The Dating Itinerary

by Brooke Williams

“You started dating in elementary school? You’ve got to be joking.”

  George kept his face as serious as possible. “I was nine. She was ten. We were in love.” He almost faltered when he saw the shocked look on Penny’s face. “I sent her a note to meet me at the Dairy Hut after school. She did. We shared a milkshake. Two straws. Then we shared…a moment…behind the hut.”

  “You kissed an older girl at the age of nine?”

  George shrugged. “What can I say? Girls are drawn to me.”

  Penny rolled her eyes, and Geo winced when she kicked him under the table.

  They continued to chat light-heartedly for the next thirty minutes. When Penny checked her watch, Geo knew his time was up.

  “I really need to get going,” she said.

  “Will I see you at speed dating again?” he joked as he stood.

  “I think I’ve had all of that I can handle.”

  “Agreed.”

  “But I thought you had a good time.” Penny waggled her eyebrows.

  Geo stepped toward her and took her elbow in his hand. “This was a good time,” he said, looking into her eyes.

  She squinted at him in confusion, but he was certain there was a spark of interest in her expression as well. In the year since he left the magazine, he’d thought of her in passing a few times. He felt bad for the way things ended between them as colleagues. They’d been friendly, but there had never been a dating vibe between them. Now, though? He had to admit, she was adorable. If she didn’t hate him so much, he might just be interested in that date now. Their conversation had been friendly, but the fire behind her eyes remained. He knew it would take more than one talk about past dating experiences to put it out.

  “Well, you know where to find me.” She slung her purse over her shoulder.

  “That I do.” Geo let go of her arm and watched her walk out of the shop. She glanced back at him through the window on her way down the sidewalk. He raised a hand, and she waved a few fingers at him. Huh, he thought. Penny Coyne.

  …

  “No way, you’ve got to be kidding me!” Nic exclaimed on the other end of the phone. Penny had called her the day after her coffee shop exchange to play catch up. “I can’t believe it wasn’t Pete, but rather the Geo Monais.”

  “You say that like he’s something special.”

  “I know you don’t have the best experiences with him, and as your sister, if you don’t like him, I don’t like him. But from what I can tell in the media world, he does okay for himself. And he’s pretty easy on the eyes, too.”

  “Nickel!”

  “What? I’m not dead!”

  “Okay, so he’s attractive, but that’s about as far as things go with him.”

  “So you didn’t have a good time?” Penny’s sister asked.

  “It’s not that…”

  “Then what is it?”

  “We had a decent conversation,” Penny admitted. “It confused me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of what I know of him. He changed before my very eyes. He was one guy and then, bam, he got the promotion and he was another.”

  “Not everyone’s the same at work as they are off the clock. Maybe he’s gone back to who he was before he got all famous and stuff.”

  “Maybe, but still. If he had any interest in me at all, why didn’t he show it back then?”

  “He was jealous of you. Who wouldn’t be? Or because of professional boundaries. You would have had to visit HR, you know…declare your relationship. Plus, after a while, you were competing for the same position, right?”

  “Yeah, and he won and then dumped the job a year later.”

  “I can’t explain men in general, Penny. You know just as much as I do. But I’d say take it at face value. Just wait and see. If he contacts you again, ignore him if you want. Or, on the other hand…”

  “What?” Penny asked, anxious to hear what her sister was going to suggest.

  “You could always contact him again. He could be the key to your cover story.”

  Penny laughed. “The next time I get a text, I’ll be a little more careful about making sure it’s Pete.”

  “So it’s Pete you want, huh?” Nic teased.

  “Honestly, I don’t know what I want. I just need some extra cushion for my column.”

  “The coffee date was about cushion?”

  “That was about…” Penny searched for the right words. “I don’t know what that was. It certainly wasn’t supposed to be about Geo.”

  “Sometimes surprises are the best gifts in this world.”

  “Oh, Nickel, you sound like a fortune cookie.”

  “Ah, but I’m one you wouldn’t throw away.”

  “Only because I love fortune cookies.” Penny smiled.

  The two laughed as Penny went on to recount her conversation with George in more detail. Nic told Penny she wanted to be the first to read her article when she was through writing it. Penny hoped she’d be able to figure out what to say in a way that would intrigue readers about the dating itinerary series. She had to get through the first article before she could move on to next week’s assignment.

  Penny grabbed the list from her kitchen table. “Tinder,” it read in the second week’s column. She sighed. She’d heard about the dating app, but she certainly didn’t know anything further about it. At least she wouldn’t have to meet a bunch of men in person. Maybe just one or two.

  She crossed her arms over her chest as she thought about what to include in her article. She needed to call the woman who ran the event to see about reaching Pete. As her hand touched her elbow, she remembered George grabbing her there. She could still feel the warmth of his fingers through her shirt.

  Chapter Five

  I Conquered Speed Dating

  By Geo Monais

  Dating isn’t a science. It’s not math. There are no certain answers to find through re-arranging numbers or finding and testing a theory. Dating is much more of an artform, and when you approach it as such, Speed Dating isn’t nearly as scary.

