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TEN
Alethea arrived fifteen minutes early, unable to wait at home any longer without chewing her lipstick off. Only to realise she then had to decide whether she wanted wine or not while she waited. Damn it, she wanted to ask the girls what she should do, but it'd took bad if he arrived and she was staring at her phone.
Wine would relax her, but what if he was late and she finished it, so she had to order another glass? She didn't want to end up drunk by the end of the date. Besides, it usually worked out better to order a bottle to share than buy wine by the glass, but what if he didn't drink? Or what if he didn't drink wine?
So she drummed her fingers on the table as she drank her glass of water and waited.
She shouldn't have come. She wanted to go home. She should just order takeaway food and leave...
Did she want to die alone, with only a vibrator for company?
Alethea could almost hear Tacey's voice telling her off.
Tacey was right, of course. Alethea was here because she wanted to find love, like in the books she read. So many books while she'd been stuck in that apartment alone.
"Excuse me, I'm here to have dinner with my soul mate? Well, we haven't actually met yet, but I knew she was my soul mate the moment I saw her profile picture. We're going to have babies together and I'm going to stay home to take care of them, and homeschool them so I can teach them everything I know."
Someone at the table next to her began to laugh, covering it up with her hand. She wasn't the only one, either – everyone seemed to be staring at the guy who was telling the maître d' his future plans.
Then he turned to face the restaurant and...it was HIM.
"Alethea!"
He'd grown a beard. His hair looked like it hadn't been washed in weeks. He was wearing a t-shirt with that hideous green wrinkly alien Rory loved on the front. And, worst of all, he had a thin, reedy voice that set her teeth on edge.
She could excuse almost anything – the beard, the hair, the shirt – but that voice...she wasn't going to be able to listen to a word he said without wincing. Without a sexy voice, there was no way he was getting anywhere near her bed tonight. Or ever.
Her phone beeped, and she whipped it out.
A message from Octavia: ENJOY YOUR HOT DATE TONIGHT. CALL WITH DETAILS TOMORROW.
Alethea felt sick. There was no way she was going to be able to go through with this.
Yet here he was, about to take the seat in front of her.
"Hi," he said breathlessly, staring at her like a parched man about to drink her up.
Bile rose up in her throat. "Really sorry, but work just sent me a message. They need me for something urgent. Have to go. Sorry." She jumped out of her seat and practically ran for the door.
Nope nope nope nope nope...all the way home.
