by J. S. Cooper
“If I did, it would be with you though.” I gave her a quick peck on the lips and I could see her blushing.
“Want a whiskey? On the house?” She grinned.
“Yeah, go on then.” I ran my hand through my hair. “Get one for yourself as well. On me.”
“Thanks.” She moved deftly behind the bar. “So, you got a date tonight then?”
“Something like that.” I nodded, glad I was able to be honest with Patsy. She wasn’t a jealous sort. In fact, she most probably went on more dates than I did; though I knew that she was ultimately looking for a serious relationship. That’s why she didn’t waste her time trying to go out with me.
“Online dating? Or something else?” she questioned me as she poured the shots out.
“Online. First date.” I nodded. “Make mine a double.”
“Of course.” She winked at me. “Poor girl.”
“Poor girl? What do you mean by that?” I frowned, slightly offended.
“I bet she has no idea what she’s in for.” She smiled slightly.
“What she’s in for?”
“The Dylan ride.” She laughed as she shook her head and handed me the glass. “Or should I say the Dylan roller coaster.”
“You didn’t like the ride?” I raised an eyebrow at her.
“Oh, I loved the ride.” She licked her lips. “Every single one of them.”
“That’s what I thought.” I chuckled.
“I didn’t enjoy the abrupt breakdown of the roller coaster though,” she continued.
“Oh?” I stared at her, panic starting to set in. Was she going to confess true love for me? Or some sort of broken heart. Oh God, this wasn’t supposed to happen. Not with Patsy. She was one of the women that I truly believed had gotten it from the start.
“I didn’t enjoy it, but I understood,” she continued and shrugged. “I knew from the beginning you were a player—”
“I’m not a player,” I interrupted her, but she just rolled her eyes and continued.
“I knew from the beginning you were a player, but most of these girls have no idea.”
“I tell them I’m just looking for fun. They know I’m not looking for anything serious.”
“Uh huh.” she said and just gave me a look. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.” She shook her head at me and I could feel a slight twitching in my stomach.
“I don’t lie to anyone. In fact, maybe I’m too honest,” I spoke up for myself. “I’m a good guy. Maybe that’s my biggest flaw.”
“Yeah, that’s your biggest flaw.” Patsy gave me a mocking look. “You’re too honest.”
“Are you being sarcastic with me?” I scratched my head, feigning a puzzled look, just wanting to get away from her now.
“Would I ever be sarcastic?” She rolled her eyes and then paused and changed the subject. “How’s your friend Nate?”
“Fine, fine. He’s been busy with work.” I nodded nonchalantly. “Why?”
“Just curious. Haven’t seen him in a while.”
“You mean in weeks?”
“Yeah. “She gave me a sheepish grin. “You guys still good now?”
“Yeah.” Though I didn’t really know if that was true. I hoped it was true. He had contacted me recently, well, a mutual friend had initiated a group chat and we’d reconnected that way a few months ago. “I went for a drink and dinner with him a couple of weeks ago.”
“Oh yeah?” She cocked her head, a surprised look on her face. “And you didn’t come here?”
“I didn’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Why not?” She winked at me and we both laughed. We both knew why not. I looked down at my watch and realized that Janie was about to arrive soon. I gave Patsy my most winning smile and then ran my hands through my hair.
“We’ll have to continue this conversation another time, I’m afraid.” I gave her another quick kiss on the lips. “My date is about to arrive.”
“Well, have a good night, big boy.” She winked at me and flipped her hair in the way she always did to let me know that I could have her if I wanted her. I just smiled back. “I get off at midnight if you want some company tonight,” she said softly and I just nodded my response. Tonight was not the night to repeat past mistakes. Tonight was Janie’s night and if things went well, I would make sure that it was her I had in my bed coming all night long.
Chapter Three
Nate
“Don’t tell Janie that I told you this,” Anabel whispered into the phone. “She will kill me if she knows that I told you.”
“Then why are you telling me?” I said. “If you know she wouldn’t want me to know?” I could feel my annoyance coming through quickly as Anabel rambled on and I tried to rein it in.
