Page 24 of A Lot to Unpack
‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ he says, slumping back in his seat a little. ‘Carry on.’
I open my mouth, to carry on, but that’s when I notice her, the woman at the bar, looking around like she’s trying to find someone – and she’s wearing a red scarf.
I look at Woody through narrowed eyes.
‘Woody, do you have another date?’ I ask him.
‘What? No!’ he insists.
‘Then why have you covered up your shirt, and why is there a woman over there, in a red scarf, clearly looking for someone?’
‘All right, okay, yes, fine, I did schedule in another,’ he confesses quietly. ‘I thought, if this one didn’t go well, I may as well line up another.’
Oh, and there it is again, my ick alarm. I can’t ignore it again.
‘And if this one was going well?’ I ask.
‘Then I put on my coat, keep my head down, and wait for her to leave,’ he replies. ‘To be honest, I’d assumed with you being on the apps that we would have gone straight from the bar to my place. Anyway, it’s a compliment, that I’m ditching her, to stay with you. I’m actually having a really nice night, and I think you are too.’
‘It wasn’t too bad, until I realised you’d lined up three dates for one evening, I watched you hide from one inside your coat, and I’m trying not to overthink what you just said about us going back to yours, but it’s pretty safe to say that’s not going to happen,’ I tell him.
Woody frowns.
‘Has she gone?’ he asks me.
‘What, your third date?’ I check.
He nods his head.
‘Yeah, she left, while you were hiding,’ I tell him.
Honestly, this man. I can tell by his body language that he wants to go after her, now that he knows nothing is going to happen here.
‘You want to go, don’t you?’ I ask, but I already know the answer.
He nods again.
‘Go,’ I tell him. ‘I need to go to bed anyway.’
Woody doesn’t need telling twice, he’s off like a shot. At least he paid for our drinks at the bar this time.
Unbelievable. I get it, the man doesn’t like to waste time, but three dates in one night? Wow. I know there aren’t that many single people here but, even so, you could at least take a breath in between dates.
That’s it for me, back to Gran and Grandad’s, to get some sleep. I’ll be up early to head back to London, to get ready for my trip, and then Canada it is. If there is one thing Woody has taught me about men tonight – by having me think about dealbreakers, things I do and don’t want from a man – it’s this: there is nothing more attractive than a man who lives far enough away that, when it’s time to go home, you can leave him thousands of miles away. For me, knowing Woody is in Yorkshire, where my grandparents live, he’ll always seem that little bit too close.
Canada here I come!
9
If I push any niggling questions to the back of my mind then it’s official, I love my job.
I mean, so far, my job description has pretty much been to go to a place and be a tourist and piss around on a dating app. What’s not to love about that?
I always thought dating apps would be really bleak – and maybe it would be, if I were actually using Matcher to find love – but I have to admit, it’s kind of fun, swiping around, seeing who is out there. It sort of reminds me of when I was a kid, and I would flick through the Argos catalogue and circle everything I wanted. Was I ever going to buy all of it? Of course not. Groovy Chick bedsheets, a Furby and a clown pendant necklace – yes. But the pages and pages of Game Boys, Laser Challenge sets, swings, slides and roundabouts – in my dreams. It’s like getting to try before you buy, but you’re not actually buying anything, so you’ve nothing to lose.
I’m here, in Canada, as instructed, waiting on a call from Paige to say if she needs me. If! I know Matcher is a huge company, but I cannot for the life of me figure out why she would need an assistant on standby. They say if something seems toogood to be true then it probably is – but why let that ruin a good trip, eh?
There is so much to love about Nova Scotia. I’ve been exploring for a couple of days now, seeing the sights, enjoying the local cuisine.
