There is an agonizingly long twenty-second wait.
Luke_T
Guess we’re both not great at this, which makes me more into it.
I smile.
Luke_T
Do you want to meet?
Summer_L
Sure.When?
Luke_T
Now?
Shit.Now?!I glance at the time.It’s only nine-thirty, so it’s not inconceivable.There’s a flutter of excitement but also anxiety in my gut.Because Pete turned out so well… I gnaw my lip again.
Luke_T
We can meet somewhere public.You pick.And if we hit it off… then you call the shots on what’s next.
Summer_L
This is a hook-up app so if we hit it off we both know what’s supposed to be next.
Luke_T
We melt some B&J.
Oh my god… am I actually going to do this?I mean, maybe in person, there isn’t any chemistry.One way to find out.I write him back and give him the address of Salty’s Bar & Billiards because it’s safe for me.
Then I text Todd and tell him I’m coming in on a blind date and to pretend he’s never seen me before in his life.I donotneed this guy knowing I work there.As I make my way to Salty’s, I push thoughts of Pete out of my head.Not all guys are like Pete.Hopefully, this guy proves me right.
Chapter13
Theo
This shouldn’t be so hard.My palms are sweaty, and I’m feeling itchy, and my heart is pounding like I just killed a five-minute penalty.It’s brutal and all because I might hook up with a woman, something I’ve done literally over a hundred times before.Drunk.Sober me is apparently as nervous as I was in middle school when I asked Georgia Miller to dance at the winter formal.
But I know I need to rip this Band-Aid off.I’m horny all the fucking time, and my hand is not cutting it anymore.Especially because when I jerk off lately, the scenario my brain likes to conjure up is one of Lola Casco in my bed again, like in the snowstorm.Only this time I don’t pull away, and when she straddles my hips, there’s no pillow, and we’re both naked.I take a deep breath and stand still on the sidewalk just outside the bar that this Summer_L woman asked to meet at.It’s Lola’s work, which also makes me nervous.What if she’s in there and she sees this go down?She’s the one who signed me up for the app, so I’m sure she’d be thrilled.But a part of me wants to see disappointment glint in her pretty blue eyes.I want her to want me because Ireallywant her.I know it’s problematic, which is why I’m here trying to get my sober sex virginity out of the way with a random stranger.
So I pull my phone out and text my potential hook-up.
Luke_T
Almost there.I have one question though.How do I find you?Your photos are lovely but vague, like mine.
Summer_L
I’m the only woman sitting at the bar.I just ordered a Sprite.On the Rocks.
I smile and feel even more confident this stranger is a good fit because she’s not drinking.I don’t want to have sex with a drunk or even tipsy woman.Not because I can’t be with someone who drinks.I can for a night.It’s just I want them present, and I have first-hand knowledge of how zoned out you can be when inebriated.
Luke_T
