Third Date (2 page)

“I’m working down here for a few days while they reconfigure the offices upstairs.” He goes around me and starts pulling stuff out of the freezer. “They just hired a bunch of new people and now they need to make room for them. You’ll get some new hires on this floor, too. And I think they’re moving marketing down here.” He shoves his boxed meal in the freezer. “Here, give me yours.”

I hand it to him. “Thanks.”

Chase seems like a nice guy. I’ve talked to him at a few of our company events. He’s 25, tall, blue eyes, with bright blond hair. One of those Minnesota Swedes.

Kayla saunters up to Chase, holding her coffee cup with both hands. “Morgan and I are going out to that new club on Hennepin tonight. Do you want to come?”

“Actually, I’m not going,” I tell Chase. “Kayla’s going.”

He rearranges the packed freezer, trying to fit my box in. “Sorry, but I’ve gotta work tonight. And tomorrow night. And this weekend.”

“That sucks.” She sips her coffee as her eyes wander over Chase’s body. He
does
have a good body. Broad shoulders. Narrow waist. Muscular. He must work out a lot.
 

“What’s with all the late hours?” I ask him.

“There’s just a lot of work to get done and my department is short-staffed.” He shuts the freezer door. “I need to get to a meeting. I’ll see you guys later.”

He takes off and Kayla and I head to our desks. We share a cubicle since we spend most of our time in the lab.

“I saw you checking out Chase just now.” I open my desk drawer and take a granola bar from the stash I keep in there.

“He’s cute but boring.” Kayla sets her coffee down and turns on her computer.
 

“You barely know him.”

“I know him.” She looks at me and grins. “Well, I don’t really
know
him, but I know the part of him that counts.”

“What does that—” I stop as I realize what she means. “You didn’t!”

“I did.” She leans back in her chair, smiling.

“When did this happen?”

“Last summer. After the employee picnic. I seduced him after he’d had too many beers.”

“I thought he had a girlfriend.”

“Did he?” She shrugs. “Well, if he did he didn’t act like it.”

“Maybe I’m thinking of someone else. So did you go out with him again?”

“No. Once was enough. Like I said, he’s boring. But he’s hot. You should see him without clothes. The boy’s in shape. And I have a thing for blonds. Plus his name is Chase. He practically begged me to come after him.”

“So how do you know he’s boring? Was he boring in. . . you know?” I don’t want to say it at work.

“In bed?” Kayla has no problem saying it. “No. Not at all. He was great, actually. But that says nothing about his personality.”

“You can’t just assume he’s boring. You should go out with him. He seems like a really nice guy.”

“He is, but I don’t want a nice guy. I want someone who’s complicated. A challenge. Someone who excites me.”

“
I’d
take a nice guy, but I can’t seem to find one. At least not the right one.”

“Because you sit at home all the time.” She spins her chair around to face me. “Let me set you up.”

“No. Absolutely not. Your taste in guys is not at all like mine. I don’t even want to think about the type of guys you’d set me up with.”

“I know your type.” She turns back to her computer. “Tall. Short hair. Clean shaven. Athletic. College grad. Likes sports, but not obsessed with them. Confident, but not an ass. Can fix stuff around the—”

I laugh. “Okay, so you know my type.”

“We’ve been friends for almost a year now and despite what you think, I
do
actually listen to you sometimes. Plus even if I didn’t know you, I could tell your type just by how you look.” I notice her staring at me as I grab a file from the drawer. “Dark brown hair that’s not colored and that you keep a few inches longer than shoulder length and straighten so that you blend in with every other woman with that hair style. You don’t wear much makeup because you prefer the natural, girl-next-door look. You always wear fake diamond stud earrings, never anything dangly or too flashy. You wear skirts that hit just above your knees or basic black dress pants. And you pair them with sweaters or blouses like my mother would wear. Oh, and you wear the same black heels every day. You really need to get some different shoes.”

I look down at myself. “I dress professionally. And there’s nothing wrong with my hair.”

“I didn’t say there was. I’m just saying that I know your type just by looking at you.”

“Fine. But you’re still not setting me up. Just because a guy looks a certain way doesn’t mean he’s my type. And you don’t know anything else about what I like in a guy.”

