Sometimes adult children were more of a pain in the ass than they were as kids.
I rose from the bed with a groan and shut the door. Slipping off my clothes, I changed into my sweatpants, threading my tail through the hole in the back. I turned off the light and climbed back into bed.
For a good fifteen minutes, I tossed and turned. No matter how much I tried to relax, sleep just wouldn’t find me. It was a shame I didn’t bring any edibles with me. Those always did the trick.
My phone vibrated from where I’d set it on the nightstand.
A Mate Match message from Pam.
I unlocked my phone, the bright light irritating my eyes in the otherwise dark room.
Pam: Are you awake??
Huh. It seemed someone else was having a hard time sleeping.
Me: I’m up. Is everything okay?
Ugh. I hoped she wasn’t about to cancel on me. This was the first thing I’d looked forward to in I don’t know how long.
Pam: I’m just having a hard time falling asleep. I think I’m nervous about tomorrow.
She was nervous about our date. It was fucking cute. I mean, I was nervous too. Might as well admit it.
Me: I’m nervous too.
Pam: Would you want to chat on the phone for a bit? I know it’s old school, but it might help ease our nerves a little.
It was old school. In the age of text messaging, I rarely talked on the phone anymore. A random phone call or video chat with Chai was pretty much it. Getting to know one another before meeting would be nice though…
Me: Sure. My number is 398-459-3745.
My phone vibrated with an incoming call from an unknown number a few moments later.
“Hey.” My voice sounded gruff so I cleared my throat. “Pam?”
“Alistair?” Her voice was smooth and pleasant, just like I thought she’d sound.
“The one and only,” I said with a laugh and she followed suit. Within the first minute of our call, I’d already made her laugh. I’d call that a win.
“Thank you for doing this. I’m just so nervous. I didn’t expect to match so soon, let alone set up a date. I literally signed up for the app today.”
That explained why we’d just matched. “Your first day on the app and my ugly mug gets a right swipe from you—and a date! It must be my lucky day.”
Another warm, lighthearted laugh. “You did not just call yourself ugly.”
I mean, yeah, I was handsome. But when you compared me to someone like her? She was way out of my league. “I mean, if the shoe fits—”
“I happen to think you’re quite handsome. Unless your pictures are photoshopped or they’re old.” There was a hint of a smile in her voice.
I chuckled. “I can assure you, they’re definitely not photoshopped or filtered or anything like that. The one of me on the cliffside is from last year, but the rest my daughter took when she visited me a few months ago.”
“What’s your daughter's name?”
“Chai. I found out that she knows your daughter and works for your soon-to-be son-in-law.”
“Get out of town. She works at Leviathan Fitness?” Pam asked.
“Mhmm. Well, when she isn’t on medical leave.”
