Love at First Date (5 page)

I blinked. In all the dates I’d ever been on, I’d have to say that I’d never met a man that communicated this well. It was refreshing. “It makes a lot of sense. Thanks for sharing.”

He seemed relieved. “I’m glad you understand. I’ll admit my affinity for repetition has been a bit of a problem for me in the past, but it’s something I’ve recently come to realize is a flaw and I am working on it.”

“Um, okay.” My eyes widened and I had the sudden feeling I’d invaded his private therapy session. “So, we agree. Chinese is good. Trying new things can be . . . good.”

And conversation had taken a nosedive . . .

“It’s invigorating to talk to a woman who is empathetic.” He pulled out a little notepad from his pocket and crossed something off. “I feel that empathy is important in a relationship. Don’t you?”

“I think so. I mean, yes. I suppose . . .” Had he scratched the word “empathy” off a check list? I wanted to snag his pad and see what else he had on there.

The waiter brought our dishes to the table and Craig nodded and thanked him. I smiled and murmured an appreciative remark and then Craig drew another line across his pad.

So far Craig was an excellent communicator, had good manners, and apparently had some kind of list he was keeping to . . . what? Rate our date?

“Allow me.” He scooped servings of chow mein, kung pao chicken, and fried rice onto our plates. Then he placed a napkin in his lap, picked up his fork in lieu of the chopsticks, and took a tentative bite of his noodles. “Interesting texture. Different flavor, but all in all, very pleasing.”

“Hmm.” I stuffed a forkful of chow mein into my mouth, considered an evaluation of my own, and came up with nothing. It was Chinese food, after all. Not a work of art.

He swallowed and gestured with his fork. “What do you think?”

I’d never been to Wok N’ Roll before, but it tasted like normal Chinese food to me. “It’s good.”

“Okay.” He nodded, then moved his head back and forth as if in thought. “How would you say it compares to other Chinese restaurants you’ve been to? Is this pretty average? Or exceptional, perhaps? If I were going to try another Chinese restaurant, would the chow mein taste similar to this one or does Wok N’ Roll have their own spin on the dish?”

“Come on, Craig. I’m a customer service rep, not a professional food critic.” I started to laugh, then realized he wasn’t joining in. Oops, cracking jokes must’ve carried over from doggy class and weren’t flying as well here.

“I know you’re not a food critic. You work for a software company.” His voice held a defensive tone. “But, I value your opinion and you certainly have more experience than I do this area.”

Why did chow mein have to be a serious topic? But, that should be fine. Right? I mean, he asked my opinion because he valued my thoughts. Even though he’s known me all of twenty minutes. Well, plus a month or so of email exchanges. And, wouldn’t most women find it gratifying to have a man communicate this much? I mean, how many times had my girlfriends and I complained that men never say what they’re thinking? And here Craig was actually doing it.

So, why was it so freaking annoying?

I set my fork down and leaned forward. “I’d say it’s average chow mein. It’s good, has all the right stuff, but I’ve had better.”

“Really? Where?” His notepad was in his hand again. “I’ll be sure to take you there next time.”

Next time? We weren’t even done with this time, but I gave him the name and directions to my favorite Chinese restaurant downtown. Then, I vowed to chill through the rest of the meal because he really was a nice guy. 

At the end of the date, he walked me to my car and asked me out for Thursday. I accepted. So, the guy had a list. I did, too. And he was meeting all of my compatibility requirements, so what kind of hypocrite would I be if I didn’t go out with him a second time?

Still, something nagged at me and I couldn’t figure out what. I guess that’s why I went home, logged onto the
Detailed Dating
website and sent the following email to my second dating prospect:

To:
  lookn4luv

From: 
smrt4ever

Geoff, Judging by our emails over the past month, we sound very compatible. Would you like to meet for coffee tomorrow night? ~ Ellen (aka: smrt4ever)

Less than ten minutes later, I got the following reply:

To:
  smrt4ever

From: 
lookn4luv

Hi Ellen! Name the time and place. I’ll set a red rose on the table so you’ll be sure to recognize me. Looking forward to it. — Geoff

Me too,
I’d written back. Wishing it was really true.

