Queen of First Dates Page 8

  “Hello,” I said answering the phone.

  “Did you get the photos?” His voice was dry and I could almost see the pompous look on his face.

  “I’m doing well, how are you doing?” I said sarcastically.

  “Did you get them?”

  “Yes…” I said and then reluctantly added. “Thank you. They looked good.”

  “I worked some magic, huh?” he said with a laugh and I made a face into the phone.

  “Whatever, dude.” I shook my head at his words. “I guess it would be magic rather than skill that would ensure you took a good photo.”

  “So when’s your first date?” He laughed. “I need to know what evenings I need to block off.”

  “I don’t have any dates yet. You just sent me the photos an hour ago. It doesn’t happen that quickly.”

  “It doesn’t? I thought that women got bombarded on these sites.”

  “I haven’t even started swiping yet.”

  “Oh, okay…” His voice trailed off, and I wondered what he was thinking.

  “I’m not going to see you on these sites, am I?” The thought suddenly popped into my head and I was curious as to what Nolan’s profile would look like. What would he say about himself? What photos would he use?

  “Me?” He scoffed. “Nope, not at all. I don’t use dating apps. I meet girls the old-fashioned way.”

  “Okay, that’s why you have so many hot dates.”

  “Keeping track?”

  “Whatever.” I rolled my eyes, my cheeks flushing.

  “So how’s the acting going?”

  “What acting?”

  “You’re not auditioning for anymore roles? I thought you made a wonderful Juliet.”

  “That was in high school, Nolan.” I refused to let him embarrass me. “I’ve moved on since then.”

  “You seemed to really put your all into it back then.”

  “Okay…” My voice trailed off. I wasn’t going to rise to the bait.

  “So did you hear back from Lucas?” he asked innocently.

  “Nope,” I said with a small sigh. Maybe my letter was too forward.

  “Yeah, maybe asking him if he’d just moved back into town was asking a lot. If he’s never told you who he was before, he might want to go a bit slow.”

  “Yeah, perhaps,” I said, not sure what to think.

  “By the way, if you’re ever in need of any help practicing for your dates… kissing, flirting, making love, that sort of thing, just let me know.”

  “Goodbye, Nolan,” I said coldly and hung up to the sound of him laughing.

  * * *

  “So, are you ready for all the hot eligible men of Canyon Beach to come knocking on your door?” Betsy asked me as I placed a bowl full of spaghetti Bolognese in front of her. It was one of my signature dishes because it was easy and fast to make.

  “Yeah, I’m so ready.” I made a face at her as I turned around to grab the bowl of salad and homemade garlic bread from the counter to bring back to the table. “I’m sure they are all anxious to knock on my door.”

  “Come and knock on our door…” Betsy started singing a vaguely familiar tune.

  “What’s that song again?” I asked her before sitting down and taking a sip of the red wine that Betsy had brought and poured into two wineglasses.

  “It’s from Three’s Company.” She gave me an indulgent smile. “An old TV show.”

  “Oh yeah, yeah, I know it,” I said because the name sounded familiar, even if I couldn’t actually recall any of the actors that starred in it.

  “So, tonight we’re going to start swiping?” She grinned. “I’m so excited.”

  “Ugh, I’m so not excited,” I said and then gave her a poignant look. “You also better not swipe on any duds for me. I’m not going to be happy going on crappy dates with crappy guys.”

  “Jules, half the guys are crappy.” She just grinned. “So you can’t avoid that. However, I can guarantee you that I’m only going to swipe on men that I think will be interesting in some way or if they’re superhot.”

  “I don’t care about superhot.”

  “But you do need interesting…” she said, and I nodded.

  “Yes, I need interesting. These articles have to be really good.” I nibbled on my lower lip. “I heard that there’s a board meeting for the paper tomorrow. I think Malcolm is really nervous. He’s supposedly been going through the advertising numbers and we’re down thirty percent from last year.” I stifled a sigh. “I’ve a bad feeling about the longevity of the newspaper.”

