Page 37 of Somebody To Love

“I thought we were going to meet in front of the building,” he said sounding whiny and demanding. I disliked him instantly.

I studied him briefly. He was wearing expensive designer jeans and a muscle tee. He had on sunglasses even though it was dark inside the building. He looked like a member of a 90s boy band. I guess that look was back in vogue. I think I would have thought he was cute if it weren’t for his tone earlier.

I ignored his rudeness and said, “I figured I would take a look around the inside since you weren’t here yet.”

“Oh, ok, cool,” he said distractedly as he gave my figure a long look. “You look hot. H-O-T, hot.”

I didn’t understand his need to spell it. After all, we all learned how to spell hot in elementary school, right?

“Um thanks.” I didn’t know what else to say, “You look great, too.”

“Yeah, all the ladies like this look. Makes me look like a celebrity.” He gave me a big smile. I didn’t know why. And then his smile faded. “God, you need to loosen up some. Don’t you have a sense of humor?”

I was taken aback. What was with all the attitude? “I have a sense of humor but I wasn’t aware that you made a joke?”

He chuckled. “Good one.”

I was bewildered. The dating agency had totally gotten this one wrong. This guy, Geoff, I think his name was according to what Sylvia had told me, was coming across as a nightmare of a date and our date hadn’t technically even started.

He then boldly placed his hand on my lower back and attempted to usher me down the hall. I maneuvered away from his hand much to his consternation. He didn’t say anything, but I could feel the tension now apparent between us.

He grudgingly bought our tickets, not saying a word to me. He was surly, and his demeanor was off-putting. Determined to make the best of it, I told myself that I wouldn’t let his bad attitude ruin the evening. And if worst came to worst, I could always just pretend to go to the bathroom and never come back.

With that thought in mind, I made my way to the front of the club while Geoff came in behind me. He sat down across from me and didn’t say another word to me.

I felt so uncomfortable and thought about calling an end to the date right then and there when the waitress popped up next to us. Oh well, I thought to myself, I guess I’ll just have to make it through the first ten minutes of our date at least. The waitress was a busty, pretty girl, and probably all of twenty years old, she smiled brightly at me and then Geoff. He gave her a flirtatious smile and the waitress’s own smile quickly became constrained.

“So what can I get for you guys?”

“How about a new date?” Geoff had the nerve to say. He began to laugh and the waitress cast a sympathetic look in my direction. I was fuming.

Standing up, I gathered my purse while the waitress looked on like an innocent bystander.

“Where are you going?” Geoff asked, standing up.

“Far away from you. Have a great life.”

I turned and walked away, and he didn’t bother to come after me. Gosh, he was terrible, I thought to myself. That had been a record for me. I never had a date that ended in five minutes. I considered myself lucky. Ten minutes with Geoff probably would have had me foaming at the mouth.

I reached for my phone ready to tell Dana and Becca about my horrible date when I noticed I had a missed call. It was from Ty.

I called him back immediately and the sound of his voice relaxed me instantly.

“Hey, I didn’t expect you to call me back so soon.”

“My night didn’t go exactly as I expected.”

“Sorry to hear that.” He sounded distracted but not sorry at all. I wondered then if he knew I had gone on a date with someone else. I didn’t know what to say, so I blurted out, “Can I come over?”

A long silence followed my question and I felt instantly stupid. What if he was seeing someone else too? And I didn’t even know his last name. And here I was inviting myself to his home? What was wrong with me?

I couldn’t take the silence anymore, so I just started blubbering. “If you’re busy, it’s fine… It’s no big deal. I mean, I did just invite myself over. You probably have plenty to do tonight. It’s cool. So, it’s fine if you don’t want me to…” I was droning on and on and it was like I couldn’t stop.

“Are you done?” he asked softly, cutting me off and again the sound of his voice did things to my body that I didn’t want to acknowledge. I knew if I looked down right then and there, I would find my nipples poking against my dress.

“I—uhh-yeah—”

“Great, then yes, I would love for you to stop by. I’ll text you my address. Come right over.”