“Because she’s being stupid and I’m worried she might act rashly with this guy and she doesn’t even know him. I mean, who meets a guy after speaking for less than one day?” Anabel sounded shocked. I wanted to make a comment to her that she didn’t act so righteous when she was hooking up with random men. I knew for a fact that she’d had several one-night stands with men that she’d met at bars in the last two months, but I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t need to annoy her. And I didn’t want Janie to act like her. Though I couldn’t tell Anabel that; we already didn’t have the best relationship and were only really friends because of Janie. She still hated me for what had gone down in college between Janie and I and while I admired her commitment to their friendship, it was really starting to irritate me that she had no real faith in my love and friendship for Janie.
“Janie wouldn’t do anything stupid,” I said, but my mind began to wonder. Janie had done many stupid things in her life. I frowned as I realized that she was meeting Dylan already. I was surprised to hear that she’d agreed to meet Dylan on the first day that he’d messaged her. That wasn’t in her nature at all; she was rash, but not stupid. And I was a little surprised that she hadn’t texted or called me to tell me about it. Maybe because she knew I’d tell her she was being a fool for meeting him so quickly. I sighed as I thought of her being on a first date so quickly. What was she thinking? No wonder she had problems with every guy she dated. She was a bit of a fool and thought with her heart instead of her head. I also was wondering what Dylan was thinking. Why had he invited her on a date so quickly? That was not what I’d told him to do. I was already starting to regret having asked him to do me this favor.
“Are you going to say something to her?” Anabel asked quickly, interrupting my thoughts. “Don’t you think she’s being a bit unsafe going to meet a guy she doesn’t know? Or are you too busy with your new girlfriend, Kylie?”
“I don’t know if I’m going to say anything to her,” I snapped. “Also, how am I going to say something if I’m not supposed to know anything?” I could feel myself growing angry. “And I don’t have a new girlfriend. Kylie is just a friend.”
“Uh huh,” Anabel said, in her most irritating voice. “Well, maybe just call and ask Janie how her dating life is going or something. I’m sure you can think of something.”
“Yeah, I’ll see. Anything else?” I said abruptly, wanting the call to be done, so I could think.
“No.” She sounded stiff. “I just thought you’d want to know, seeing as you’re one of her best friends as well and you know what she’s been through in the past.” Her voice trailed off. “I don’t want to see her getting hurt again.”
“It’s not my fault she keeps picking the wrong guys to date.” My voice was cold and I didn’t rise to the bait of her comment. “But I do think she should start dating again. I’ll give her a call.”
“Okay then. Bye.” Anabel hung up before I could say anything else. I looked down at my phone and sighed as I stared at my last text messages to Dylan and Janie. I was going to have to talk to Dylan to make sure that he didn’t do anything stupid. Maybe I’d made a mistake in encouraging him to take Janie on a date and flirt with her. I hadn’t anticipated that he would move so quickly. I frowned as
I thought about them on a date. What if he was attracted to her? She was a beautiful girl after all. An image of Janie’s face popped into my mind and I thought about her big brown eyes that always looked so innocent. I thought about her wide-mouthed smile and the way it faltered when she was unsure about something. I thought about the way she played with her hair when she wanted to ask something, but she was nervous. Something in my stomach stirred. Maybe I’d made a mistake. Maybe I wasn’t really ready for Janie to start dating again. I jumped up and decided to head for a quick run. I didn’t need this mess right now. I had enough going on. Why couldn’t Janie just use her brain every once in a while? Why did she always have to jump into things so quickly?