In my mind, what I was really wishing for was a date with Henry.

CHAPTER FOUR

The next evening, Chester and I walked into All Things Furry just before six. The place was packed, as usual. My eyes scanned the room until they landed on Henry’s. Even though I told myself he was all wrong for me, my tummy did a little dance.

Henry smiled and gestured to the chair next to him as if it were natural that we’d sit together.

I joined him, secretly thrilled he’d saved a seat for me. Kenzie hid behind Henry’s legs, but peeked out to look at me. “Hi, Kenzie.”

I reached my hand out slowly, but she ducked back under the chair. “It’s okay, girl.”

“Don’t take it personally.” He nudged my knee with his own. “The only way she’ll come to my grandpa is if he has food in his hand.”

Henry appeared exhausted again, but I jumped on the opportunity to learn more about him. “Do you visit your grandfather often?”

“We pop by several times a week.” He ran his hand under Kenzie’s muzzle. “See what he and Gran are up to.”

So sweet! My heart melted a little more. “You must be close.”

He nodded. “As close as we can get, since they raised me.”

The air felt heavy between us. “And your parents . . . ?”

He continued rubbing Kenzie as he spoke, “They died in a car crash when I was six.”

A chill ran through me. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Thanks.” His gaze flicked to mine, his dark eyes stormy with emotion. “Do your parents live nearby?”

I’d gone from knowing nothing about Henry to discovering what was probably the biggest tragedy of his life. We’d sped from zero to sixty in under a minute and I didn’t know how to downshift, so I replied, “My mom lives about twenty minutes away in Land Park. My dad has been nonexistent since my college graduation. He wasn’t around much before that either.”

My chest ached, as it did any time I talked about my dad. One of the many reasons why I rarely did.

His gaze held mine, telling me that he understood the pain I felt. “You and your mom are close?”

“Too close.” I laughed. “She’s constantly causing me to go over my cell phone minutes. Guess I need to up my plan. I’ll add that to my To Do list.”

He winked at me. “Along with cleaning out your hairbrush.”

I loved his teasing. “My purse is sacred. It’s the one place I allow chaos in my life.” I leaned my shoulder into his jokingly. “Besides, Chester took care of that for me already, remember?”

“Yes.” His face grew serious. “I remember.”

Although the room was crowded with chatter, everything fell silent as if the two of us were alone with a physical cord pulling us together. In a few sentences, it felt like we’d shared everything. The feeling overwhelmed me.

“Evening, everyone!” Abby marched out in red velour sweats and her blonde hair tumbled over her shoulders. “Great to see you all. Let’s hit the arena.”

Although Abby’s cheery voice rang throughout the room, Henry kept his gaze on mine. “Ready?”

It felt like a loaded question and I answered it honestly. “Not in the slightest.”

****

After class ended, Henry and I chatted outside about the pups and what they were learning (Kenzie coming out of her shell; Chester, not a thing). I had to tear myself away since I, uh, had a real date I was supposed to be on in a few minutes.

I rushed to drop Chester off so I wouldn’t be late meeting
lookn4luv
at the coffee shop. Geoff and I had emailed again a couple of times to clarify timing and how to recognize each other. Although I saw the red rose lying across a bistro table as agreed, the man sitting there wasn’t
lookn4luv
. It was a guy who could possibly be
lookn4luv’s
distant not-as-good-looking cousin, but why would he be here? Maybe Geoff couldn’t make it and sent his relative to tell me? Which would be pretty, you know, odd . . .

I approached the table slowly. “Hello?”

His head jerked up from his cell phone screen. “Wow! You’re even prettier in person, Ellen.”

My brows drew together in confusion. “And you are, who?”

“Geoff Bent.” He stood, shook my hand, then gestured for me to take a seat. “I know what you’re thinking, but let me explain. First, these are for you.”

Keeping my purse on my shoulder, I dropped into the wooden bistro chair as the man claiming to be Geoff handed me a dozen red roses. “Thanks, uh, Geoff.”

Due to the sadly hopeful look on his face, I accepted the bouquet even though it dawned on me that he’d falsified his photo.

