...AND SHE FELL IN LOVE WITH A HOOKER

CHAPTER 2

*****

The idea of having to spend the entire evening with a stranger did not sound appealing to her in the least, knowing how she behaved around new people the first few times she met them. Some called her shy, but Rose preferred to think of it as being a bit guarded, wanting to get a glimpse of their personality and to see if they could be trusted before she allowed them to get closer. Besides, there’s no telling what nutcase Jenny might send to her door.

But something about what Jenny had said earlier made her hesitate. She had, after all, been single for quite some time. What did she gain from letting her youth waste away in her apartment all on her lonesome while dreaming of the day she met someone? She knew it wouldn’t happen without any effort on her part. People didn’t just bump into their soulmates in a sleepy autumn marketplace while buying fresh tomatoes or something equally ludicrous as they did in the silly romantic movies she liked to watch. Not that she was looking for something quite serious as a soulmate right now, but the point was still the same. And since she hadn’t gone to any marketplaces lately, looking to buy her tomatoes, her chances were slim either way.

‘’In a manner of speaking, yes. A blind date, ‘’Jenny nodded. ‘’Let’s just say I know people who know people, and I promise you won’t be disappointed.’’

Rose chewed her bottom lip in thought while contemplating Jenny’s cryptic words. Perhaps she could give this a try, if nothing else than for the off chance of her Crazy British friend doing something like this right for once.

Jenny moved her hand closer to Rose, still hovering between them, motioning for her to take the folded napkin. The sickeningly sweet smile on her animated face and the fluttering of her eyelashes had Rose, narrowing her eyes at her and snatching the lily from her outstretched hand, crumbling it between her fingers.

‘’I can’t believe I’m going along with this, but I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt here, Jenny. And if you mess this up or treat this as one of your jokes, I swear to every deity above that I will post you riding that mechanical bull in nothing but a pair of pants on every notice board in the office by Monday morning.

Jenny’s eyes widened.

‘’Oh, yeah, you know what picture I’m talking about..’’ Rose trailed off, lowering her voice threateningly. ‘’Now, get this right, or I’ll get you. Are we clear?’’ She finished, reaching forward and opening her palm to offer the crumbled napkin back to her friend.

‘’Absolutely, ma’am’’, Jenny sighed dejectedly and grabbed the balled up wad of paper, looking like someone had told her there wouldn’t be a Christmas this year.

Good. Now, we better get to work, or Mr Baster will think we’ve gotten lost in the basement archives again.

Rose rose from her seat, not looking back to see if Jenny was following, wordlessly letting it be known that she didn’t expect to pay for this round. Coffee could damn well be on jenny today.

Rose just hoped she didn’t ruin her night tomorrow by setting her up with someone she wouldn’t at least be able to carry on a polite conversation with. That was all she was asking for, and anything more than that would be a bonus.

As she exited the door, jingling the little bell on the door frame above her head, Rose sent up a silent prayer for there to be bonuses.

*******

Rose’s brow was scrunched up in annoyance as she stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirrored sliding doors of the wardrobe inside her bedroom, her toes scrunched up into the thick carpet underneath her feet.

Huffing loudly, she shifted between holding her left and then her right hand on her chest, each hand holding a pair of heels. She’d been going back and forth for a few minutes now, not coming any closer to deciding which heel went better with her outfit. There was a black one and another shimmering gold with tiny silver dots around the edges. She did not know which to pick to match her beautiful midnight black gown with its tiny gold linings along the weave.

To be honest, though, it wasn’t really the state of her outfit that had her fidgeting. She knew she was nervous about tonight’s blind date, and she rued the day when she’d agreed to let Jenny put her through this…. Which had been yesterday, but that was beside the point.

Knowing Jenny, there could quite literally be a clown showing at her door to pick her up. Or a stripper dressed as a cowboy, or worse! A chimpanzee with a bow tie.

She wouldn’t put anything past Jenny, but she hoped her threat yesterday had starved off the worst of those options. Rose just couldn’t decide which one that would be. Perhaps a chimp would provide rather good company.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she narrowed her eyes at the ties once again. But before she could throw the tantrum she felt was beginning to brew and throw the two heels against the wall in frustration, the sudden ring of the doorbell made her jump.

The initial surprise had her heart beating fast in shock, which quickly transitioned into a wilder beat when it clicked in Rose’s mind that her date for the night was standing at her door. She glanced at the clock beside her bed, and sure enough, it was nearing 7 PM, which was perfect timing, considering the event started at 8 and there was bound to be traffic.

Taking a deep breath, she gave herself one last determined look in the mirror before leaving her bedroom.

She shuffled out into the hallway, silent on her feet, and crept up to look through the little hole. Spying the back of a blond head of hair, she gulped nervously before stepping back to unlock the door. Her heart was still beating wildly in her chest, and she breathed in deeply through her nose before turning the door handle. Swinging it open carefully, she peeked out in the hallway.

‘’Hello?’’ she asked, more tentatively than she would have liked. She sounded almost scared, and wasn’t that a great first impression?

The man in front of her spun around on his heel, and Rose froze halfway into his hesitant smile. He - he wasn’t actually bad looking, kind of hot, in fact.

Deep green eyes framed by stylish, dark- framed glasses and a confident smirk greeted her eyes. Rose trailed her gaze down to broad shoulders covered by a black blazer over a maroon shirt, but she didn’t get any further before a deep chuckle broke her stare. Rose, blushing self-consciously, lifted her eyes quickly to meet a warm gaze, now sparkling with mirth.

‘’Rose?’’ the man asked, quirking an eyebrow.