AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ben
The barslowly filled up as we picked at the tapas. It looked like a draw between the number of people here out for an after-work drink and the ones here for speed dating. I fixed my attention on Thea rather than my rising anxiety at having to watch Thea flirt with other guys for the rest of the night. After Len’s pep talk, I understood what I had to do: be charming, be a good sport, and convince Thea there was no reason to go home with anyone but me. Easy enough.
By the time we finished our second drink, a young woman with chunky glasses and a pencil skirt scooted into the booth with the speed dating sign on the table, clipboard in hand.
“Looks like we can check in,” I said.
“Should we order another drink before we go?”
She held up her empty glass, and I shook my head. “You go for it, but I’ve got to drive home and I’m pretty wiped from being outdoors all day. I shouldn’t have anymore.”
Thea frowned, pale skin marked by a thin line down the center of her forehead that hadn’t been there ten years ago. Back when her hair was a natural shade of brown and not raven black. Back when she wore short skirts and black t-shirts with bands she’d never seen. Her punk phase had only lasted through high school, but she’d kept using style to set herself apart from the crowd. Tonight, she’d set herself apart by wearing a dress that looked perfectly modest from the front but nearly bare in the back, except for a bow that made me want to unwrap her like a gift.
I could only hope that she’d sit with her back against the wall because otherwise, I didn’t stand a chance of taking her home at the end of the night.
She ordered a third whiskey and cranberry before we checked in. The frazzled looking woman handed us name tags and a list of “icebreakers” in case we couldn’t come up with five minutes of conversation on our own.
Thea folded the sheet in half and tucked it into her purse. “If I can’t talk to someone for five minutes, I’m not dating them.”
A fair point, although I scanned the questions, anyway. While Thea could talk to a blank wall, I either made friends with extroverts who could talk over my silence, or introverts who didn’t mind sitting quietly.
That is, until Emily broke up with me and I learned about a third category, one where you were expected to carry at least half of a conversation.
“Oh, there’s Warren,” Thea grabbed my arm and dragged me over to say hi.
“Ben, how’s it going?” Warren greeted me just as effusively as Thea, patting my shoulder.
“Great. How have you been?” Warren fell into the first batch of people, the Thea people, people who could carry a conversation for hours if need be. Even if I hadn’t seen him in years, which I hadn’t, he treated me like a close friend.
“How’s the rescue?” He asked.
“Good. Growing fast.”
“Are you looking for more land?” He raised an eyebrow, always on the lookout for another client to buy and sell property for.
“Always, but Mr. Crossman doesn’t seem keen on selling and—”
“And you’re butted up against the park. That’s a shame.” Warren shook his head, sincerity coating his voice.
“And a blessing. At least I don’t need to worry about developers setting up shop next door.”
“Well, I’ll keep my eyes peeled anyway,” he said with a grin.
“Thanks for that. So, have you done this before?” I asked, nodding to the row of tables set up by the entrance.
He nodded. “Once in Concord and then again in Boston.Then I volunteered to host the event here.”
“You’re in charge of this?”
“The Chamber of Commerce is technically hosting, but I did most of the organizing.”
“Well, it looks great.”
“Best part, I don’t recognize half of these people, so hopefully we pulled some people in from the nearby towns.” He elbowed me with a charming smirk. Sure enough, most of the people lining up at check-in were complete strangers. “Maybe there’s a chance of meeting someone.”
“Or at least getting reacquainted with someone you already dated,” Thea joked.
Not really a joke, of course. I’d dated at least three women in the room, and I bet Warren had dated more than that. I didn’t dwell too long on how many dates Thea had been on with the guys in the room.
