by M Dauphin
"We need to find you some dick tonight, Charlie," Frankie all but yells from next to me.
Kevin erupts into laughter and claps his hands, announcing, "I fucking second that," loud enough for other people to hear.
"It's been too long, Charlie. Like a year too long," Frankie adds and Kevin lets out a low whistle.
"Has it really?"
I grimace. "Frankie keeps track of my entire life. She'd know." I shrug and stupidly suggest, "I need another drink."
"I got it!" Kevin loudly fumbles as he rushes from the table.
"Seriously though, Charlie. I think it's time you get out there. Play the room. There's tons of cute guys in here tonight."
"No," I state firmly. Finding a random guy to fuck takes way more effort than I have to put forth.
"Fifty dollars." I take in a sharp breath at Frankie's insane wager. She knows I love to gamble, and I hate her so hard right now for putting money on this.
"Oh damn, did she just bet you fifty dollars?" Kevin asks, setting our glasses in front of me.
"Why yes, Kevin the Intern, she most fucking did just bet me."
"Shiiit." He laughs. "What's the bet?"
"Grab the next man that walks by and pretend to know him. Smile, laugh, and touch him. Touch him like you know him."
Kevin laughs and Frankie nudges me. I clench my drink as I bring it to my lips. It's been a long time since I touched a guy in any other way than friendly.
"Fifty bucks is a hell of a deal just to talk to a guy, Charlie," Kevin states loudly. "Don't be a pansy."
I take a deep breath and spin toward Frankie. Grinning, I open my purse and slide out a pair of reading glasses, throwing them on.
"What the fuck are those for?" She laughs. "Charlie, why the hell do you have those?"
"Why the fuck not is the question you should be asking me." I adjust the accessory on my face. Every girl needs a cute pair of glasses in their life. Sure, I've had these since high school, but they're cute!
"Kevin, our girl's lost her damn mind."
Kevin chuckles from across the table. "She's not gonna do it."
"I'm doing it," I blurt, "And I'm doing it right now. Now…which one?" I hum and spin toward the exit of the booth.
"NOW!" Frankie blurts, shoving me out of my seat and directly into the arms of a very hard body.
"Oof!" I slam into him, then stand straight and smile. "Hah, sorry about. Oh God! Steven?! Oh my God, I haven't seen you in forever!" I grab ahold of his arm and things tingle inside me when my fingers grasp his very muscular bicep. Wow.
"Uh…hey." His hands are on my wrists like he's actually preventing me from falling. It's probably a good thing, too. Those drinks have done a number on my balance.
"It's so good to see you again!" I let out a laugh and all my focus goes to where our skin is touching. Damn. "So…uh." I giggle and flip my hair. It's surprisingly easy to play the 'flirting' card with this stranger. "How have you been?"
"God I'm sorry. Do we know each other?"
"Oh, Steven, you're so funny! Always the trickster." I give his chest a light pat and sigh. "You never change, do you?"
"Um." His deep laugh resonates through me and I grin as he starts to talk again. "I'm not much of a trickster. And my name's not Steven. But your friend Steven has got to be an awesome dude if we look similar. It's the tattoos isn't it? And, um, your glasses…" His hand comes in contact with the frame of my glasses and I inhale while he fixes them. Is that smell…cherries? "I think you knocked them loose with your stumble there. All set." His hands fall and I sigh audibly.
Good Lord. Who would have thought the scent of cherries could be such an aphrodisiac?
"Thanks." I bring my fingers up to the rims of the glasses and smile. "Damn things never work right anyway." Suddenly I'm feeling way too awkward to be standing here and everything feels like it's spinning. "I'm sorry I mauled you. Can't say I regret it though." I let out a giggle and wobble a bit.
He chuckles. "Me either. So, uh, I'm not Steven, but I'm Travis, and…" He shifts and I can't hear what he says as he mumbles something about a friend. "I got a few minutes," he says coming close again. "Can I get you a drink?"
I smile and just as I'm about to accept, Frankie barges in. "Jesus, Charlie! Leave you alone for a minute and I almost lose you for the night!" Her arm wraps around mine and I try not to seem annoyed. She's the one that wanted me to do this anyway, and now she's intervening?
