"Love you too!"
This night sucks.
THREE
"I cannot believe I'm doing this again," I mumble to myself as I walk down the sidewalk towards another bar, where I'm meeting yet another man.
I swear, if this one is awful, Taylor is never meddling in my love life again. There will not be a date number three. There is only so much a girl can put up with before shit starts getting old. I draw my creeper line at two. So this one had better be damned good, or that's it.
I stop at the outside entrance to the bar, where I'm supposed to be meeting this guy, and wait. I glance around, my eyes scanning the groups of people hovering around. It's a nice place, with modern décor and tables scattered under some big umbrellas outside. I run my hands down the black dress I'm wearing. It's a V-neck, tighter at the top but loose and flowing from the waist down. Sexy, but not inviting. I pinned my hair up with a few gold clips, and put a light dusting of makeup on.
I have a feeling I may be overdressed for the occasion, judging by the jeans and cute tops most of the other women sitting around are wearing. This just makes me feel even more nervous inside, and because of that, I don't pay much attention to the throat clearing behind me. Only when I feel a tap on my shoulder do I spin around.
I'm faced with an extremely good-looking man, holding a rose. That's the first thing I notice. He has sandy brown hair long enough to fall over his forehead, blue eyes, and a tall but lean build. He's dressed nicely, but casually, in a blink date website gray tee and a pair of dark denim jeans. His eyes scan over me, and he flashes a genuine smile that really lights up his face. He's handsome, without a doubt.
"Are you Hartley?"
"Yes." I smile.
He beams, his smile getting bigger. He has dimples. Cute. He extends a hand and I take it, as he curls his warm, soft fingers around mine. "I'm Richard. It's wonderful to meet you. You look lovely tonight."
My nerves ease. Okay, so this one seems nice. He's nice-looking, too. That's two off the checklist. Maybe we'll be able to have a decent conversation and I'll lose the urge to murder Taylor. I let my shoulders relax and give him my best smile. "Thank you, would you like to go inside?"
"Yes, I would," he says.
I take the rose, impressed by the sweet gesture. I give him a genuine thank-you, and we both turn and enter the bar. It's modern inside too, decked out in black and red, giving it a sleek, easygoing appeal. Richard leads me to a big red booth and I slide in. He sits across from me, placing his elbows on the table and focusing on me. A waitress comes over right away, and looks down at us. "Hi there, can I get you both a drink?"
"Just a rum and coke for me," Richard says to her and then glances over to me.
I order a vodka and lime, and then focus back on the man sitting across from me when the waitress disappears. I don't really know where to start the conversation, so I go with the usual questions.
"What do you do for a living, Richard?"
"I'm a lawyer," he tells me. "It's a very demanding job, but I do enjoy it. What about you?"
A lawyer. Very impressive.
"At the moment, I'm studying to become a midwife, so I'm just working until I'm finished with that."
His brows go up. "A midwife. What made you want to do that?"
I shrug. "I started as a nurse, but would love to work in the field with babies, so I decided to take it to the next level."
He nods, impressed. "Admirable."
"Yeah." I smile. "It's a lot of hours, but I think it'll be worth it."
He nods thoughtfully. "My ex-girlfriend was a nurse. It took its toll on her, too. But it'll be a very rewarding career. I think it always is when you're able to help other people."
I nod in agreement, crossing my ankles under the table. "Yes, it is tiring though."
The waitress returns with our drinks, placing them down, and I take a sip of mine.
Richard continues talking. "Yes, she used to come home exhausted. Poor girl. I always felt so sorry for her."
Ah, okay. It's a little weird to bring up the ex-girlfriend in the first few minutes of the conversation with a girl you're on a date with, but maybe he's just anxious and can't think of anything else to talk about. Or maybe he's one of those men who just don't really have any setbacks when it comes to talking about exes, because it's in the past.
///
"Yes, it's demanding work." I decide to continue.
"Indeed it is." He nods. "This one time, she worked over twenty-four hours. I didn't see her. She never stopped, you know?"