It had been seven years since our incident and I was loathe to go back to that place. I hadn’t realized that she would react so badly to our time together when everything had gone down. I had not wanted a relationship, but she had wanted more. She’d reacted poorly to that realization. Though, to be fair, I knew that I had deserved her dropping me. I had behaved horribly. I still felt awful about how that had all gone down. Janie and I were in a good place now. We were in a better place than I ever would have anticipated. She was my best friend and I knew that I had to tread carefully when it came to her love life. I wanted her to be happy. I wanted her to have what she wanted. But I sure as hell didn’t want it to be with Dylan. There was no way in hell that he was good enough for her. No way in hell. I clenched my fists and jumped up. I needed to go for a run to relax my mind before I decided what to do. I knew from past experience that blowing up on Janie was not the way to go. I had to treat her like a little kid and approach carefully or she would just get mad and ignore me and I didn’t want to have to deal with that right now.
Chapter Four
Janie
My heart was beating rapidly as I stared in the mirror at my reflection wondering if I’d overdone it with the mascara and eyeliner. My brown eyes were sparkling for all they were worth, but I wasn’t sure if that was due to the gold glitter eyeshadow I’d applied a bit too thickly. I frowned as I stared at myself. Maybe I was looking a little bit too glam for a first date. I groaned as I looked at my outfit, a black crop top that emphasized my boobs and a pair of tight black jeans that were just a little bit too tight. I quickly took a photo of myself to send to Anabel to get her feedback before I left my house to meet up with Dylan at the bar. I hit send and waited for her response, before once again applying the flat iron to my hair to make it as sleek and straight as possible.
Ring ring. My phone started buzzing a minute after I hit send.
“Hello,” I said as I picked up the phone, pouting my lips out to make them look fuller.
“Why do you sound so funny?” Anabel said in response.
“Just checking my lips,” I said as I reapplied some lip-gloss.
“Why are you all dressed up?” she asked, her voice suspicious.
“For my date.” I squealed in excitement. “I texted you and told you I was meeting Dylan tonight.”
“You want to get all dressed up for a first date? What are you thinking?” she almost shouted into the phone. “You don’t even know this guy.”
“But I will know him tonight. I might as well live my life. Everyone else is doing what they want.” I was slightly giddy as I shouted back into the phone.
“Oh my gosh, Janie. I’m not even supposed to be on the phone right now, but I do not think this is a good idea.”
“Dylan is a good idea. Trust me.”
“Who?” She sounded confused.
“Dylan!”
“Who is Dylan when he’s at home?”
“Anabel, I told you in my text. Dylan is the hot guy from the app.”
“The guy you had just matched with when I was leaving for work, right?” Her voice dropped. “Are you shitting me? Janie, you are already meeting him right away. This is way too quick as it is. Do not show up that dressed up. Or should I say sexed up?”
“I know, I know. Can you believe my luck?” I grinned at myself in the mirror, trying to practice my sexiest smile and ignoring the fact that she didn’t think it was a good idea. Anabel had always been a Debbie Downer. “So, what do you think of my outfit? It’s not too much, is it?”
“Not if you want it to come off,” she said sarcastically.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked her wishing I could see her face. “Are you saying I look slutty?”
“Now would I ever use the word slutty?” Anabel sighed. “I don’t clothes shame, but yes, you definitely look like you’re interested in getting some tonight.”
“Getting some what?” I said.
“What do you think?” She sighed and then giggled. “Bow chicka bow wow. By the way I don’t know why I’m laughing. I do not think this is funny. Also have you heard from Nate at all?”
“Anabel. You know I’m not that sort of girl.” I laughed back. “I mean I do want to look hot and sexy, but I’m not about to just get it on. Not right away. Just because he’s super-hot and I want to get laid doesn’t mean I’m going to drop my panties for him right away. And no. I haven’t spoken to Nate. Why do you keep asking me about him?”
“Janie, you don’t even know if this Dylan is going to be super-hot in real life. What if he’s catfishing you? And I can’t ask about Nate? He’s your other best friend.”
“Dylan is not catfishing me,” I said and then paused as I thought about it. “Oh God, what if he’s some sixty-five-year-old balding man with no teeth. Ugh.” I sighed. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“I mean, I doubt that’s going to be the case, but even if he is as hot as you think he is, is that the first impression you want to give him?”
“What impression?”
“That you’re up for a good time?”
