Page 9 of Scoring Truth
But I take another look. This girl? If her bio is real, she’s exactly what I picture for myself.
What did I get myself into?
7
Penelope
My girls showed up at the local bar instantly after I texted them.
Me: SOS. Another abandoned ship
Mia: Meet at RedZone
Suzanne: OMW
Taylor: What a dick! What’s his name? I’ll find him and set his car on fire.
I laugh at Taylor’s response, expecting nothing less from her. She’s fiercely loyal but also loves to drop bombs every chance she gets.
“P! What the fuck?”
My eyes widen, as do the other patrons withinearshot, when Taylor comes running into the bar, with Mia and Suzanne hot on her trail.
“Shh!” I shush her but laugh as she waves her hand around and dismisses everyone else. She’s gorgeous, tall, and has curves for days. Her outward appearance excuses her rotten mouth, but her heart is gold, and that also lets her get away with murder.
Mia grabs the stool next to me, and the other two circle around us. Passing them each a shot I’ve already ordered, we tap glasses, repeat “life sentence,” which is our way of saying best friends forever, then shoot the lemon drop down with ease. Slamming the empties back on the bar, they each make a grab for a beer and settle in to hear my tale of woe.
“It was the usual. He saw me trip through the door with my hair in my face, and when I looked up, he was running for the back door,” I huff and slump against the bar. “Why are looks and actions the first thing people base you off of?”
Mia laughs. “You’re really asking that? You know how these men look first, then they talk. Problem is, the talking gets you a wife, the looks only get you a night.”
“I’d settle for just a night at this point.” An alert goes off on my phone, and I grab it to see an email notification. “That’s weird.”
“What?”
“This email I just received. The subject says, ‘Rent-a-Date’ and it’s from a strange email address I don’t know.” I throw my phone back on the counter. “I get more and more spam every day.”
Noticing the girls glancing at each other, I question them. “What’s with the eyes?”
“Rent-a-Date, huh? Open the email, and see what it says.”
“It’s junk mail. You know if you scroll past something, it magically ends up in your inbox.”
They fall silent, but Taylor grabs my phone and hands it to me. “Girl. Open it. We did something for you.”
“What do you mean, you did something for me?”
“Well, you need to find a good man. You’re an amazing woman, and I think if you could start off talking, you’d build the connection first. You know, warn them you’re a walking disaster!”
She laughs, no doubt trying to break the tension, but I don’t find this funny. “You signed me up for a dating service?”
“More like we pimped you out,” Mia replies nonchalantly.
“What? Mia! What are you guys talking about?”
“Okay, listen. It’s called ‘Rent-a-Date’ and it’s a site for people looking for dates for the holiday. Maybe it’s a Christmas party or a New Year's bash. It’s a legit site, but there are options for each date. We thought this was a safe way for you to meet someone.”
I shake my phone at them. “And this is my first date? What if he’s crazy? Or a killer? When I end up on the nightly news, it’s going to be all your fault!”