  “You guys have a digital site now, right? So that has to be helping?”

  “Yeah, a little bit. Though all of us reporters have really been only focusing on the print side.” I felt slightly guilty. “But I think Malcolm wants this series to be on the website.”

  “Are you okay with that?” Betsy asked softly as she knew that I had always felt like being a print journalist meant so much more than just writing for a dot com.

  “You know what?” I said with a small smile. “I guess I am. I mean I don’t really want to write this article, or series of articles. I don’t want to go on these dates, but I guess it is a way to connect with readers in some way.” I made a face. “Ugh, I mean I don’t know that this was what I ever wanted to write, but if it’s going to help the paper, I guess I’ll do what I have to do.”

  “You’re a good person, you know that?” Betsy gave me a wide smile. “And this is absolutely delicious,” she said as she mouthed down a forkful of spaghetti. “How is it so yummy?”

  “How are you such a good friend?” I laughed. She always complimented my food, even though she was definitely the top chef between us.

  “Just remember that when I’m swiping for you.” She grabbed a slice of the garlic bread. “Do not question my decisions.”

  “Betsy, you’re making me nervous.” My eyes narrowed at her. “Maybe I’m crazy for letting you swipe on one of the apps for me.”

  “You can’t take it back now.” She laughed. “No way, Jose. It wouldn’t be fair.”

  “Um, they’re my dates.”

  “And they’re my ears that will be listening to all date stories to come.” She grinned. “Plus, I’m excited to see if I recognize anyone.”

  “We’ll recognize most people,” I said with a groan. The problem with living in a small town your whole life is that everyone knows everyone.

  “True, but there are a lot of new people in town nowadays and maybe you’ll get responses from guys from out of the area.”

  “Yeah, and I can count them all on one hand.”

  “No, you can’t.” Betsy shook her head. “We don’t really go out and mingle but Jeff was telling me that the mayor was a little concerned at the high number of people that have moved to Canyon Beach in the last two years.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s scared crime will go up or something.” She shrugged. “But I haven’t noticed any new crimes or anything.”

  “Yeah me either.” I was silent for a few seconds as I munched on some garlic bread. “So what’s going on with you and Jeff then?”

  “What do you mean?” Betsy’s eyes widened innocently, but I could see a soft flush in her cheeks.

  “Do you like him?”

  “No,” she answered quickly as she looked away. “He’s just Nolan’s best friend so I see him every now and then and at the store for coffees and stuff.”

  “Okay,” I dragged the word out with a smile. “And stuff, huh?”

  “Jules, what are you implying?”

  “Me?” I pointed my fingers at myself. “Me? Implying anything?” I grinned at her. “Would I do such a thing? If you, my very best friend in the world, says that there’s nothing going on with Jefferson Evian, then of course, I believe you.”

  “Jules.” She groaned. “You suck.”

  “Why do I suck?”

  “Yes, there’s been a little flirtation between us,” she said as she moaned. “But I don’t really know i
f he’s interested, and if he is, I don’t know if it would be a good idea for us to date.”

  “Why?” I blinked, forgetting how much I couldn’t stand him for a second.

  “Because he’s Nolan’s best friend,” she said. “And he’s always been a player, and he’s always said he never wants to get married.”

  “He has?”

  “When he was in high school and college, he always said the last thing he would ever want was to be married or to have kids.”

  “He’s older now. I’m sure he’s changed his mind.”

  “He dates all the time.” She made a face. “I know that. Sometimes he brings women in for cupcakes.”

  “Oh,” I said. “Yeah, forget him. He’s an asshole. You can do better than that.”

  “Thanks, Jules,” she said with a sad sort of sigh. “Maybe I’ll try online dating after I learn from your tips.”

  “My tips?” I said and then groaned. “Oh shit, I already forgot what this article was meant to be about. That’s it, I really have to focus.” I jumped up and ran to the living room, grabbed my bag and headed back to the kitchen. I gave Betsy my phone and took out a pen and my legal pad to start making notes.

