She remembered walking down the hallway, Carmela suddenly being in front of her, and something that felt like a wrecking ball hitting her in the stomach and then not being able to breathe. That’s exactly what this felt like as she stared up at D.
The man who she’d met at O’Grady’s bar. The man who she hadn’t stopped thinking about since. The man who she’d spent the best night of her life with was standing in front of her. Actually, he was lowering himself down in the seat in front of her, holding her hand.
She might not be able to breathe, but thoughts were swarming her head like bees in a hive.
He lookedsohandsome.
So much more handsome than she remembered.
How could one man be so handsome?
Was he real?
Was she having a nervous breakdown?
Was this the moment when she was finally committed?
Had she died?
Was this her heaven?
Was he dead?
Was she right and he was Patrick Swayze ghosting her?
Could other people see him?
Then he spoke, and his voice brought her back from her spiral. That voice that had whispered in her ear tocome. That voice that had told her to go into a room and strip and wait at the end of the bed. That voice that had told her that her smile could end him, that voice said, “Hi.”
She never thought she’d hear that voice again. The second she did, her body responded to it. It was like a balm for her soul. The sharp, rigged edges of panic that had risen were now soft and pliable. She could breathe after she heard his voice.
“Hi,” she repeated the two-letter word back to him, trying to convey so many questions swirling internally as inner thoughts in her head.
What are you doing here?
How did you find me?
Are you going to pick me up and carry me out of here like Richard Gere inAn Officer and a Gentleman?
Please pick me up and carry me out of here.
“Hey speed daters, looks like you’re down a couple players!” Lana Newman from The Quizney Princesses shouted out, and in one fell swoop, reality came crashing down around them.
Jenna blinked and jerked her hand away as she realized she was surrounded by neighbors and clients, all of who would have a lot to say if she didn’t get her shit together and pretend like the man in front of her wasn’t someone who could make her come on command and who she’d been unhealthily obsessed with for a year and a half.
Luckily, she’d been wearing masks since before she even knew that’s what she was doing, so she’d been training for this her entire life. She turned towards the tiara-and-boa-wearing ladies’ table. “We’re good. We got replacements. But thanks for the concern.” Her voice sounded wobbly like she was using one of those voice modulators Blake and her friends thought were so funny.
She couldn’t help it. Her entire body felt wobbly.
“Speed daters?” Niko repeated the name as if he didn’t approve.
“That’s our team name,” Jenna started to explain, but the tremble in her voice was even worse, so she shut the hell up.
Her heart was beating so fast she couldn’t actually believe it wasn’t like in one of those cartoons where you could see it pounding out of the wolf’s chest. That’s what it felt like it was doing.
Tiana picked up the team name explanation baton that she’d dropped. “Well, it’s officially, We Thought This Was Speed Dating. It was a joke because we had no idea it was a trivia night the first night we came, and we were just coming to have a drink after work with Kiki and Robbie, who work for Jenna. It was a random girl’s night, so we decided to put our names in and try. We didn’t know how seriously people take it.”
As her friend spoke, Jenna gave herself an internal pep talk. She had to get it together. Ifanyonepicked up on anything going on between her and this man, it would be plastered in the local newspaper and in the FB group by the morning. This town ran on gossip and not always the good kind. Not only did she have a business, she had a teenage daughter and an ex-husband who lived in town. The last thing she needed was to be painted with a scarlet S on her shirt. Was she projecting, maybe from her own childhood? Possibly, but still. She needed things to stay cool.