“You’re welcome.” He flushed, bowed his head, then met my eyes. “The picture I posted on
Detailed Dating
is actually of me, I swear. I just used a photo editor to make myself look more how a woman would want me to.”

Okay, his admission tugged at my sympathetic side. It did. But, I wasn’t going to let him off the hook. “You’ve covered the way you think a date would want you to
look
, but how
honest
would she want you to be?”

He looked confused. “I don’t follow you.”

“There’s zero chance of this going anywhere. Any possibility went out the window when you put up that phony photo.” I watched his shoulders slump. “A good relationship can’t come out of deceit.”

His brows came together. “But, I’d never get a date with a girl like you otherwise.”

I thought of Henry, his beautiful gray eyes, and my insides warmed. Admittedly, every girl probably wouldn’t find him as sexy as I did. He didn’t have that model look like Dillon that made him universally hot, but I felt so attracted to him it was hard to think straight. Surely, someone would feel that way about the man across from me.

“That’s an absolute and total copout, Geoff.” I stabbed my index finger on the table as I made my point. “Besides, why would you want to be with someone who wouldn’t want to be with the real you?”

The look on his face told me he’d never considered that.

“You could be a nice guy. In fact, you probably are.” I sighed, tightened my doggy-mangled purse on my shoulder, and stood. “So, I’ll give you some free advice. Put up an authentic photo of yourself, be honest with any potential date, and don’t settle for someone who doesn’t want you for exactly who you are.”

He nodded to me. “I’ll try. Thanks, Ellen.”

“You’re welcome.” The last of my irritation melted away and I turned to leave. “Best of luck.”

“Before you go, can I buy you a coffee?” When I gave him a skeptical look, he raised his palms. “Just as friends?”

Deciding he was a decent guy with a few insecurities, I sat back down. “Sure.”

Geoff ordered at the counter, returned to the table, and began fiddling with his stir straw. He appeared lost in thought as he twirled it again and again.

I sipped my latte and the hot liquid rolled down my throat. “Something wrong?”

“What you said before? About a person liking me for who I am?” He bent the straw, then straightened. “There’s this girl. My neighbor, actually.” A smile played at his lips. “I’ve been wanting to ask her out for a while, but my brother thinks she’s out of my league . . . ”

Nice sibling. No wonder Geoff was insecure. “Really?”

“I think about her a lot.”

“Do you think she likes you back?” My voice had an encouraging tone. “You know, likes you exactly the way you are?”

“I’m not sure. She offered to help me with my laundry last week. Yesterday, she stopped by to see if I needed anything from the store. She smiles a lot.”

“Sounds like she’s got it bad for you.” Wait . . . he liked her and she felt the same, but he didn’t ask her out? It made no sense. “Don’t let your brother’s negativity influence you. Ask her out.”

He fingered his straw. “But Sean, my brother, fell hard for a girl last year. When he built up the guts to ask her on a date, she laughed in his face. It crushed him.”

“Wow. That’s a shame,” I said, thinking how brutal that girl had been, with lasting effects on Sean and now his brother. “Geoff, you can’t avoid asking her out because some other girl was rude. Just because it didn’t go well for Sean, doesn’t mean it won’t be great for you. Every relationship is different. You should follow your heart and give this person a chance.”

His eyes lit up hopefully. “You think?”

“Absolutely,” I said, excited for him, and nervous for me. I’d given him such optimistic advice when all my life I’ve favored the practical approach. What was happening to me?

He smacked his palm on the table and nodded. “All right. I’ll do it.”

“Good for you.” My mouth curved upward even as I realized something had changed inside me.

We talked for a bit longer before I thanked him for the coffee and headed home. The entire drive, my words echoed through my mind.
“Every person is different. You should follow your heart and give this person a chance.”

Maybe I ought to take my own advice. Maybe things would be different for me than they had been for my mom.

As with every night since I’d met him, I went to sleep thinking of Henry. This time I didn’t force my thoughts away. Instead, I let my dreams run wild. As I drifted off, a smile spread across my face as I pictured a white dress, two beautiful children, and a life filled with laughter,