  “Okay, you start swiping on Tinder and I’m going to start making some notes for some ideas.” I wrote Dating Tips on the top of the pad. “Malcolm said he wants the first article up next week, so that means I need to go on a date sometime this week.” I rubbed my forehead. “I’m so not ready for this.” I groaned, but Betsy just stared at me with a huge smile.

  “I’m so ready,” she said. “I’m so so ready.”

  8

  “Heathcliff, slow down.” I gasped as I watched my dog leaping through the sand ahead of me. I pulled on his leash but that had the opposite effect of what I’d been hoping for. He started running faster and I could feel my legs starting to buckle out from under me as I struggled to keep up. “Heathcliff, stop,” I screeched finally getting his attention. He stopped abruptly, and the suddenness was too much for my limbs and I went flying to the ground. “Heathcliff.” I groaned as he jumped into my lap and started licking my face as I sat up, sand all over my body. “Not cool, Heathcliff.” I glared at him, but he just continued licking my face.

  “Wow, you found true love fast.” I heard Nolan’s voice behind me and I stifled a groan. Of course, he would witness my failure at exercise.

  “Better than being with someone like you,” I said as I turned around and my heart immediately froze as I saw him standing next to some beautiful blonde that was wearing only a bikini. What the hell?

  “You okay?” Nolan grinned down at me as he offered me his hand to get back up.

  “I’m fine,” I said as I ignored his hand and tried to jump back up. “Heathcliff was just being crazy.” I stood up and pulled on Heathcliff’s leash to bring him closer to me as he had just recognized Nolan and was starting to get excited.

  “Heathcliff is her crazy dog,” Nolan said to the hot blonde next to him and I wondered exactly how they knew each other. “Ellen, this is Julia, Julia this is Ellen, she just got done playing a beach volleyball match.”

  “Oh, okay, cool, hi,” I said, sounding more awkward than I had ever sounded before in my life.

  “Hi, Julia, cute dog,” Ellen said with one of those dazzling smiles that made her look even more beautiful but didn’t really reach her eyes. She looked me over and I could see from the look in her eyes, she wasn’t impressed or worried about me being any sort of competition. “Are we going to go back to my place before dinner, babe?” Ellen looked up at Nolan. “I’m getting a bit cold.”

  “Sure,” Nolan said easily and I could feel my brain going into overdrive. Was Nolan dating Julia? How was that possible? Hadn’t he said he wasn’t dating and that he was concentrating on work?

  “What are you up to tonight, Jules?” Nolan asked me with an easy smile that made me want to smack him. He knew I had no plans.

  “Going to see if I have any connections, start getting my dates lined up.”

  “Dates?” Ellen looked at me curiously. “Oh?”

  “Jules just joined some online dating sites.”

  “Oh.” Ellen gave me a dismissive look. “I never use dating sites, I find that only los… I mean, those that find it hard to meet men resort to dating sites.”

  “We all can’t go running around in our bikini’s all day trying to impress men,” I said before I could stop myself.

  “Jules.” Nolan shook his head at me, but I could see his eyes sparkling. He was loving this. Asshole!

  “Nolan, I’m getting hungry. Can we stop at your sister’s bakery before you go to the post office?”

  “Sure.” He nodded and I watched as they smiled at each other for a few seconds before I realized I was going to puke if I had to watch them much longer.

  “Anyway, I have to go. See ya.” I grabbed Heathcliff’s leash and pulled it and started running again. Heathcliff was more than happy to get going and once again he was sprinting down the beach. I huffed and puffed as I attempted to keep up with him, but I didn’t try to slow him down this time. I needed to be winded in order to stop thinking about Nolan and bitchy-ass Ellen. I wanted to call Betsy to find out what she knew about Ellen, but I didn’t want her to think I was interested. The last thing I needed was another complication with Nolan.

