Page 32 of Read Between The Lines

Funnily enough, I did feel better knowing that the two of them were looking out for me as I walked down the road towards the bar’s entrance.

The man with the iPad barely bothered to glance up at me as he launched into his spiel. ‘Welcome to the Single Mingle by SO Ox. I’m Dom, and I’m your host for this evening. Are you on the list?’

‘Yes, I should be,’ I answered, deliberately not giving my name to see what would happen.

‘Head straight in. Guests are gathering in the bar until the official start of the Single Mingle, which will take place on the mezzanine level. I’ll explain what the deal is once everyone has arrived.’

I waited until I was safely across the threshold before turning round. ‘Don’t you need my name?’

He shrugged, his gaze moving past me and lingering on a pair of girls giggling by the entrance to the ladies’ toilets. ‘Yeah, I guess so.’

‘It’s Katherine. Kat for short.’

‘Have a good evening, Katherine,’ he replied, with little feeling behind the words.

I didn’t provide a surname and yet he still let me in. So much for the ‘exclusive event with a carefully curated crowd’. I could have been any random punter wandering off the street to try my chances. Maybe Leo did have a point about being on my guard tonight.

There was a low hubbub of chatter as I walked up to the bar, trying to take in my surroundings without appearing like I was paying an unnatural amount of attention. Unfortunately, my veneer of bravery was already threatening to give way. The room was giving me serious flashbacks to the junior disco at school when the boys would all huddle together in one corner of the gym, beadily watched by the gaggle of girls at the other end of the room. Hopefully, the similarities would end there. I had enough on my plate without everyone gathering round to laugh at my name and accuse me of being a boring geek.

I caught Leo’s eye, grateful for one familiar face at least, and automatically gave him a slight nod. He frowned in response and subtly shook his head, warning me that I needed to up my undercover game. I turned my back on him and pretended to be checking out all the bottles behind the bar, realising that the mirrored backs of the shelves would enable me to continue watching the other guests arriving. Maybe I wasn’t going to be so bad at this surveillance thing after all.

At the moment, the women outnumbered the men by a ratio of about two to one. As it had been billed as a night for straight people, unless there was a sudden influx of men in the next five minutes, there were going to be long periods where many of us women would find ourselves dateless. I forced myself to look on the bright side. That could give me the perfect opportunity to have a chat with the other female members of the app and see if anybody else had interacted with the Brian James profile or had a similar experience to me. Leo on the other hand was going to be occupied all evening with dates. I wondered how he was going to react to that.

Unlike many of the other blokes, who were either subconsciously or deliberately preening themselves, Leo was standing a little apart, apparently completely unaware of the admiring glances he was attracting from the girls in their chosen corner, as he casually sipped at his beer. He gave off an aura of confidence, a man who was clearly comfortable with himself and his effect on others. Was he enjoying the fact that half a dozen females were unashamedly mentally undressing him? I felt suddenly protective, like I should go and stand between him and the hungry gazes of the other women.

‘Can I get you a drink?’ The guy behind the bar interrupted my thoughts.

‘Um, I guess so. What have you got?’

He gestured at the menu. ‘Pretty much everything you’d expect, and then some. That mirror comes in handy, doesn’t it?’ he said, nodding at the reflections I’d been staring at. ‘Seen anyone who takes your eye?’

‘I’m not…’ I started to say, flustered that I’d been so easily rumbled. ‘Maybe,’ I corrected. ‘Though it’s impossible to tell until you speak to someone, don’t you think?’

The barman shrugged, unwilling to be drawn into a deeper conversation about the laws of attraction. ‘What did you want to drink?’

‘I’ll have a gin and tonic, thanks,’ I said.

‘Ice?’

‘Yes, please.’

‘This might take a second. I need to replace the gin bottle. It seems to be pretty popular tonight with all the ladies in.’

‘Are there normally so many women at the Single Mingle?’ I asked, seizing on the opportunity. ‘I noticed on the app that this place hosts quite a few of the events run by SO Ox.’

‘Men, women, I don’t really pay much attention. All I notice is how many people are queueing up for drinks and how much I make in tips over the course of the night.’

I tried what I hoped was a disarming smile. ‘I’m sure there’s not a lot that goes on in here without you noticing.’

‘You wouldn’t believe the half of it.’

But whatever it was that he’d observed, he seemed reluctant to share. He started slicing a lemon, humming to himself. Time to try a different approach.

I sighed heavily. ‘I think I made a mistake coming to this. Maybe I should cancel my drink.’

‘It’s nearly ready. You might as well stay and enjoy it. Sure, there are more girls here than guys, but it’ll be a good night, trust me. Dom’s great at what he does.’

‘Does he organise all the events?’ I asked.

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