"Hey." I paste on a smile. "Sorry, I thought I recognized this gentleman."
Frankie scoffs at my words and laughs. "Well, you must have been dead wrong. Fuck, are you blind, woman? We don't associate with men that look like him!" Her head comes to rest on my shoulder and I close my eyes, taking a deep breath.
"That's rude, Frankie." I sigh.
"And what do I look like?" His voice is cocky and I like it. "Her friend Steven?"
"Hah! No, my sir. You look like nothing but trouble." Frankie clicks her tongue. "The ink, the attitude…that grin. Nope. Trouble. I bet you have it spelled out on your knuckles."
"I didn't have an attitude until you came along, lady. Sorry I'm not your friend Steven." He touches my arm. "You have a good night."
I reach out and grab his arm before he can walk away. "I'm really sorry about my friend," I insist, feeling mega embarrassed.
"Girl friend, Charlie. Lord." Frankie states, twisting her hand in mine. I shake my head and growl. "Come on, babe. He's gone," she mutters. "That was not the guy I tried to shove you into."
As we turn to sit back down, Kevin's talking to some girl and she sounds like a bimbo. Great.
I'm still stunned by fake Steven. That voice. It wasn't like the hesitant men in the area I've been listening to nonstop lately. It was confident and clean with a little grunge to it. And tattoos? Yes please. Jesus, why can't all of our clients be like him? I'd have a much easier time matching people.
Work starts out like any other Friday. Frankie and I walk into the building to music playing through the speakers and Kevin somewhere in the back, belting out Katy Perry like no one's listening.
"Hello?" Frankie screams, making me groan.
Could my head hurt any more? I'm never drinking that much again.
"Don't talk to me for a few hours," I mumble, trudging my way to my office and away from human life. Time to start the daily routine. Purse on hook. Phone on wireless charger. Bluetooth in ear- that I didn't get back until we left the bar last night. Computer's fired up and door's closed to drown out Kevin's horrible rendition of this song.
About three hours into a very slow work pace, my phone rings. Clicking the button on my Bluetooth, I take a breath and answer, "Blind Date dating service, where we never judge a book by its cover, this is Charlie, how can I assist you?"
We very rarely get phone calls anymore so when we do I'm actually happy to stop and help. Sometimes it's nice having outside world interaction.
"Hey, Charlie. My name's Brian. I can't find an email anywhere to send my video to. Can you help me?"
I grin and my mind immediately goes to my dating idea.
"Hey, Brian, how about we meet for lunch? You can tell me all about yourself in person." I smile and pray he says yes. I really need out of this office today.
"Uh… Sure. I guess."
"Perfect. Meet me at the Bistro on Third. An hour work?" I'm already closing out all my programs and tossing my phone in my bag before he answers.
"Yeah. See ya there."
"Great!" I chirp, ending the call, way too excited to try this out. Granted, he knows we're meeting for business, but it'll still give me a chance to see if this'll be worth it.
"Hey, Frankie, I'm heading out for a little bit," I tell her, standing in the door to her office with my purse already slung over my shoulder.
"What?" she shrieks, as surprised as I am.
"Why?" Kevin blurts from behind me.
God, these two are too worried about shit.
"I'm meeting someone for a business lunch. Go
nna try out the date interview I talked to you about."
"Charlie, I do—"
"Bye!" I blurt, turning for the door.
"Kevin," I hear Frankie yell out from her office as I walk down the hall. "Get your shit, we're getting lunch, I'm hungry."
I sigh and shake my head, not slowing my steps as I hear them scrambling to follow. I'm happy they look out for me, but it's completely unnecessary. Somehow, I don't think a guy would call the service wanting to murder me. He just wanted to submit a video and I kind of forced him to lunch.
By the time I get halfway down the block and close enough to my favorite bistro, I can smell it; Frankie and Kevin are right on my heels.
"So, you mind telling me why you're doin’ this?" Frankie speaks up. "We never agreed to this, Charlie."
"Yeah, we didn't, but I need something new. This is new and exciting. I'm excited!" I'm also nervous something's going to get fucked up, but the excitement overrides it easily.
