Page 23 of The Dating Pact

The exact one I’d met him on.

“All right, Cole, this has been…” I let out a derisive laugh and shook my head. “I’ve got to go.”

He spun on his stool toward me. “Really?”

“Yes, really.”

He downed the last of his drink and stood. “You mind giving me a ride? I got a DUI and can’t drive right now.”

I outright laughed in his face. “Yes, I absolutely do mind. You can hop right on your bike and peddle to wherever you’re going.”

He scoffed and sat down, muttering, “Not even that pretty.”

I waved to the bartender. “Drink’s on his tab.”

She winked at me, clearly having heard our exchange. “Got it.”

“Bitch,” Cole called out to my back, but I ignored it, even as my shoulders hiked up and my jaw clenched. My skin grew hot, scalding hot, and I scurried down to my car, pumping the AC. Whether it was a hot flash or residual anger from my date, I didn’t know. Either way, I needed to cool down.

Calm down.

I dialed Jude’s number, and he immediately picked up. “Hey, why?—”

“Since you don’t have the kids, can you meet me at Giant and then go to the farm?”

“Oh god,” he said, low and rough. “The date was that bad?”

“Yep.” I popped the P.

“All right. I’ll meet you, but you aren’t buying any baked goods. I already made brownies tonight.”

Jude was a fantastic baker, and I pumped my fist. I’d had a shitty date, but it wasn’t going to be a shitty night. Twenty minutes later, Jude and I ambled through the store, grabbing random things off the shelves.

“You’re saving me twice in one night,” I noted as we stopped in front of the chips.

He dropped a big bag of salt and vinegar into the cart. “I wouldn’t call grocery shopping and picking out clothes saving you.”

“It may not be to you, but it is to me. Thank you.”

He tossed his arm around my shoulders. “I’m sorry Carson was such an asshole.”

“Cole. But, yeah, he was an asshole. I can’t believe he didn’t even wait until after our date to find his next one.”

“It’s his loss. Not yours.”

I nuzzled my thanks against his chest before stepping out of his embrace as we turned the corner, heading for the other end of the store. I needed ice cream to go with the brownies. “So, Melissa…” I started, and when he shot me a frightened bunny look, I waved him off. “Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad.”

“It’s not bad. It’s…intimidating. She’s a decade younger than me, but she’s… She’s just… She…” He tunneled his fingers through his hair, and I patted his back.

“You’re short-circuiting.”

His full-body shake-off started at his head and rippled down like a dog, and I rolled my lips over my teeth to keep from laughing.

“You good?”

He nodded.

“Good.” I stayed quiet as we moved through the store, heading to the ice cream aisle. As I decided on a flavor, he finally explained, “I thought it would be a while until I found someone okay with only hooking up, so she took me by surprise. And even though we’ve only been talking tonight, she seems pretty awesome, which is throwing me for a loop. Like, it can’t be this easy, can it?”

---