“Oh, please. I know your type better than you do.”
 

“I disagree.” I stand up and put my lab coat on.
 

Kayla does the same, then checks her phone. She grins, mischievously. “Jake from marketing. Interesting. I gave him my number at the holiday party but he never called. Now he’s asking me to dinner. Wonder what that’s about.”

“Tell him no. You’ve dated enough guys at work. How many is it again?”

“What difference does it make?” She slips her phone in the pocket of her lab coat. “And it’s only been six guys so stop judging me.”

“The company only has 200 employees. You’re going to get a reputation.”

“At least I can get a date. When was the last time you went on a date? College?”

“Yes, you already know that.”

“Yeah, junior year. That’s pathetic, Morgan. You can’t go that long without dating.”

“It’s not like I wanted to. I just can’t find the right guy.”

“At this point,
any
guy is the right guy. You just need a date.”

We go to the lab to find Paige already at work. Paige is 23 and also a food scientist.
 

“Hey guys,” she says in her usual cheerful tone. “I need help with this formulation.”

“I’m not awake yet,” Kayla snaps, going to her station. “Ask Morgan.”

“What’s her problem?” Paige asks.

“I don’t know. She’s probably mad because I won’t go to the club with her tonight and I won’t let her set me up.”

“I could go to the club with you,” Paige offers.

“No offense, Paige, but that ring on your finger scares off the guys.” Kayla points to the one-carat diamond and platinum ring perched on Paige’s finger. “Besides, don’t you have one of your couples’ cooking classes to go to?”

“Not tonight. But Michael did want to go see a movie.”

Kayla looks at her, annoyed. Kayla thinks marriage is for people who are too afraid to live. She says it’s for people who want to be tied down to another person because they fear the adventure that is being single. The fact that Paige got married at the age of 22 has always made Kayla think less of her.
 

But getting married young was exactly what Paige wanted. She’s had her life planned out since she was a little girl, and part of that plan involved meeting her dream man in college and getting married soon after graduation. And although that plan may not be right for Kayla, or other people our age, there’s nothing wrong with it.

Paige is also a bit of a perfectionist, another reason why she gets on Kayla’s nerves. She’s always at work early. Her long brown hair always looks perfect, falling in soft waves down her back. She always dresses in the latest fashions. And she has a husband with Prince Charming looks who works as a junior stockbroker and is well on his way to earning six figures before he turns 30.

“So why won’t you go out tonight?” Paige asks me.

“It’s supposed to snow. And it’s freezing cold.”

“It’s Minnesota. It’s always like that.”

“Exactly,” Kayla says. “That’s what I keep saying. You can’t use the weather as an excuse or you’ll never go out.”

“I go out all the time,” I insist. “I go to yoga. I go to my dad’s house. I have that wine club I just joined. And book club.”

Kayla rolls her eyes. “Why don’t you just get a couple cats and be done with it?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll never meet a guy doing what you’re doing. Yoga? Book club? All women. And wine club? All couples.”

“I don’t do those things to meet men. I enjoy them.”

“Believe me. You’d enjoy a
guy
a hell of a lot more.” She laughs.

“It’s fine to be interested in those things, Morgan,” Paige says, “but you aren’t going to meet single men at those places.”

I hadn’t thought about it before, but it’s true. I’m spending all my time hanging out with other women. And couples. I’ll never meet a guy that way. But where do you meet a guy when you’re 23? At a bar? That seems more like the place to meet a one-night stand and that’s not what I want. And dating someone at work seems like a bad idea, not that I’m ruling it out, but there’s nobody here I’d want to date.

***

After work I head over to my dad’s house in Bloomington. It’s a suburb of Minneapolis and where I grew up. I go there a few times a week to check on my dad, even though he tells me I don’t need to. But I have to tonight. It’s starting to snow and I have to make sure he made it home. It’s one of those things I’ve done since the accident. Whenever it snows, I worry sick until he gets home and then I can relax.

I see his car in the driveway and let out a sigh of relief. He made it home, safe and sound. My eye catches the For Sale sign in the yard and I notice a big, red Sold sticker on the corner.

