Page 33 of Perfect Chemistry

“Yeah, yeah. I’d be honored! Just tell me when and where, and I will be there for you!” I chuckled, truly happy for him.

I had only met Amy a handful of times, but she was a great match for him. They balanced each other out and they were happy together.

I needed to get my shit together. I hadn’t dated since. Well, it had been a while. There were a couple of women who I had asked out, but nothing really continued beyond the first couple of dates. There was no chemistry.

“So Alex is hosting a party. He said something about having big news, and invited the whole damn class for an impromptu reunion this weekend. Would you be interested in going?” Bradley asked.

I laughed, “Are you asking me out on a date?”

This time Bradley laughed. “No, Amy is asking for a double date, so you won’t be this awkward third wheel when we go.”

“Shit-” I exhaled like he had punched me in the gut.

“Sorry,” he muttered into the phone.

I smiled realizing what was going on, “She’s listening to this whole conversation isn’t she?”

“Yep,” he said, popping the P.

“Yeah, I’ll take the plus one. But, I am begging you. Please. No more fucking crazy bitches. I know Amy is super chill, so can she please stop trying to hook me up with super high maintenance women?” I whined into the phone.

I heard a gasp in the background, “That was ONE time! Can’t he let that go already?” Amy was hollering.

Before I could say anything Bradley called her out. “One? You really want to stick to that? What about the Blonde Barbie? She was literally branded with LV. Then there was the Roller Derby Queen. She needed constant contact. And not just with Kai, she couldn’t keep her hands off of you!”

I listened as Amy tried to explain some of the quirks of the women she had attempted to set me up with, but Bradley kept going. “Then there was pre-law Laurie. Thank god, Kai had Lacy and Val with him, or she would have been another psycho with a restraining order for his repertoire. Why don’t we let Kai find his own date at the party,” he concluded.

I felt like I should be in counseling after hearing the horror stories of the women that Amy had introduced me to over the past seven months. Don’t get me wrong, they were all really good looking. They were just equal parts crazy to the hotness, and it was a huge turn off.

I decided to interrupt their bickering. “Alex already called to invite me. I will see you guys there. Bye!” I hung up before I could hear any more details about my sorry dating life. I sat back down with my laptop and ran another check on my paper before submitting it to my professor.

Alex’s farm was packed as usual. It was great seeing a lot of the folks from school who had traveled back to town for the holidays. I ran into a couple of the guys from the baseball team and we talked about the upcoming professional season. There were only a couple of us still playing. The biggest surprise was Taylor.

He had gotten a full ride to a school in North Carolina, and there was talk that recruiters from New York were looking to pull him to the majors. It didn’t surprise me. He had an arm like no one I had ever met. The guy was just naturally gifted when it came to the game.

Alex had pulled out all the stops. There were tables set up around the barn, people sitting on hay bales while servers mingled through with trays of food, asking everyone to sample this and that. The food was great, but I didn’t understand what this was all leading up to.

Finally, Alex called everyone’s attention. “Thank you everyone for agreeing to come and celebrate with us. Unfortunately, this will be the last party like this in the barn.”

There was a quiet murmur of whispers as we tried to figure out what was going on. “Is your family selling the farm?” one of the guys asked from the other side of the barn.

Alex looked over at his family, who nodded to him in support. “They have sold it,” he said.

Before the whispers could get any louder, Alex continued, “to me. I bought the whole place. I wanted you to be the first to sample the new menu for Alex’s. The first totally green restaurant in the state will be right here.”

“Shit. Congratulations!”

“Congrats!”

“That’s so awesome!”

“Oh, man! You’re really doing it? Congrats!”

Alex had not only bought the family farm, but was converting it into a destination restaurant. The Barn would become a carbon neutral fine dining experience. They had already converted the main house and outbuildings to solar and wind power, and the food circling the guests was the tasting menu.

There were plans to source their own produce and only purchase meat from local farms also moving toward green initiatives. It was crazy how much work he had done in the short amount of time since high school. Alex was 21, and already looking to start his own business.

“Damn. Congratulations, man,” I patted him on the back as he made his rounds around the barn.

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