“I am up for a good time.” I shrugged to myself, even if I wasn’t sure if that was technically true. I’d never been up for a good time, in the hookup sense, before, but was willing to try.
“Janie, you’ve never had a one-night stand or even a casual fling,” Anabel was whispering frantically. “You don’t want this guy to think that you’re too eager.”
“Eager for what?”
“To get laid.”
“Might not be so bad.” I giggled. “I want to have some fun.”
“Ugh, I wish you hadn’t agreed to meet up with him so quickly. You don’t even know anything about him.”
“I know that he looks like he might be a hottie.”
“Janie! Is that really enough?”
“Right now, it is.” I laughed. “Look Anabel, I gotta go. I’ll tell you all about the date when I get home later tonight.”
“If you go home tonight,” she muttered.
“I promise, I will come home tonight. Okay, Mom?”
“Hmmm,” she grumbled and I hung up on her. I knew that Anabel meant well, but I didn’t really need for her to lecture me or worry. I already had Nate for that. And there was a reason why I wasn’t telling him all the details about my journey into the world of online dating or the fact that I already had a date that I was going on tonight. I jumped up and down in excitement for a few seconds. I couldn’t believe it. I was going on a date. After ages. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d been on a date. I needed this. And hey, if Dylan wanted to hook up, whatever. I could still flirt with him and have a good time. And frankly, I’d feel kinda stoked if Dylan was that into me that he’d want to bed me right away. A man as hot as Dylan looked like he was able to be with any woman he wanted. If he chose me, then that would have to mean that he found me attractive. Beautiful even. My self-esteem could do with the boost. As I walked into my room to get my handbag, my phone started ringing and I could see that Nate was trying to call. I made a face at the screen wondering if Anabel had texted him and told him to call me to stop me from doing something stupid. I decided not to pick up. I didn’t need him calling to dissuade me and tell me what to do.
“Tonight is going to be a good night.” I smiled to
myself as I ignored his call and walked out of the front door and toward the waiting car. Tonight was going to signal the start of a new life for me. A new exciting crazy sexy life. And I was ready for all the new journeys and adventures that that would entail. I looked down at my boobs at winked. “Here’s to you, hot stuff.”
“JUST BREATHE, JANIE,” I mumbled to myself as I walked into Bond Bar, the cozy place that Dylan had chosen for us to meet for a drink. I could see him sitting in a corner waiting for me and I was having a hard time stopping myself from jumping up and down in glee. Dylan was even more good-looking in person than he had been in his photographs. I could hardly believe my luck. I walked slowly in my heels as I headed toward him because I didn’t want him to think I was clumsy if I stumbled.
“Janie.” He stood up with a huge smile and walked toward me. “Is that you?” He grinned at me and I could see his blue eyes sparkling (without the help of mascara, eyeliner or eyeshadow) as he headed toward me.
“Yes. Dylan?” I tried to give him a sweet sexy smile, but I wasn’t really sure what expression was on my face. Maybe one of awestruck happiness.
“Yes.” He reached in and gave me a hug and I felt my skin tingling as I felt his warm body pressing into mine for a few seconds. I swallowed hard as he stepped back away from me and I sniffed a whiff of the most deliciously potent cologne I’d ever smelled on a guy. Well, asides from Nate.
“Nice to meet you,” I said as we stood there for a few seconds.
“You too. I’m so glad you were able to fit me into your schedule tonight.” He gave me a boyish smile and I just stared at his handsome face. How was it possible for him to be so handsome?
“Well you know. I tried my best and was able to fit you into my hectic schedule.” I flicked my hair as I lied. He didn’t need to know that my evening schedule normally consisted of me going through Netflix and trying to decide upon a show to watch. I paused for a moment as I remembered that I’d just accepted his offer of a date a mere few hours ago. Who was I kidding? He knew I’d been free tonight.
“What would you like to drink?” he asked me as he waited for me to sit down first. I could feel butterflies in my stomach at his chivalry. “And are you hungry? They have some good snacks here.”
