"It was interesting," I replied vaguely, because I could tell Luke wanted to launch into his own monologue first. People in my workplace assumed I was brash all the time, but here, in this restaurant that smelled like fried food, I was just a young woman trying to blend into the crowd in plain clothes. The lack of a uniform practically made me itch. I could be myself at work, but I was in civilian territory here. I never knew how they would react to stories from my job, and to be honest, I didn’t really have many other kinds of stories.
I had a zero-dating policy within the Bureau, but I met Luke because he worked for the delivery service that served the Bureau office in Chicago exclusively. I’d been surprised when he asked me out, and my mother had lobbied for me to accept. Funny how she used to berate me for choosing to be a soldier, yet happily took a job with the Bureau after losing her job as a secretary at the bank. The meld had caused a small economic depression all over the country, but I’d gotten her an office position easily enough.
Begrudgingly, I’d caved to save myself a lecture. It was always easier to pick and choose battles with mother dearest. I can't say no to family, even when it comes to my own dating life.
It was always easier not to date as a soldier. Supernatural work didn't mix with stable schedules, and the few guys I had gone out with before were never able to understand my dedication to an organization over them. As if date night should be prioritized over hunting redbills to keep our homes and families safe. Whatever.
"Well, my Valentine's Day was terrible," Luke said, dragging out the last word for dramatic effect. He played with the straw in his soda as he launched into his tale. "I went on an awful blind date with this chick named Melissa. She brought along a friend for part of it, then talked about how she wanted to be engaged by twenty-five." Luke was twenty-seven, if I remembered correctly, but I couldn't care enough to think very hard about that.
"Engaged, huh?" I asked, but my voice sounded flat even to me. Luke appeared not to notice. He was fully wrapped up in his sordid tale of woe.
"She asked me to pick her next nail color. Can you believe that?"
Putting on nail polish at any point in my life, besides my brief punk-rock stage, when I had taken a permanent marker to all my nails?
“No, I can't," I said honestly, hoping the mozzarella sticks were coming soon. If I had to leave this "date" early, I at least wanted to get a snack out of it. Luke would probably be perfectly nice for somebody else, if a bit obnoxious, but he was clearly under the impression that I cared about this date. I had run a brush through my recently chopped, shoulder-length red waves, but that was more for the twins’ benefit as they tried to psych me up for this. I smiled to myself at the thought of them. Luke took that as a good sign and kept going.
"And then she asked if I would ever consider going vegan. Me, go vegan? I'd rather die." He gestured wildly. I took stock of his physique. He worked out, at least. He was nothing compared to a certain vampire tank, but... Don't think like that, you have to move on. I pushed thoughts of dark hair and a deep laugh to the corners of my mind. I was technically here to learn more about this guy, so I needed to be polite. But… my focus had slipped more than usual since the incident on the mission.
Luke wrapped up his tale and took a generous slurp of his soda. "So, anything bad about your Valentine's Day?" The question came out of his mouth like a robotic gesture of politeness.
My eyebrow quirked upward with amusement. "Well, I spent it rescuing a Z-list vlogger and her boyfriend from monsters. All in all, an average day."
"Monsters?" Luke let out a disbelieving scoff. "I mean, I know you work at the Bureau and it's all weird and stuff, but surely you don't mean actual monsters."
Irritation flared inside me. "I would give you their video footage, but, whoops, I destroyed it. They'd been breaking into restricted areas around the Leftovers and releasing the footage. Arresting them was fun." I watched Luke’s face pale a shade, but the disbelief in his stare made me want to push the envelope. "First, I stabbed a giant turtle-alligator-thing in the neck. Then I had to wrestle this girl into handcuffs, and after that I got to throw them into a jail cell."
A smile quirked onto his face. Give him a chance. Just, like... one more.
I suspected Luke had asked me out on the goading of my mother. Her mail room work ethic seemed to be ferocious with gossip, but not with boundaries. Then again, a few other people in the mail room had mentioned the nice delivery guy and said I would get along with him. Had they said that because they saw me as brash and tone deaf in conversation, just like this guy? God, I hoped not.
"Well, that sounds like a real story," Luke said as his wry grin grew. I felt a pang of annoyance. So, he didn't believe me. I exhaled evenly while trying to calculate the exact amount of time that had passed since we put that appetizer order in. The man continued, as if he might actually be curious about my life. "They say you're a real firecracker at the Bureau. Is all your family like you?"
I leaned back in the booth. A mention of family was enough to calm my irritation for the moment, since