  * * *

  I had received five messages from different guys on Tinder. Two of them asked me if I wanted to meet up at a bar that night and hook up. Another one asked me if I was interested in a polyamorous relationship and I just rolled my eyes. The other two guys seemed cool though. The first one’s name was Harry, he had dark hair and I couldn’t tell what color eyes he had. His message stated that he liked Clint Eastwood movies and kayaking. The second guy said his name was JR and that he was originally from Texas. He looked really tall and built in his photos. He looked like a surfer dude, with light blond hair and big blue eyes. He stated that he loved the water and had just recently moved to Canyon Beach.

  I was very happy to note that I’d never met either of these guys before. I decided to check out my Bumble messages next before I responded to either of the guys. I had matched with twenty guys on Bumble and sent them all a standard, “Hey, how’s it going” first message as women had to message first on Bumble. I had six responses to my messages. Three just responded with “hi,” but the other three had sent me long messages in response and they seemed really interested in getting to know me. The first guy was “Calvin,” he was from Atlanta originally, had been in the Army and now worked as an engineer. He reminded me of a younger-looking Denzel Washington and I had to stop myself from putting that in my response. I was sure he had heard that a million times.

  The next guy was called, “Stuart,” and while he seemed friendly in his message, I just couldn’t get past the fact that he stated he loved Pokémon. I mean, I wasn’t the most mature of women, but I just wasn’t on board with dating a guy that was into Pokémon.

  The last guy was Jose, and he was the most handsome of all the men that had messaged me so far. In fact, he was so handsome, that I was shocked he had matched with me. He didn’t look super tall, but he had jet-black hair, big deep brown eyes, a dark bronze complexion and a wide grin that showed off his perfect white teeth and luscious pink lips. He hadn’t said anything about himself other than the fact that he was from Central America and was into cooking. I wondered if he knew how to make empanadas. They were one of my favorite foods, but I wasn’t about to ask him that right away.

  “What’s cooking, good-looking?” Stella answered the phone in her singsong voice and I laughed.

  “Okay, two things. I have some hot guys who have messaged me, how do I respond letting them know I want a date without sounding desperate?”

  “And?”

  “And I saw Nolan on a date with some fake blonde ho.”

  “A professional ho?”

  “No.” I laughed. “I’m just being a hater. She was some gorgeous model type, and she was
in her bikini with her awesome Sports Illustrated body and she was going to dinner with Nolan and she was just so fake and plastic.”

  “You seem to know her well.”

  “As well as you can know someone in one minute.” I giggled.

  “You so love him.”

  “No, I don’t,” I protested. “I love Jose.”

  “Who?” Stella sounded confused.

  “Jose, one of my potential dates from Bumble.”

  “He won’t be a date if he thinks you love him already. I don’t know everything about guys but I know the L word too soon is a relationship killer.”

  “Ha ha, I love you, Stella.”

  “I love you too. First things first, be straight up, say something like, I think you seem cool and I prefer to meet in person as soon as possible so as not to waste time, what do you think? And most guys will be happy with that. Second thing, if you like Nolan, you should let him know.”

  “I don’t like him,” I said quickly. “It was just awkward.”

  “Me thinks you have never forgotten that first kiss.”

  “Trust me, I have,” I lied. “I can’t even remember what it was like.”

  “Uh-huh, so tell me more about Jose and these other guys.”

  “Oh, there was one guy that asked if I was into polyamorous relationships, like yeah right, no thanks.”

  “Wait,” Stella said. “I think you should meet him.”

  “What?” I shouted into the phone. “Are you joking?”

  “No, hear me out. Think about it. This is for your articles, right? Readers want to know about all sorts of crazy and different dates. Remember, you’re not going on dates just for you, you’re going on dates to inform readers of dating tips. There might be readers out there that are interested in open relationships.”

  “Ugh, why would anyone want to be in an open relationship?”

  “I don’t know, but that’s the sort of information that you will be able to gather on your date, right?”

  “You’re right.” I sighed. “I will message him back.”

  “Good. I can’t wait to read all about it.”