Well fuck, I guess I might as well go to the gym and get some shit done.
* * *
“Uncle Cain! You weren’t here when I got home!” I walked in the front door, still dripping sweat from my run—and Abby came running towards me for a hug.
“Hold on, I’m filthy.” I tried to stop her from latching onto me, but I was unsuccessful.
“Great, now you’re both going to need a shower.” Bridget walked out of the kitchen and laughed when her daughter attacked me.
“I’m first.” I gave Abby a quick hug and walked towards the bathroom.
I took a quick shower, washed away the grime from my workout, and put on some fresh clothes. Abby had apparently decided to avoid the shower by changing clothes and dousing herself in some of Bridget’s perfume. At least I hoped it was her mom’s perfume and my ten year old niece didn’t have a bottle of her own. She was much too young to be concerned about that. I wasn’t sure how many arms I was going to have to break when she was old enough to date, but I was pretty sure there were going to be a few young men that got the fear of an ex-SEAL put in them when they showed up on our doorstep.
“Oh.” I leaned forward and slid the tablet across the coffee table towards Abby. “Please delete that profile. I tried to do it myself, but I couldn’t find the dang button.”
“Uncle Cain—no!” Abby’s put down the remote and turned towards me with a look of disappointment on her face. “You might meet someone!”
“Do what your uncle says.” Bridget walked into the room and sat down on the opposite side of the couch. “If he doesn’t want that profile out there, you should respect his wishes.”
“Mom!” Abby grabbed the tablet and huffed.
“You’re way too young to be concerned about my dating life, Abby. You shouldn’t post my information without talking to me first.” I exhaled sharply. “The woman from the agency called me today. You gave them my cell phone number?”
“Abby…” Bridget narrowed her eyes.
“I’m sorry.” Abby looked down at the tablet and started scrolling. “Wait, you have a message from someone named Grace. She’s—confirming your appointment for nine o’clock tomorrow?”
“I’m not going. I told her I wasn’t interested, and she booked an appointment anyway.” I shook my head back and forth.
“This message says you told her you would think about it…” Abby raised her head and eyed me suspiciously.
“I told her that after I said I wasn’t interested—why am I defending myself? Just delete it, please.” I waved my hand at Abby.
“She sent you a picture of the girl you were matched with. She’s really pretty!” Abby swallowed hard.
“Oh, let me see.” Bridget hopped up and walked over to where her daughter was sitting. “Wow, yeah—she’s cute.”
“You’re supposed to be on my side.” I narrowed my eyes at Bridget.
“Look at her.” Abby turned the tablet around. “She’s so pretty!”
Wow—she is…
“Maybe you should keep this appointment.” Bridget took the tablet and walked over to sit down beside me. “How does this work anyway? Do they just set you two up on a date?”
“The lady at the agency—Grace—she said that I have to come in and answer some questions or something.” I shrugged.
“Ah, I see.” Bridget clicked a button on the tablet. “It says that you two will exchange letters first and then if you want to meet, you can go on a date.”
“Letters? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of having an app?” I chuckled under my breath.
“It says they can be emailed or handwritten.” Bridget nodded. “Oh, look at this.”
“What?” I looked down at the screen. “Well then…”
No sex for three months after the first date—that seems like a hard condition to enforce.
“What is it?” Abby leaned her head forward.