"So does he know it's a business meeting? Or does he think it's a date?"
"This one's not a date. He needed help so I told him we could just meet to talk about it and get him all set up, but if this goes well, I'll start doing it more often when I'm asked out."
"Wait, you're going to lead men on thinking they're on a date? Then what? Tell them you're not interested but you can find someone that is?" Kevin speaks up.
"Yep. That's exactly what I want to do, Kevin."
"That's not a good idea. You're gonna piss dudes off left and right." His voice is full of warning but I ignore it.
I'm not a bitch. It's not like I'd sit there and lead them on. Telling someone 'sure, I'll have dinner' isn't the same as telling them I want to fall in love with them.
"Cool your jets, Kev. It'll be fine." I walk into the restaurant and the smells and sounds in the building make me sigh. "God, this place is delicious," I hum, walking straight to my table and sitting down before stating, "You two aren't sitting with me."
"We're sitting right next to you. One wrong move and this guy is toast," Frankie warns. I roll my eyes and smile, waiting for Brian.
The next morning I wake up and stretch. The lunch 'date' application yesterday went well. Very well. Brian and I talked for a while, and he said he was a lot less nervous to be doing it in person than he would have been in a video. There's something about a camera that can make people nervous, not act themselves. He knows I still need a video, but Kevin's going to shoot it in the office. I ended up talking to Brian for well over two hours and already have him matched with a few different girls for first dates. He sounded very happy to be able to do something like this in person and said on multiple occasions he liked the personal touch that Blind Date has given him as opposed to other dating sites. I think my idea, after tweaked a bit, is actually going to work!
I climb out of bed and start to get ready for the morning. Frankie and I are heading to the farmers market today and as much as I'm not looking forward to it, I'm sure it'll end up being fun. She always tends to make things fun.
It's eight when she waltzes through my front door. "Good morning, sweet cheeks!" she sings. "I brought coffee and we're getting donuts at the market. Good God, it's so dark and dreary in here," she scoffs and I hear her start to swipe the blinds open from the other room. "And you still need to have the landlord fix that light, Charlie. Come on. The sun's out, it's warm already. Let's go slow poke!"
I grumble and slip on my flip-flops, grabbing my purse and phone before sliding sunglasses onto my face.
"I'm ready. You're too happy this morning." I laugh, shaking my head at her insane behavior. She's not usually this peppy in the morning.
"It's farmers market morning and I'm about to get my food on. Of course I'm happy!"
The sun is warm on my face and I'm enjoying the peaceful drive until the car slows down.
"Fuck there's a lot of people here today," Frankie grumbles. After getting out she takes my hand as we march through the crowds.
It took us all of ten minutes to drive here and we've been fighting crowds for almost twenty. I've already scored two fresh loaves of bread and we've devoured our donuts. It's hot, loud, and the smell of fresh flowers, fresh bread, and sweet fruit annihilates my senses, but I love it. Just being outside in the sun is something I don't take for granted anymore.
"Could we not have come during a less insane time?" I grunt when someone runs into me and roll my eyes. I hate crowds. Love being outside. Hate crowds.
"Nope. Apparently the best of the best is here right now and I have a hankering for some homemade cherry pie."
"You don't even know how to cook!" We stop as the line stops and she laughs.
"Yeah, but if I bring these to your mom, she'll be all over it."
"Let's just get them and get out of here." I step aside and huff as someone pushes by.
I hate this, I hate this, I hate this.
"Ooooh my fuck. Oh bear claws! Oh God, those smell so good!" Frankie whines, shaking my arm.
"Go get one!" I laugh, nudging her and taking a sip of my coffee.
"I'm not leaving you alone in this insane crowd. You've lost your mind. I'll never find you again."
"Frankie, I'm waiting on cherries. What could possibly happen?" I smile and she lets out a sigh of defeat.
"Fine. Don't move. I'll be right back." After giving my hand a squeeze, she lets go.
I know I'm a grown adult, but it sometimes feels like Frankie thinks she's my babysitter. I don't need a babysitter as much as she just needs to feel like she's helping.
