I lie. ‘Of course not! Just reached the end of my social battery.’
He nods and gets up, allowing me to drop my forced smile and shake off the last hour of duds. I turn in my seat to collect my bag, but a pair of shoes meets my eyeline and a shadow looms over me. I look up to find the bartender standing in front of my table, a tray with two glasses in her hand.
‘Rough date?’ she asks. ‘Or should I say, dates?’
I nod back, scrunching my face into a grimace that I hope accurately reflects the pain I just endured. It seems to work. She shakes her head, as appalled as I am, before reaching for one of the glasses on her tray.
‘I figured that was the case – they looked painful from the bar. So I brought you this, on the house. You ordered wine earlier, yes?’
She places an over-filled glass of white wine in front of me, the glass frosty from the coolness of the drink.
‘Thank you so much!’ I say, taking a large and welcome sip.
It’s crisp and delightful, and more expensive than anything I’ve been buying. She lifts the second one.
‘I brought this one for me,’ she says. ‘I thought maybe you could use some better company?’
Her smile twists into something entirely different. Something bolder and fizzy that wakes the dormant butterflies from their near-barren cave. I nod silently and she gleefully pulls up the chair, one arm resting on the table and the other held out for us to clink glasses.
‘To terrible men,’ I say.
‘They don’t deserve our toast,’ she tuts.
‘You’re right.’ I purse my lips, searching for a new dedication. ‘To amazing bartenders that swoop in and save the day.’
We both sip slowly, eyes glued to each other’s faces, and I feel my stomach flutter at the rawness of it. It’s so intense and intimate that it makes my gut bubble, but I can’t look away. Her icy blonde hair falls across her shoulders and reflects the light mesmerisingly.
‘So, what made you sign up for speed dating?’ she asks, setting her glass down on the table.
I take another gulp, hoping the buzz from the alcohol gives me the illusion of game.
‘Wanted to try something new.’ It’s technically not a lie. ‘I’m attempting to date more while I travel – really get out there and meet people I wouldn’t meet back at home.’
She nods wistfully, eyes still locked on mine.
‘And how is that going?’ she asks.
‘Well, you saw tonight.’
She rolls her eyes in solidarity, taking another sip of her drink. I can’t help but follow the glass as it touches her lips. She notices. Of course she does – I don’t know how to be subtle. But she relishes in my obvious interest, rubbing her lips together before staring back at me, a knowing glint in her eye.
‘So, these people... they’re all men?’ she asks abruptly.
‘Nope,’ I reply, quick and desperate to get it out there.
Her lips curl at the admission, twisting into a satisfied smirk. She holds my gaze longer, more directly, as she takes one last finishing sip.
‘I’ve got to go back to work. But if you’re still trying new things, I’m Lina.’ She hands me a napkin with a social media handle scrawled across it. ‘I’m free the next two days.’
I hold the napkin in my hand, reading over her username again and again. My heart leaps in my chest, mind flooding with possibility, but I stay strong. I have to keep it together at least until she turns her back to me.
‘I’ll take you up on that,’ I say.
She nods satisfactorily before sending a wink my way that damn near stops my heart completely. She isspectacular. And she wants me enough to give me her details. Looks like speed dating wasn’t so bad after all.
. . .a reveal
‘You are so lucky,’ Noah says, scrolling through Lina’s feed on my phone.
