anyways, not even for a casual fling. Good that he’d figured it out now, instead of later.

[Edward Scott]

Edward and Malcom were both standing offering each other privacy, the meal, the bottle of wine, a chance to run. God, he'd never met a more confusing and complicated individual in his life, except for his fiance. Drew was about the most complicated of people he'd come to know in his life and now Malcom. Edward let out a bit of laughter and shook his head.

"You confuse me. It's like I'm some labrat you're watching. Like you're a scientist or something. I'm scared I'm not acting the right way or doing the right thing. Malcom, you don't need to be afraid of me, or what you find scary about me. You don't need to be afraid. I can be whatever you want me to be. I just wanna get to know you. You want me to be a friend.... fine let's be friend. You want a good time, yes I can do that too. You want a long term lover, you want a teacher... whatever you want. Just give me a chance and stop analysing everything I say and do. You're not making this easy. "

Edward picked up his bottle of wine and cleaned the glass out in a few big gulps. Eyes were on them but he'd spoken softly enough to be able to involve just the two of them in the conversation instead of the other people in the restaurant. His eyes didn't meet any of the onlookers. He only focused on Malcom. Malcom was the most important thing right now. What was Malcom going to do. He was so much like Drew, it actually scared Edward. Unpredictable and always looking for the wods between the lines.

Edward waited. Edward was patient.
"Please Malcom. Let go. Just let your hair down and stop thinking things over a thousand times. Just tell me what you want me to be. I'll be it. "
He hoped, prayed Malcom would not pull something else out of the bag about this.

[Malcom Black]

A scientist? Him? Malcom’s eyes widened, and then he shook his head with a slight snort of laughter, sinking back into the seat. He’d only half-listened to his words as he slumped back, staring up at Edward. Well, he wasn’t going to be able to come here anymore. The whole restaurant was watching. He wasn’t sure he’d never live this one down. But if he was the type to be ashamed of his actions, his life would’ve been very different. He watched as Edward downed the wine, and his lips twitched into a wry smile again. Looked like he and this kid had something the same after all.

“Why are you so interested in me?” he asked after a moment, reaching for the alcohol again, then stopping himself. Nope. He’d try this one sober. Sure, he stopped thinking while drunk, but he never liked himself afterwards. “Look, I’m sure there are people ten times more good looking and a thousand times smarter and charming. I’m one step away from being a hick or a complete and abject failure, depending on who you ask.” Also said with humor. One thing he could do is laugh at himself. If you didn’t, how did you have any form of sanity at all? “But I don’t want you to be…anyone. Other than yourself. I know I said that before, but you startled me. I didn’t know that was what ‘yourself’ entailed.” And no one had ever been that blatantly flirtatious with him since his brother’s girlfriend, who he’d gotten drunk in college. That had been quite a night.

Better that Edward didn’t know about that, actually. It would probably put ideas in his head.

“So why don’t we start over?” he said after a moment. “If you’re really…stuck on this, then we can give that a shot, I guess.” He shrugged, and offered his hand. “Hi. I’m Malcom Black, army sergeant, Afghan vet, telekinetic, and really good at Mario Kart. And you are?”

[Edward Scott]

Edward slowly eased back into his seat when Malcom did and finally took the time to shoot his eyes around the room glancing at the people who were staring. He winced back down at his plate then poured himself some more wine. How many more moments of get up and go could he deal with really. Malcom asked him why he was such a focal point of interest and Edward raised his eyebrow at the elder man slowly shaking his head. He obviously didn't get it. Edward took another sip of the wine allowing it to seep into his body and warm up every single mollecule.

Edward was about to respond when Malcom dissed himself again much to Edward's annoyance. The younger male rolled his eyes and shook his head slowly turning the wine glass around and around on the table watching the liquid slosh against the glass.
"So am I and haven't you ever heard of beauty being in the eye of the beholder. There are few I can name that are more handsome then you to me right this moment. "
Edward bit into his bottom lip when Malcom suggested they start again and stuck out his hand across the table for an introduction.

For the first time, Edward was genuinely smiling. Edward slowly took the hand, hesitating for a long time. An Army man? Another brownie point to Malcom and when he'd said that, Edward had raised his eyesbrow, impressed by it.
"Please to meet you, Seargant Black. I am Edward school, Med student, Manchester lad, Meta obsessed and... "
Edward took a deep breathe and lowered his eyes.

"Engaged."
He closed his eyes and waited for Malcom to snap his hand back.
"Since we're being honest..."
Edward muttered, his shoulders slumping.

[Malcom Black]

Malcom stared at him at this admission, mouth opened and not sure how to respond at all. He wasn’t used to being called attractive. Or, he was used to being called handsome. He liked to think he wasn’t hard on the eyes. But one of the most handsome? Yeah, that didn’t happen a lot.

“Uh, thanks.” He resisted the urge to rub his neck sheepishly. “Um. Yeah.” Well, he wasn’t looking for a place to run this time. That was an improvement, right?

Perhaps the meta-obsessed thing explained it. It almost seemed like it would. Not hard on the eyes and meta…yes, that could do it.

In this case, he had predicted Malcom’s reaction very well indeed. Malcom’s smile froze, and he released Edward’s hand immediately. Malcom was nothing if not predictable, and this particular thing was a button for him. A peculiar expression appeared on his face—hard, almost like steel, and alien to his normally genial features. But familiar there too. Lines around his eyes indicated that this expression belonged there just as much as the others.

“And you’re here with me, huh?” his voice was quiet. “As a blackmailed date nonetheless. I see. While I appreciate your honesty….” He stared at him. “I dunno. Does your fiancé know? I guess some people get along with that, me, I just…God.” He trailed off and waved to the waitress for a check. No. He couldn’t do this. Not with an engaged kid.