In my eagerness to be on time, I arrived early by about half an hour. The hostess greeted me, escorted me to our reserved table, and handed me a drink menu. I asked for something sweet with a little bit of alcohol to get a light buzz, since I didn't want to be too uptight or nervous meeting Paul for the first time.
As I sipped on my daiquiri, I wondered what Paul would be like. He was nice in our texts, and attractive in his profile picture. He seemed more of a jock type compared to me, but hey, maybe my family would appreciate that more. I intended on confessing my plan to him during the date so he didn't get the wrong idea. I wasn't interested in a long-term relationship, but I doubted he was either. It would be a quick, mutually-beneficial relationship.
The minutes rolled by. No sign of Paul. I checked the time and frowned. It was ten after our scheduled meeting time. I didn't mind if he was late—shit happened—but why didn't he text me?
Calm down, Miguel,I told myself.He could be underground on the subway with no service. Or be running to the restaurant since he's late. There's a million reasons why he couldn't text.
I nodded, relaxing slightly. There was no need to jump to conclusions. Paul would be here soon enough.
At one point I felt a strange sensation, like eyes on the back of my head. I thought it might be him so I raised my head and looked around but nobody met my gaze in the crowd. There wasoneperson who I thought could have been Paul based on his profile picture, but I only saw the back of their head as they pulled on a hood and walked briskly in the opposite direction, as if hurrying away.
My shoulders sagged with disappointment.
As the minutes dragged on until half an hour passed with no sign of him, I was starting to worry. I checked my phone. No messages from Paul. I bit my lip and shot off a quick text, trying to keep the tone light and not accusatory:Hey, where are you lol?
A read receipt popped up. That meant Paul saw my message. My heart raced, anticipating the three animated dots that indicated he was typing.
But he didn't reply. At all.
I stared at my phone with looming despair.
Paul wasn't showing up, was he?
Regret hit me like a truck. This was a stupid idea. The worst case scenario popped into my head instantly: Pauldidshow up, saw me, then decided he didn't want to go through with this date after all. Not even for practically guaranteed sex.
What was I thinking? Why would any alpha want to be with me, even just for a fake date? What a joke.
Not wanting to languish in my pathetic misery any longer than I had to, I gulped down the rest of my daiquiri then paid the bill.
"No food today?" the waitress asked as I handed her the cash and tip.
"Ah, no."
She glanced at the empty chair opposite me, then connected the dots. She gave me a sympathetic look, which only embarrassed me further.
"Well, have a good night!" she said.
Needless to say, I shuffled out of there ASAP.
Hey, at least the burning heat of shame in my cheeks protected my face from the cold evening air.
With my stomach filled only with alcohol and strawberry flavor, I meandered down the sidewalk. Since I hadn't eaten anything I was lightly tipsy. It was a welcome distraction from my misery.
I buried my face in my scarf, not wanting to expose my apparently hideous self to the world any more than necessary. Good thing it was cold tonight. The sudden temperature drop was a blessing in disguise.
The frigid air picked up with a low howl. A cold gust of wind smacked into me. I was no small man but the wind was so strong I had to brace myself against it. I stumbled back before finding my footing.
The wind subsided. The last thing I needed now was to get knocked on my ass in front of a crowd of people. As if I wasn't embarrassed enough tonight.
I continued down the sidewalk. I took another step.
My foot landed—then slipped on a patch of black ice.
"Ah!"
The world spun out. I went from standing upright to landing on my back in less than a second. I heard the awfulthudof my head hitting the sidewalk.
A low groan left me as pain slowly spread over my body. Stars fizzled in my blurry vision.
