He booked a manicure because our conversation ended too soon

My name is Jenny. I am 29, Vietnamese, and work as a nail tech in Chicago, Illinois.

I met Ryan while we were both hiding from heavy rain outside a clothing store.

I had finished shopping after work and was trying to protect my bags under a small awning. Ryan was already standing there, but he moved over to give me more space.

He was 33, Korean American, and completely unprepared for the weather. He had no umbrella and was wearing shoes that were already soaked.

We started talking because the rain showed no sign of stopping.

Ryan asked whether I had just finished work. I told him I was a nail tech and had spent most of the day doing manicures.

He looked at his hands and joked that I would probably be disappointed by his nails.

They were not bad, but I told him they could use some help.

We talked for almost twenty minutes about work, food, and how unpredictable Chicago weather could be.

When the rain became lighter, we separated without exchanging numbers.

I thought about him afterward, but I assumed it had only been a pleasant conversation between two strangers.

Four days later, Ryan walked into my salon.

He had searched for the salon after remembering part of the name printed on my work jacket.

He asked for a manicure and requested me.

I was surprised because he had admitted during our conversation that he had never entered a nail salon before.

Once he sat at my station, I asked whether his nails had suddenly become an emergency.

Ryan smiled and said he had not liked how our conversation ended.

He wanted to continue it, and booking a manicure seemed less strange than waiting outside the clothing store every time it rained.

I laughed, but I was also nervous.

I liked him, but he was now my customer. I did not want to mistake his friendliness for something more while I was working.

During the manicure, Ryan asked about my family and how I became a nail tech. He listened carefully and remembered small details from our first conversation.

When I finished, he thanked me and paid.

Then he handed me his number.

He said there was no pressure, but he would like to take me to dinner somewhere that did not require us to stand in the rain.

I waited until that evening to text him.

We had dinner the following weekend.

Ryan later admitted that his manicure was only an excuse to see me again. I told him I already knew because he had spent the entire appointment asking questions and barely looked at his nails.

He continued coming to the salon every few weeks, but eventually another nail tech started taking care of him. My coworkers said I became too distracted whenever he sat at my station.

Ryan and I have been together for almost a year now.

Whenever it rains, he still jokes that we should stand outside the same clothing store and see what happens.

I tell him we already know.

He will end up paying for another manicure he never needed.