A Little Birdie Told Me

“So are you going to explain what that was all about?”

Jonah's hand slid across the table and his fingers interlocked between mine. We were sitting in the corner of a quiet little restaurant off of 28^th and 5^th. I couldn't look at Jonah without my eyes trailing over his shoulder through the glass windows to admire the view of the Flat Iron building. The place was unusually empty for a Thursday night. We were only reminded that there were others around by the occasional breeze from the waiters walking past us.

“Huh?” My eyes followed back to Jonah. He looked over his shoulder to see what I was looking at. He almost did a double take. He wasn't expecting to see anything, but the sight of the Flat Iron in front of the vibrant pink sunset was enough to keep his attention.

“You know they say the west coast has the best sunsets...” Jonah finally turned back towards me. “But, I think a sunset falling over the cityscape is a beauty of it's own.”

“I have to agree” I smiled.

Jonah leaned his elbow on the table and lifted his hand. We both watched as my hand followed. Our woven fingers were now palm to palm. For every finger Jonah moved I moved the other. We must have looked like teenagers on their first date to anyone who was watching.

I sighed and finally let go of Jonah's hand. “You were saying something?”

He'd just taken a sip of his wine and furrowed his brow as he tried to remember. “I was asking what that whole spiel at Kadie's wedding was about?” He leaned forward onto the table and crossed his arms as each hand held the other elbow.

I felt a warmth splash onto my face as I blushed. I couldn't help but look down and away from Jonah.

We had gone the whole week without bringing it up. It helped that our schedules were just as busy as ever the days following Kadie's wedding. Of course the moments when we were together after Kadie's wedding, we were so fed up with all the events that we hadn't talked much about it. Tonight was the first night we were finally able to recollect the whole weekend.

“Oh come on” He tried not to laugh. His hand reached across the table and nudged my shoulder. Jonah knew it was completely out of character for me to be so straight forward. He knew I was having a triumphant moment where I finally stood up for my feelings. So, of course, being the overly confident guy that he is, he had to tease me about it. “Why are you being so shy now? You had a lot more to say then.” He curled his lips forcing back a smile.

I finally looked at him and sneered. “Very funny”

Our waiter arrived at the table with a tray of plates. He effortlessly pulled out a portable stand with one hand and put the tray down with the other. A trail of steam followed the plates of food as they were set in front of us. The rich smell of basil infused marinara sauce filled our noses. He replaced the empty basket of bread with a fresh loaf and went back on his way to the kitchen.

“If you must know” I shook my napkin before placing it in my lap while keeping my eyes locked on Jonah. “I had to make my intentions clear.”

Jonah raised an eyebrow. “You mean to tell me dating actually leads to something?”

“Oh!” I reciprocated Jonah's sarcasm as I held my hand to my cheek. “You mean to tell me you actually knew that?”

His expression filled with confusion, but he didn't acknowledge it. Instead he grabbed his fork and spoon and twirled his pasta.

“I heard...from a little birdie....”

Jonah cut me off. “Let me guess, this birdie is tall and blonde?”

I laughed at how quickly he'd caught on. He didn't find it as amusing.

“So, what'd she tell you?” He held a bite of spaghetti to his mouth as he waited for me to continue.

“Wellllll...” You know when you say something jokingly, and then suddenly shit gets serious? That was what was happening and I totally regretted bringing it up. “She may, or may not,” I heavily emphasized the may not “have heard you and Adam talking about marriage and...assumed...” I was picking my words wisely. “that maybe it wasn't something you were considering for our future.”

The sound of utensils touching our plates dominated the silence. I took another bite of my food and looked over Jonah's shoulder again. The beautiful sunset had vanished into the night sky.

Jonah swallowed his bite. His mouth was closed as his tongue glided across his bottom teeth. He cleared his throat and took another drink of his wine. “I'm surprised it took her as long as it did to tell you.”

I was so ready for Jonah to get angry about Kadie that I hadn't even noticed what he said. It took me a second, but I still had to ask for confirmation.“What?”

Jonah laughed for a brief second. “I knew she was listening.” He casually said as he went back to twirling his pasta.

I let my fork drop in my plate and sat up straight. “Jonah, that's not funny.” I'd spoken so loud I saw the waiter across the restaurant look in our direction. I lowered my voice to a loud whisper.“What if I'd never confronted you? What if I broke up with you because I wanted something different?”

He gave me a, 'yeah, sure, whatever', look. “I know you're smarter than that, Lynn.”

“You're over estimating my wisdom, Jon.” I huffed as I crossed my arms over my chest. “What was the point of that?”

Jonah waited until he was done eating to respond. He took his time with each bite. I impatiently waited, now gripping onto my temple, like this whole situation was causing me tension. So what if I was being a little dramatic to make my point?

He exhaled as he swallowed his last bite. “That was so fucking delicious.” He proclaimed as he dusted his napkin off his lap and tossed it over his plate. Jonah knew I wasn't going to budge until I got an answer. “It got you to change your mind, didn't it?”

I didn't know what to say. The more I thought about it, the more I realized he was right. I had changed my perspective on marriage. I wasn't open to it before and then suddenly when I thought Jonah felt the same way I wanted nothing more than the opposite. We stared at each other as I started realizing that he'd successfully mind fucked me.

“You're such an asshole!” I reached across the table and tried to punch Jonah in the arm, but he'd dodged it. I tried once more and missed again. In the midst of stopping him from laughing I couldn't help but laugh myself. “It kind of worked didn't it?”

He grabbed my hand and held onto it.“Well, it got you to be open and honest and reconsider things you were closed off to so I'd say it worked pretty well.”

Our waiter came by our table again to pick up our plates. We had to bring our conversation to a halt. Every time I tried to say something the waiter leaned over the table blocking my view of Jonah. And every time Jonah tried to say something the waiter would accidentally knock the dishes around causing them to clink. So instead Jonah and I waited politely for him to leave.

“You know most guys would prefer if their girlfriends didn't think about marriage.”I leaned back in my chair with a smug expression. “You realize I'm going to keep hassling you now until I get a ring, right?” I raised an eyebrow and looked at him mischievously.

“Oh really?” Jonah asked, surprised by my sudden enthusiasm. He smiled as he leaned out of his chair and onto one knee. “You won't have to hassle for too long” His voice was soft and melodic.

My eyes widened as I held my breath.

Jonah's loving stare turned into a devilish grin as he proceeded to tie his shoe instead. He laughed uncontrollably as he went back to sit in his chair. “Your face!” he managed to catch his breath. “Oh God! This is going to be so much fun!”

I rolled my eyes and picked my napkin off my lap to throw it at Jonah. “Fuck you!”