“Ican’t believe I’m going through with this.” I looked at the sign on the dating agency in front of me.
What the Heart Wants. I don’t even know what my heart wants…
“It’ll be fun.” My best friend, Lola, grabbed my arm. “Let’s go check it out!”
“I still think it would be easier to just set up a profile on Tinder.” I sighed and let her lead me through the front door.
“I’m tired of meeting guys on Tinder. All they want to do is hook up.” Lola looked around as soon as we entered the building. “Look, they have a wall filled with success stories!”
“All of them true!” A woman walked out of the back room with a smile on her face. “I’m Grace Graham. Welcome toWhat the Heart Wants.”
“I’m Lola. We spoke on the phone.” My best friend let go of my arm and walked over to shake Grace’s hand.
“Ah yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you in person.” Grace looked over at me. “This is your friend—Chloe I believe?”
“Yes.” I walked over. “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Graham.”
“Call me Grace.” She chuckled under her breath. “Okay, who wants to go first?”
“We—aren’t doing this together?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
“That’s totally up to you, but I usually find that it’s more effective if we speak in private.” She looked to Lola and then over at me.
“I’ll go first!” Lola nodded quickly.
Okay, I guess I’ll just sit out here all by myself. I should have brought a book.
Grace took Lola into the back room and closed the door. I walked over and started looking at the wall of so-called success stories. Everyone looked happy—but I wondered where they were ten years after the photograph was taken. Were they still smiling reflections of bliss? I doubted it. My parents had plenty of photographs where they were all smiles too, but those happy reflections didn’t stand the test of time. Ten years after I was born, they called it quits—and I found out on my birthday when my Dad showed up drunk enough to accuse my mother of cheating on him in front of everyone. She didn’t even deny it—and the cake wasn’t the only victim of my father’s wrath once he found out that the guy, she was cheating on him with was at my party.
My parents weren’t the only awful examples of adultery that I had fresh on my mind. I made the mistake of thinking a guy I met at college could change my perspective on love. I fell head over heels for him while he was going balls deep in a cheerleader named Marcia. How did I find out? She posted a picture of them on Instagram with the hashtag#MyManNowBitch. At least she saved me the embarrassment of finding out after I let him put a ring on my finger. Thankfully, I never slept with him. Maybe that was part of the problem, but I wasn’t sure it would have even mattered. Marcia said she could have any man she wanted—even if they were supposedly taken.
“Okay, we’re all done. Are you ready, Chloe?” Grace opened the door and Lola came walking out with a smile on her face.
“I guess so.” I sighed and nodded.
Not like I have a choice if I want to get Lola off my back.
I walked into Grace’s office and she immediately closed the door. It wasn’t much to look at, and the clutter on her desk suggested that she wasn’t the most organized woman in the world. I wondered how she managed to keep everything straight, especially since her computer looked like one I would have left by the curb when I was in high school. She sat down behind her desk and shuffled a few pieces of paper out of the way until she found what appeared to be a blank application. I was the one she had just filled out for Chloe sitting next to her computer and it already had a coffee ring on the top corner.
“Okay, why don’t we start with a few basic questions.” She clicked a pen and pressed it to the paper.
Grace went through the kind of questions that a normal dating website would ask. I didn’t drink very often, I hadn’t smoked since I nearly hacked my lungs out trying a cigarette in high school, and drugs were a definite no. We went through some more standard questions that were a little more personal like religious preferences, sexual orientation—just in case I was looking for Ms. Right instead of Mr. Right—or both, and after she filled in a few details about how I looked, she leaned back in her chair.
“Alright, so let’s talk about the kind of guy you want to meet.” She smiled and reached for her coffee.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I’m tired of men in general, but I’m not interested in girls. Lola is the one who dragged me in here.”
“Have you had difficult relationships in the past?” She sipped her coffee.
“A couple.” I sighed and nodded. “I dated a guy in high school that was nice, but he was so shy that he barely even held my hand. I dated a few guys in college and I even got serious with one of them—but he turned out to be a jerk like all the rest of the assholes.”
“It can be difficult.” She put her coffee cup down—directly on Lola’s application. “I remember what it was like when I was your age.”
“It’s not like it will get any easier when I’m older.” I exhaled sharply and shrugged. “Men are the same, no matter what age they are.”
“That can be true, but there are plenty of good ones out there. Trust me, I’ve helped a lot of people find the right person for them.” She nodded with a hint of confidence in her smile. “Just trust me, that’s all I ask.”
“I’m here…” I looked down at her desk. “That’s about as much trust as I can give you.”