The line nudges forward and so do I, and a lot sooner than I thought would happen, I'm directly up front at the stand, being pushed against it and Frankie is nowhere to be found. Shit, I don't know what to order! She's the reason we're here anyway!
Of course the one time I need her, she's nowhere to be found.
"Who's next?" I look up from the money-box that's overflowing and I see the girl from the bistro yesterday where Bev and I stopped for lunch.
I thought I recognized her yesterday, but today I know for a fact she's also the girl from the bar that kept calling me Steven. Those lips can't be mistaken. That cute little nose. She's got blue eyes. Today they're hidden by sunglasses, but that was the first thing I noticed about her at the bar Thursday night. Her big, pretty blue eyes framed in black glasses. At the Bistro yesterday she didn't have on her glasses so I wasn't one hundred percent it was her. Although, she's the cutest girl I've ever seen in Portland so I don't know why I doubted it. I kept trying to catch her eye yesterday but by the way she kept smiling and laughing, I think she might have been on a date. Which is another reason I didn't interrupt to confirm it was the girl from Thursday. Even though she's got sunglasses taking over most of that cute face today, the way she bites those heart shaped lips, there's no question it's her.
"Hey." I grin. "You here for cherries or corn? I'm fresh out of bread." I can't stop grinning at her even though she hasn't even looked at me once. Maybe her judgmental friend got to her that night. And if that's the case, fuck them both.
"Oh uh… I already have some bread." She smirks and holds up a bag of fresh loaves. "I need…um…cherries?"
"Yeah?" I chuckle. "You sure." I pinch my bottom lip to keep from laughing because she still won't look at me. Maybe she doesn’t remember me. "Hey, so, did you end up calling your friend Steve and telling him you ran into his clone Thursday night?" I scoop her a bag of cherries, because she's just standing there not helping herself.
Her mouth pops open and I notice her eyebrows raise over the rim of her sunglasses when I call her out. "It's you…" she whispers, almost quiet enough I don't hear her. The color on her cheeks turns pink and she fumbles with her bags.
"Wow, you know a lot of guys that look just like me and Steve, huh? How many pounds you need?" I ask, setting her bag on the scale, a little offended she didn't remember me immediately.
Her head jerks to look at the scale when it clunks and I cross my arms over my chest, waiting f
or her to say something.
"I um…uh…" She twists around like she's looking for something before facing me again. "I don't know. My friend…she left to get something. Your line moves super-fast and all she wanted to do was make pie."
"I've got some homemade pies if you're interested. They're Bev's best. But if your friend's lookin' to make her own, well you can get like a cup and half of juice from a pound of cherries." I glance behind her at the people in line losing patience she's taking this long, but I don't fucking care. She's cute, and especially when she has no idea why she's in this line.
She quickly shakes her head and chuckles. "I'll just uh… We'll take the pie. It's easier that way anyway. Plus it gets me out of here faster. Sorry," she says with a glance behind her.
"I got all day. I'm in no rush." I don't move for the pie, my arms still crossed, but she's staring down at the cherries, acting way more timid than she was Thursday night when her hands kept squeezing my biceps. "Alright, so how many pies?" I finally ask when she doesn't do anything.
"Um…two?"
"It's buy two, get a scoop of cherries free day," I lie. No idea why, I just want to give her things. "You ever have Bev's cherries?"
"No," she looks up at me. "I can't say I have. Never been a huge cherry fan. Like I said, I'm in line for my friend."
She's a little feisty, maybe somewhat crabby, so I grab a cherry and shove it to her lips. "They're the best," I insist, and when she jerks back, I just reach for her lips again.
She's turning out to be just as bitchy as her friend, but she's too cute to be that evil.
Her mouth opens and timidly takes a small bite. "That's amazing," she whispers, licking her lips.
"Bev's are the best. If you need cherries, come see me. And…" I cautiously wipe the juice away from under her bottom lip. "You got a little somethin'." I smile at her and she lowers her head with a chuckle and wipes her mouth.
"Are you here every weekend?" she asks, looking up at me again.
"Every weekend it's not storming. You can find me here." I tie up her cherry bag I shouldn't just be giving away, but I'll pay for them. I grab her two pies and hold them out.
