Page 7 of Jake

Okay, maybe she was just nervous at first. This was the makings of a conversation. “I work in tech, you?”

“Oh, I don’t work.” She gave a practiced flirty giggle; he’d heard it too many times before to not recognize it for what it was.

He opted not to reply. This was exactly the type of woman he was trying to avoid, and he was going to figure out who sent him on this date and pay them back in kind.

“Where do you live?” The woman’s quiet voice came out of nowhere.

“Near the tech district, you?” She was fishing, and he knew it was to see if he made enough money.

“I live near the finance district. My daddy is a CEO,” she said proudly.

The server was approaching, white light with him via glowing plates and cups on a tray. “Your food, ma’am,” he said as he set the plate in front of the woman.

He did the same with her drink and then placed Jake’s food down. The plates gave a soft glow, the clear glass illuminated by a light underneath. He had an urge to scrape the food away and investigate the place settings.

“When you are finished with your meals, please press the green light and I will come around. Enjoy.”

The woman was already eating, the sound of her fork on the glass and chewing was loud enough. Jake attempted his own salad, distracted by the fact that this woman must be chewing with her mouth wide open.

He hadn’t been allowed to bring his phone in, but he really wished some work emergency would come up right about now. The more her sat and listened to her chew, the less he wanted his own food, or to be here.

“So, J, what are you doing after this?” she asked, her mouth definitely full of food.

J was his name. The only information you got about your date was a first initial. Hers was B, and he wasn’t interested in finding out what it stood for.

“I have to get back to work, very busy tonight.” He set himself up for a quick exit from this disaster of a date.

“What a shame. I’d love to see your place.” Her voice was sultry, and it was doing nothing for him.

In a panic, he pressed the green light at the end of the table. “I really should be getting back now.”

“We can try again if you like, or just exchange numbers now for later.” The last bit was likely said with a wink and he shuddered.

“Can I help you?” the server arrived.

“I need to go,” he told the server.

“Let me give you my number.” She reached over the table and he felt her hand make contact with his.

Drawing back quickly, he slid out of the booth and stood. “No thank you,” he told her as the server placed his hand on his shoulder.

“Follow me, sir.”

Jake choked on a laugh. What else was he going to do? They made it to the first curtain and Jake took a deep breath as the server removed his hand.

“I will mark this date down as a no, if you’d like?” he offered.

“Yes, please.” Jake had never run from a date before. This was all a bad idea.

“If there’s nothing else, you may proceed through the curtains in front of you.”

Jake nodded and left the small area, immediately blinking several times. It was far from bright in the waiting area, but coming out of darkness took some adjustments. Rick was no longer waiting, and he hoped Rick’s date had gone better than his.

Once he felt his eyes were adjusted, he stepped out into the street and gave the valet his ticket. He was going to hunt down his friends and find out who set him up on this date, and then he’d let them all know he wasn’t doing these again.

His car came around and he tipped the valet before shutting the door. It would take him about twenty minutes to reach Evan’s place where the weekly poker game was tonight, if he didn’t hit traffic.

It only took fifteen and he should have gotten a ticket. He slammed the car into park in the parking garage and stormed to the building. The doorman knew him and greeted him with a smile as he entered.

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