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“This date is over,” he huffed, clearly appalled by my honesty. I’d wager I struck a note a bit too close to home. He stood up so abruptly his chair toppled over and his cheeks flamed even darker red now that he had the entire restaurant’s attention.
Charles stormed out, muttering about terrible service and bitchy omegas.
The waitress came back at that moment, placing the glass in front of me.
“I’m sorry, did your date leave?” She winced.
“Good riddance. He was terrible,” I said. “I’m staying, though. Can I get the special and surprise me with an appetizer? I can never truly decide.”
“I’ve got you,” she promised, tipping a bit more wine in my glass as a consolation prize for my shitty date.
“Thank you,” I said before pulling out a book I’d snagged from Walter’s. He got a new shipment of thrillers in and I couldn’t resist grabbing one for myself. Usually stalkers weren’t my thing but I’m always willing to try new things.
The book slowly built anticipation, describing the terror of walking through the woods alone at night. I was so enthralled that I nearly screamed when a plate hit the table in front of me.
“Sorry,” my waitress apologized, “I tried to catch your attention first.”
“No worries,” I said, laughing at my own expense. “The book is making for a much better date.”
“This is why I date women,” she joked as she topped off my water glass. “More wine?”
“No, I’ll be good with this,” I promised as I took in the appetizer. The cheese and bread plate looked amazing and I didn’t hesitate before digging in.
By the time I’d finished my dinner I had several chapters read and was fully invested.
Despite having a decent book to read I was still disappointed with how the night went. I was hoping to let off some steam and now the only outlet I would find would be with my collection of battery operated boyfriends.
After paying the bill and tipping her well I called my best friends. They both answered the video call, all three of our faces lighting up the screen. Kat was chilling with Ludwig while Ellie was in her greenhouse, the plants a dead giveaway of her location.
“Oof, bad date?” Kat asked.
“He was awful,” I groaned, giving a full recounting of the night. “The only highlight was the food.”
“Castelli’s never disappoints,” Kat said. “You should have called me, I’d have been your date.”
“Nah, I wanted a date that ended in getting railed,” I complained. “Sorry, bestie, but that’s not by you.”
“Yeah, no thanks, I’d have dipped after dessert,” she laughed. “You hitting the club now?”
“No,” I admitted. “I’m kind of over the dating scene.”
“Wait, what?” Kat asked, sitting up fast enough Ludwig let out an annoyed meow and ran off. “You?”
“I thought you found a mate,” Ellie added as she swiped a dirt covered hand over her face. They both were finding this a bit too funny.
“He hated the idea as much as I did," I admitted. "At least I think so. Plus, I just wanted to fuck away the stress of it all. Clearly, that was too much to ask."
"Dating is hard. Hell, I went on a whole TV show to avoid the dating scene," Ellie joked.
"Look how that turned out for you," Kat laughed. "Honestly that was like dating on steroids."
"It was," Ellie agreed. "So many regrets. Though in the end it did help me find my pack."
"I'm still single, it's not so bad." Kat tried to sound optimistic but it fell flat.
“I’m going to hit thirty soon, guys, it might be time to consider this mate thing,” I said, though I wanted to do anything but. Though even as I went on this date I wasn't sure if I could have fucked him if I wanted to. The private investigator's face wouldn't stop popping into my head. Hell, I didn't even have a name for him yet and couldn't shake the whole thing off.
“It was college, maybe it's time to consider this new mate,” Kat said gently. “I know you hate talking about it, but you have every right to be hurt by what that asshole did. You just can't let it haunt you like this.”