  There are no two artists that are exactly alike. Otherwise, the art world would be rather boring. Sure, there are some that take what they’ve learned from the masters and have incorporated it into their own works of art, and there are others that are complete originals. But in the end, no two paintings can be identical if there are two different painters involved.

  This week, I was sent on a Speed Dating adventure as part of a new segment—The Dating List. I will visit different ways of dating in the next few months and give full reports on each. Speed Dating, however, is unlike any other form of dating I’ve approached and, as such, I had to be an original painter when I went into the evening.

  When you approach someone you’re attracted to out in public, you may only have a few minutes before they shut you down, right? So most men have experience with speed dating, in a way. The difference with every day dating and Speed Dating, though, is that when you get shut out with one woman, another is waiting at the table next door. You can figure out what you did wrong, make changes, and try again.

  How do you put your best foot forward in two minutes or less? What I found worked the best was making the conversation about the other person. Everyone likes to talk about themselves, let’s be honest. And when I showed a genuine interest in getting to know the person across the table from me, it worked very well to my advantage. I started with a compliment and tried to draw out something not everyone would say. I told one woman the blouse she was wearing brought out her eyes while I complimented another on her earrings.

  Then, once I sat down, I would ask one question and then another and really listen to the answers. I looked deeply into the woman’s eyes, nodded at the right times, smiled at the other times. In the end, I got numbers from every woman at the event.

  I’m not saying that to brag. Ins
tead, I point at the success as a lesson to all men in the dating world. It feels easy to talk about ourselves, right? We all have things we’re proud of and things we think would be attractive to a woman. But what I found was truly attractive was listening. Women want to be heard, and when you hear them, they come back for more.

  The next time you’re out in public and you see someone that interests you, or if you decide to try Speed Dating yourself, ask questions. Show your interest, and forget the cheesy lines—they don’t work, I’ve tried. Showing interest is simple, once you get a little practice. And it’s something this painter has proven can create a true masterpiece. After all, I did go on several second dates following the Speed Dating event.

  But there was one woman in particular that stood out in the crowd, shall we say. After the event, I contacted her again, and she was all too eager to meet. We had a nice chat, and when I stood to leave, she all but threw herself at me. Suffice it to say, Speed Dating can work, guys. Depending on what you want from a relationship, it can definitely work.

  Speed dating might be a waste of your time. Not everyone will find that special someone in a small, dim room of other hopefuls. But it’s not a waste of everyone’s time. It can give men a good way to practice their listening, and when you walk away with numbers, it gives the ego a boost for the next time you see someone interesting in daylight.

  When you go out on a limb and pick up that paint brush, what kind of painter will you be? Do what works for you, and don’t give up. If you stop trying, you’ll never paint that masterpiece. When it came to speed dating…I got a second date, pretty as a penny, will you?

  …

  “It got picked up by that many?” George said into the phone as his agent prattled off a long list. “Sounds pretty good.”

  “Good, Geo? It’s great. You’re on your way now, man. I’ll be able to say I knew you when…”

  Geo chuckled. His agent was almost more excited about the article than he was. He had to admit, it was pretty good work…despite the fact that it was on dating and not hard-hitting news like he was used to writing.

  “If you can bang out another one like this next week, you’re golden.”

  “And this week, I get to play on an app.” George checked over the itinerary his agent had sent to him that mapped out what he did each week in the dating world.

  “Yep, after the TV appearance, you better get on it.”

  “I can’t say I know what I’m doing when it comes to writing up a profile.”

  “Um, Geo, you’re a professional writer. You could write the phone book and make it sound good.”

  Geo chuckled. Smathers was at it again. Boosting his ego like there was no tomorrow.

  “Do phone books even exist anymore?”

  “You know what I mean, man. And this TV thing is going to be big. It’ll be more proof that you’re ready for a spot on your own show.”

  Geo’s heart skipped a beat. He’d spoken with his sister when the article first came out, but she still didn’t know what was riding on the opportunity—for his future or hers.

  “Okay, I’m on it.”

  “Get to work on that profile, Monais.”

  Geo took a deep breath. “Talk soon.” He clicked the end button on his phone and pulled out his laptop. He had to get on Tinder right away and get started. It might take a while to finesse just the right profile. Since he’d never been on the app before, he wanted to start by researching some of the profiles others were putting out there.

  But first, he pulled up the St. Louis Happenings website and opened the page to the staff pictures. Penny’s smiling face shone up at him.

  “Pretty as a penny,” he muttered.

  …

  Speed Dating Can Work—There’s Proof!

  By Penny Coyne

  Have you ever been pushed into a date you weren’t necessarily excited about? Perhaps your friend at work set you up and you ended up on an awkward date with some guy you’ve never met before—and have nothing in common with. We’ve all been there. It would be nice if there was some magic formula, or at least a crystal ball, that would help you recognize the right dating path for you. While that has yet to be invented, I, Penny Coyne, am here to rescue you.

