Page 3 of Ask Me Something
He was clean-cut, and professional in a suit and tie. But he still wasn’t as handsome as Brian.
Jesus. Where had that thought come from? Giving Bradley a smile, I confessed, “I’m here with a friend who wanted to come. What about you?”
“I’m in the same situation. Can you believe some of the losers at this tonight?”
My smile faltered. Sweet might never describe me, but I wasn’t mean-spirited. “Uh, I don’t know that I’d go that far.”
“That blonde two down had promise, but then she started talking about her divorce. Like a prospective date wants to hear about that kind of baggage. Completely pathetic.”
Active bitch face came out in full force. “That blonde happens to be my friend. And I’ve learned all I need to about you, Bradley.”
“Come on, don’t you believe in second chances?” he cajoled, leaning forward. The practiced look he was giving me suggested that Bradley had probably enjoyed his share of second chances with women.
“Not when they need to happen within the first five minutes, I don’t.” I smiled tightly and took out my phone to google symptoms of acute medical emergencies.
* * *
The restof the evening was a blur. In addition to being soured on bachelor number six, by the time I got to number twenty, I could barely manage a smile. Since bachelor seven had been a doctor, I’d abandoned the idea of feigning an episode of anything medical. The man was creepy enough that he’d most likely perform mouth-to-mouth for a sprained ankle. Ugh.
Catherine, on the other hand, was thrilled with the evening and the results. Our hostess-of-human-torture-otherwise-known-as-speed-dating passed out the contact information of the men who’d been interested and Catherine had garnered fourteen of them.
Was there no other female participant here tonight who was indignant that they’d polled the men instead of us women? I folded my paper and tucked it into my purse wishing I could throw it away without hurting Catherine’s feelings.
“How many names did you get?” she questioned.
“Uh, only a couple and I’m not interested in them unfortunately,” I supplied, not wanting to let her know I’d also gotten fourteen. For the life of me, I didn’t know why. Perhaps my numbed responses and pained face came off as an attractive quality in New York City.
Eager to see Brian, I took out my phone and typed. “On our way to Evan’s Grill. There were no casualties.”
“Oh, I’m certain plenty of hearts are breaking. See you there in about twenty.”
“Who’s the reason for the smile?” Catherine probed, catching me off guard as we slid into the back of her sedan.
“Uh, it was a funny text from my boss, Brian. He’s in town, and I told him we were out for drinks. Hope you don’t mind if he joins us later?”
“No, I don’t mind at all. The couple times I’ve met him, he’s seemed like a fun guy.”
He was good fun and could maybe talk Catherine into better ways to meet eligible men. “Yeah, he is. We should have some time to recap the bachelors before he shows up.”
After arriving at the bar, we got a table and ordered some drinks. I loved Evan’s old wood and romantic lighting and knew it was a favorite of Brian’s as well.
By the time Catherine and I recapped the men from earlier, laughing at some of conversations we’d had, I spotted Brian come through the door. He was dressed in slacks and a sweater, complete with his long wool jacket. My heart skipped a beat when his warm brown eyes found mine, and he started walking toward us.
“Hi, Sasha. Hi, Catherine.” He kissed both of our cheeks and took the empty stool next to me. “Catherine, nice to see you again. It’s been awhile.”
She smiled. “Nice to see you again, too. Are you up here for Christmas?”
He shrugged off his coat and ordered a drink from our waitress. “No, I’m actually flying to Virginia to spend it with family tomorrow afternoon.”
He looked at me and winked.
While Catherine and he made small talk about holiday plans, I assessed Brian through her eyes. He was the all American GQ-type guy with sandy brown hair, baby face, and charismatic, whiskey-colored eyes. Standing over six feet tall, with a nice build and clean-cut looks, he definitely earned the attention he got from women.
“So tell me about the speed dating thing tonight. How did it go?” he questioned, earning him a kick under the table from me.
His laughing eyes flashed toward mine.
Luckily, Catherine took it in stride. I’d wondered if she would be sensitive to him knowing about it.