Page 1 of Stood Up
Chapter 1
Aiden
What the hellam I doing?
Nerves settle deep in my gut, and my hands give a slight tremble. Pushing down the form-fitting navy blue dress with a wraparound middle does nothing to comfort me. If anything, it makes me even more on edge when the fabric sticks to my hands from the dampness that is out of my control.
Standing by my car, I suck in the cool night air allowing it to invade me, calm me, or at least attempt to.
My cell rings in my purse and without looking I know who it is because of the ringtone.What about Your Friendsblares, and I quickly reach in then swipe the screen to get it to shut up as I peer around at the people in the parking lot.
Leave it to me to not turn my ringer off when I’m at a fancy restaurant with people dressed to the nines. Another reason I shouldn’t be here. I dress nice, but some of the diamonds glittering off the women are unnerving. Even for my work clientel this place is considered fancy.
“What?” I hiss knowing exactly why she’s calling me and getting teased or made fun of isn’t top on my priority list.
Lila laughs. If she were next to me, I’d smack her, then probably smack her again just for the sheer fun of it. It wouldn’t take long before she’d return the favor, repeatedly. Being friends since the dawn of time will do that to a relationship. Our tiffs never last long though. We’re usually laughing by the end.
“Testy.” She tsks with a tone that tells me her lips are smiling. “You’re fine, Aiden. Enjoy it.”
“Enjoy it? I don’t know this man. You haven’t told me anything about him. What friend does that?”
The laughter leaves her voice. “Your best friend. I wouldn’t set you up with some psycho, Aiden. And neither would Brad.” Brad is Lila’s husband, who works at Excel, a high-end marketing company and the reason I’m here, standing in a well-lit parking lot about to meet my blind date, Drake Hamilton. Brad works with Drake, and either Lila or Brad thought we’d make a good match. She still has yet to give me the why to that assumption.
“And, girly, I told you what I know about him.”
“Yeah, and I got more out of the Google search.” Unfortunately, I didn’t have a ton of time so my searches were quick and in no way in depth giving me very little. While I give Lila a lot of shit, I know she’d never set up me to fail. That’s just not her personality. It’s just that blind dates aren’t for me. The not knowing, the anticipation, the well hell, everything is unnerving.
Lila’s laughter returns. “That’s my girl. He’s a good man and has a great job. What else is there to know?” If she were in front of me right now, she’d be shrugging like this is no big deal. Which if I’m being honest, in the grand scheme of life this isn’t a big deal. Expect, I don’t car for it. Sure, spending time with someone you don’t know will put most people on edge, but her nonchalance isn’t cool right at this moment. She’s lucky I love her so much.
The Excel company website, that I did check, had no picture of Mr. Drake Hamilton but stated that he is an advertising executive, who has worked with the company for more than five years. That was it. I’m rolling with it and taking Lila’s word on the good guy part, or is it Brad’s? Right now, I’m not so sure. It doesn’t really matter, because I’m here ready to do this. If nothing else than for my best friend to get off my ass for a while.
Sighing into the phone, “Lila, I’m going to be late.” Leave it to me to be late for a date. No, not going to happen.
“You’ve got this, Aiden. You deserve to be happy, and the only way to do that is to get out there. It may not be Drake you fall passionately in love with, but just have fun with it.”
Lila has my best interests at heart, always has. Ever since that dick Greg cheated on me, I haven’t been able to find my groove when it comes to men. I’ve gone on a few dates, but nothing has gone any further than that one night. I’ve tried, but every single one lacked the confidence to gain that trust. The air about them wasn’t right. A big thing was, they all reminded me of Greg. They were too complacent, too fixed on themselves, too lax. Every single quality that while I was with Greg, I found out I didn’t like.
I really only agreed to this date because my best friend wouldn’t shut up about it every time I talked to her. Few people on this planet I’d do anything for, but Lila is one of them, even if I made her work for it a bit. In the end, she won because she’s Lila.
She’s flat out told me she is worried about me. I love her for that, but she really has nothing to worry about. When or if the right man comes, it’ll happen for me. I’m not going to push something that isn’t there. No point in that. I’m just not actively searching, because, why. Why do I have to? Being single isn’t a bad thing one bit. I’ve learned more about myself in this time and know that I’m stronger than I may look. I know what I want and what I don’t. If anything, Greg cheating on me opened my eyes in a huge way.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that I’m happy he did, because that shit isn’t right. If he would’ve just manned up and said he wasn’t happy, we could have split amicably. What he did was just assholish, but I’m a better person for it. So it evens itself out in a way.
“Thanks, Lila.” My words are soft in the phone hoping that she can hear my thanks in them. She’s been my rock through every hardship in my life as I’ve been for her. While she found her happily ever after, I have yet to and that’s alright. I’m happy for her.
“Love you.”
“Love you.” Disconnecting the phone and putting it on silent, my eyes scan the parking lot noting the smiles on several people. Thankfully, no one’s paying much attention to me.
This is go time. Reaching up, I run my fingers through my dark brown hair. It’s been said to have an auburn tint to it at times, but it’s only when the sun reflects off it. I chose to wear it down, letting the waves cascade down my back. With makeup, I went for the smoky look around my hazel eyes allowing the green to pop out more than the blue, even with the dress. Everything else is natural, even the gloss of my lips is nude.
Entering the restaurant, I make my way to the very cheerful hostess who smiles broadly at me. Her hair is cut in a bob that accentuates her cheekbones. The silkiness of her blonde hair is something television commercials are designed for.
With my back straight and shoulders up, I state, “Reservations under Drake Hamilton.”
“Of course,” she replies, looking down at the book in front of her. Her finger traces down the paper ever so slowly then stops. “He hasn’t arrived yet, but I’ll be happy to seat you.”
He’s not here yet?You’ve got to be kidding me, and here I thought my phone call would make me late. I nod acknowledging her and follow the woman through the throngs of people. Uncertainty sets in because I feel eyes on me the entire walk from the other guests. Surely, they can’t be staring at me of all people. Shit, do I have toilet paper hanging off my dress? I turn to look, nothing. What about on my shoe? I look there, nothing. I filter my fingers through my long hair and note no tangles sticking straight up in the air. Strange.