Sold? So soon? How could that happen? I’m not ready for this! I figured the house would take years to sell. The news keeps saying it’s a bad housing market. And our house is old and needs fixing up. Who would want to buy it?

I’m instantly mad at Sophie, my dad’s fiancé, even though she doesn’t deserve my anger. She did what she’s supposed to do as a real estate agent. She sold the house and probably got my dad a really good price for it.
 

Sophie’s a very nice woman and a great match for my dad. She’ll never be as good as my mom but I
do
really like her. Just not at this moment. Right now I’m mad at her for selling my childhood home so fast.

I go in the house to find the two of them celebrating with a glass of red wine. I catch them kissing briefly and glance away.

“Honey, we were just talking about you.” My dad sets his wine glass down. “Did you see the sign? We sold the house.”

“Yeah, great,” I say, trying to hide my disappointment.

“It’s a little sudden, I know,” Sophie says, seeing my expression. She knows how I’m feeling. She sells houses for a living. She knows the attachment people have to them. The memories. And how it feels like those memories are gone forever when someone else moves in. “I honestly didn’t think it would sell so quickly. I’m sorry, Morgan.”

She looks at me with sympathy in her eyes. I can’t be mad at her. She’s way too nice.

Dad comes over and unwraps my long wool scarf from my neck, making me feel like I’m 5 again. “I know it’s not what we planned, Morgan. I thought it would take at least a year to sell. But you just can’t predict these things.”

“I have to make some calls,” Sophie says, sensing my dad and I need to talk. She goes into my dad’s office and shuts the door.
 

“So what does this mean?” I take my coat off and hang it on the rack, along with my scarf. “Are you getting a rental place until you move?”

Dad stares down at the floor, which he always does when I don’t like what he’s about to say. “We’re moving as soon as the sale is final.”

“You’re moving to Austin?”

“We already have a house down there.”

“I know, but I just thought—” I stop and let my brain catch up. “So when is the sale going through?”

“The buyer would like to move in as soon as possible, but I told him I need at least a few weeks to get everything packed up. Plus it takes time to do the inspection and get the paperwork filed and—”

“A few weeks? That’s it?” It’s like someone just punched me in the stomach. I’m not at all prepared for this.

“I know it’s soon, honey. But you can come down and visit as much as you want. I’ll buy you a plane ticket.”

“It’s fine, Dad. Don’t worry about me. This is great news. Now you can officially start your retirement.” I try to sound happy. I don’t want to ruin this for him. He’s excited about moving to Texas and starting his new life with Sophie. And I truly am happy for him. I’m just sad that he’s leaving.
 

“I’m sorry, honey. I know you weren’t ready for this.” He forces me into a hug. “But this will be good for you, too. You’ve spent the past 10 years taking care of me. Now you can finally focus on yourself. Spend more time with your friends. Maybe meet a nice young man.” He grabs my shoulders and gives me the stern father look. “But please, no boys with tattoos or piercings. Anything but that.”

I smile. “Okay. No tattoos or piercings.”

Sophie comes back in, offering to order takeout for dinner. My dad puts his arm around her and gives her a peck on the cheek. She smiles up at him.

They really are happy. They’re starting a new life together. And like my dad said, that’s good. Because it will force me to start living mine.

“Okay, I’ll do it,” I announce to Kayla the next day, as we’re sitting in the break room having lunch. “I’ll let you set me up.”

She’s so shocked the burrito she’s eating almost shoots out of her mouth and across the table. She stuffs it back, holding her hand up to let me know she’s still chewing. She finally swallows. “Did you just agree to let me set you up? After telling me yesterday there was no way in hell that would ever happen?”

“Yes, I’ve changed my mind,” I say, nonchalantly. “Go ahead. Set me up.”

Paige walks in and notices Kayla’s expression. “What’s wrong with her?” Paige asks me. “Did I miss something?”

“Get this,” Kayla answers. “Miss Never-Goes-On-A-Date is asking ME to set her up.”
 

Paige pouts her lips. “You’re letting Kayla set you up? Why didn’t you ask
me
to set you up? Michael has tons of friends at work who would be great for you.”