  Over the next few weeks, I will be doing the dating for you and reporting back to you which dating paths are possibilities and which are lost causes. This week, I went Speed Dating, and it was quite an experience. I met a lot of intriguing characters, one of whom I would love to hear from again. While I can’t say that Speed Dating exactly worked out for me, I do have hard and fast proof that it can be a success.

  After a few days went by and the event was behind me, the man I met across the table in the softly lit room had yet to call. I realized I had lost his number myself so I couldn’t even call him. And that’s when I contacted Carol, the woman in charge of the event. Carol may have found me a bit desperate, begging for the number of a man I’d only met once—and for two minutes, at that—but once we got past the initial awkwardness of the conversation—my begging and her turning me away—I noted there was a much deeper story here.

  You see, Carol has a success story of her own from the Speed Dating event. She not only met the man of her dreams in the first two-minute window, she married him a mere three weeks later. And they remain together in a “happily ever after” union to this day, twenty-five years later.

  “I’d never seen such a handsome man in my life,” Carol said. “I knew the minute I saw him that I couldn’t let him go to any other table.”

  Carol believes in the Speed Dating process so much, as well she should after her own experience, that she and her husband now host a weekly event in the restaurant they run together.

  “We just want other people to find what we found,” Carol stated.

  And that is what I wish for you as well. I wish for every woman out there that kind of love that Carol shines with, as her doting husband looks on with eyes only for her. Speed Dating might not be where you find that kind of love, but given the proof Carol provided, it’s not something you can rule out, either. As for me, I continue my quest to find even a fraction of what Carol and her husband have.

  …

  “Have you seen this? Please tell me you’ve seen this.” Josie stormed into Penny’s office and shoved a paper under her nose.

  She was met with the black and white face of Geo Monais staring back at her with a column beneath it. “I Conquered Speed Dating,” the title read.

  “What the…” Penny grabbed the paper. “Are you telling me…?”

  “You have competition. Maybe not directly, with the men, per se, but in the dating world in general. Rumor has it that George got ahold of our itinerary and he’s following it, too.”

  “But how?”

  Josie shrugged.

  “Can’t we change things up? Go out of order or something?”

  Josie shook her head. “No can do. The advertisers are already lined up week by week. Tinder’s development team took out a big chunk in the next magazine issue. We can’t move things around on them now.”

  “What do we do?” Penny asked. She could feel her cheeks pinken with the fury boiling under her skin. Stealing ideas? It was unprofessional and downright slimy. She wanted to read the article and see what Geo had to say.

  “You do what you do best.”

  “Go on dates?” Penny scowled. That hadn’t gone well so far. She’d written her own article on Speed Dating, and the magazine editor was pleased. Even though she hadn’t had any success herself, unless she counted her meeting with Geo—which she did not, the magazine team was pleased that she’d gone back to the source and had found a lovely meant-to-be story to feature.

  “On the page.” Josie pointed to the newspaper. “You’re the better writer, and you know it. Even Geo knows it. That’s probably why he left. He knew it was only a matter of time before
you took his job right out from under him.”

  Penny smiled. She appreciated the support, but the fact of the matter was, Geo held the position first. He was still good at what he did, too.

  “Plus,” Josie leaned over the desk, “the higher ups actually like the idea of the competition. They say it might bring a little extra heat to the articles.”

  “Heat?”

  It was Josie’s turn to shrug. “I’m just telling you what I heard. I’m not here to interpret.”

  “At least I have the TV appearance. That should help us with publicity, too. Even if Geo gets more outlets. You just can’t beat TV.”

  Josie rolled her eyes and muttered, “Geo Monais,” as she left the office.

  Penny turned to his article. She’d just stopped by the office for a few moments before heading to the TV station. Their studio was down the street, convenient for her weekly appearances, even if she did dread them.

  Her eyes widened as she read the last line of the article. She didn’t want to take time to read the whole thing before she knew the ending.

  I got a second date, pretty as a penny, will you? he wrote. Geo’s vague reference to her was obvious. Would anyone else notice and make the correlation? Penny’s eyes moved to the top of the column and started fresh. What he said wasn’t bad. It was nice, even. Talk to a woman by showing interest in her. Of course, that was a good way to go.

  Then, she got to a part that stopped her in her tracks: I contacted the woman again, and she was all too eager to meet. We had a nice chat, and when I stood to leave, she all but threw herself at me. No, she hadn’t! Not in the least! Suffice it to say, Speed Dating can work, guys. Depending on what you want from a relationship, it can definitely work.

  Penny huffed and stuffed the paper into the nearby recycle bin. So that’s how he did it. He laced his writing skills and finesse with mistruths and brought it all together with a neat little bow. They’d had a nice conversation over coffee, but apparently, it wasn’t as just a nice time to him. He’d used her! As she rose to head to the TV studio, she knew her cheeks were flaming red. She was enraged. Penny took a deep breath. She’d have to use that energy in a positive way during her appearance. This wasn’t about Geo. This was about her article and her experience. She’d deal with him later. Or, better yet, she’d never see him again.