Page 24 of Never Let Go

At least that would be easier to eat than the chicken I’d ordered on that first date. Irritation bubbled through me as I clicked on the gourmet grilled sandwich I probably wasn’t even going to eat and confirmed that I would be attending the date.

I knew this was going to be a waste of time, but I’d said I would go and so I would go, but going in with an open mind was a promise I just didn’t know if I’d be able to keep.

12

SHELBY

When my phone chimed with a notification alert tone I didn’t recognize, my heart leaped into my throat. I sat behind my desk without moving for a moment, wondering whether I could just pretend I’d never gotten it.

Eventually, though, curiosity got the better of me and I picked up my phone. As I’d suspected, the alert had come from the Sight Unseen app and it said that they’d found a match for me. If I accepted, I would be going on my first date as soon as tonight.

It felt like a thousand bees were buzzing through my veins as I stared at the notification, knowing that Ashley would be horrendously disappointed if I didn’t go. I knew I could just neglect to tell her that they’d contacted me yet, but I also already knew I’d never do that.

Besides, I still needed a date to her wedding and I wouldn’t get one while hiding in my office and pretending to never have received the notification. I brought my thumb to the accept button, then slammed my eyes closed as I tapped it.

There. It’s done.

I set my phone down, pushing it away from me so I wouldn’t be tempted to check it ten million times for the rest of the day. The reality was that there wasn’t going to be another notification from them. I wasn’t going to get any more information about the man.

The alert tone chimed again and my heart nearly exploded. I grabbed my phone, but it turned out that I’d been right. It wasn’t a message about the man I was going out with, but rather a notification with the time and place of the date, as well as a menu that I had to choose a meal from to have during the date.

I blinked at the options, wondering how I was supposed to eat a steak dinner in the dark. Eventually, after scrolling past the roast chicken and seafood dishes as well as the salads, I was down to a pizza, grilled sandwiches, and the hamburgers.

All of those things seemed manageable in the dark, but since the pizza and the hamburgers could get quite messy themselves if you couldn’t see a single thing, I opted for a grilled sandwich. It wasn’t the most out-there option, but grilled cheese was comfort food.

I’d never otherwise order one on a date, but it wasn’t like he’d be able to see what I was eating anyway, and if I was going on a blind date in a pitch dark room, then I’d take every ounce of comfort I could get. After making my selection, I put the phone down and tried to focus on work, but I couldn’t. I had so much trouble concentrating that eventually I settled for doing admin.

At least that way, I couldn’t make a huge mistake on a client account. The rest of my work hours raced by much too fast for my liking, and by the time I went home to get dressed, I was still just as nervous as I had been when I’d gotten the notification.

If not more so.

My hands were shaking when I arrived at the restaurant, mentally reciting the information I’d been given. Since we couldn’t use our real names, I’d been sent a fake name to use for the process and a fake job too.

It seemed clients at Sight Unseen could either choose to say that they did a job close to what they actually did, but not so close so as to make it possible to use it to track each other down. Or you could choose a job that you knew a little bit about but that wasn’t anything close to what you actually did for a living.

I’d chosen the latter option. Tonight, I was in marketing, which was what Ashley did, so I knew enough about it to make it seem passable—not that I knew whether I’d need to.

A waiter approached me as soon as I walked through the doors. “Amanda Ripple?”

“No, I’m—” I cut myself off right on time. “I mean, yes. That’s me.”

“Wonderful.” He smiled and motioned for me to follow him. “Your date has just arrived. I got done seating him only about a minute ago.”

My heart picked up its pace, galloping ahead like it was trying to win a race as my face flushed. “Oh, uh, okay. Um, how does this work, exactly?”

The waiter’s smile turned understanding. “It’s okay to be nervous, but there’s no reason to be. The date will be taking place in one of our private dining areas. The lights are off and the room has been blacked out by heavy drapes and a tint on the glass that will keep any of the light out here from filtering in. However, it’s set up as any private room in any restaurant is, with the exception that there’s a buzzer right in the middle of the table. If you need us for any reason, all you have to do is press it.”

I nodded stiffly. He made it sound so simple and normal, but this was anything but. As soon as he led me down a dark corridor to the private room, my lungs constricted and the nerves became so much that it was hard to breathe.

He opened the door and led me in, his hand on my back as he guided me to my chair and then told me to sit down. My stomach flip-flopped and I still couldn’t breathe properly, but I thanked him and gripped the table, holding it tight in an attempt to center myself.

“Are you… hyperventilating?” A warm, deep male voice asked once the waiter was gone. “Seriously, are you in trouble over there?”

My face got hot. “Uh, no. No trouble. Thank you. Just nervous.”

“Shit.” I found the voice strangely calming. He sounded normal enough, at least. “Okay, I get that. Just breathe. You’re okay. You’re safe. It’s going to be fine. We can leave if you want to.”

“No,” I squeaked, then dragged in a deep breath and smoothed my hands over the table to try to get a mental picture of what this place looked like. “I’ll be fine. Just, uh, keep talking. Distract me.”