"Maybe it's not about me at all. When was the last time you had a date?"
"You know when. You set me up."
"That's right. And that was almost six months ago. No wonder you're a little testy."
"I am not testy!" he shouted.
"I'm sorry. What was that? I couldn't hear you over the shouting."
Closing his eyes and growling in frustration, Harry turned away from her. "I don't know why I even bother trying to talk to you."
She waited a beat then went back to her typing. All too easy, she thought.
"Ah hah!" He was once again in her doorway. His eyes wide; his smile smug. "Not so fast."
Uh oh. The jig was up.
"You almost had me. Almost, but not quite."
"You're getting easier in your old age."
He ignored that comment and sat down in the guest chair across from her desk and crossed his arms. "Give," he demanded.
Sally sighed. There was no avoiding it.
"He was… he was…"
"Ugly? Weird? Annoying? Wooden leg?"
"Wooden leg?" she repeated.
"I don't know it just came out. So what was wrong with him?"
"He was very handsome. Tall, blond, with really incredible blue eyes," she described.
"And what was wrong with him," Harry wanted to know.
"He was funny. Very personable. Very out going."
"But you hated him because…"
"I didn't hate him," she clarified.
He looked skeptical. "Let me get this straight. This guy was good looking, funny, outgoing and you didn't hate him."
"Correct."
"So why aren't you rubbing it in my face, shouting from the rooftops about your new found love, and skipping like a school girl."
"I never skip."
"You skip," he told her. "When you get all excited about something you skip. I heard no skipping this morning outside my office. So what was wrong with him?"
"Well, he was… he was…"
"Yeah, come on."
"He was gay."
"Gay as in funny?"
"Gay as in gay."
Harry shook his head. "You must have read it wrong. How could he be gay?"
"Well some say it's genetic, others say it's the environment you grow up in, still others say it's a sexual choice. There's really no definitive answer…"
"No, I mean why would a gay man want to date a woman? Did he mix up his search criteria?"
"I think he was looking to … experiment. At least that's what his "friend" Brian sort of implied."
"Brian?"
"His good friend, Brian. He joined us."
She could see the corners of his mouth beginning twitch and scowled. This was exactly why she didn't want to tell him in the first place.
"Let me get this straight," he began. "You were on a date with Alex and his "friend" Brian."
"Alex said he came along for moral support. Blind dates can be difficult."
"Even more so when you're on one with a gay guy!" That's when he started to laugh outright.
"It's not funny," Sally insisted.
"It's extremely funny," he corrected her while he caught his breath. "You went out with two gay guys."
Her scowl deepened as she tried to concentrate on her anger rather than her disappointment.
"This could be the night to change my life. This could be the man to save me from single hell," Harry repeated mercilessly echoing her earlier sentiments. "Guess not."
"I can't believe you would mock me at a time like this."
"You knew I would I mock you that's why you attempted to distract me. And don't think I've forgotten that."
"Well, maybe I wouldn't try to trick you if you were a little more sensitive to my feelings."
Her sincerity must have penetrated his mirth because he stopped laughing. "Sally! You can't actually be upset by this," Harry argued. "What did you expect trying to find true love and eternal happiness on the Internet?"
"Some do," she grumbled.
"I guess. But you were acting as if one date and bang! Marriage and babies. You're picky when it comes to picking out a plastic fork to eat your salad with at lunch. Did you seriously think this was going to be an automatic?"
"He seemed so promising on paper," she pouted.
"A lot of people do. Hell, I could be Russell Crowe on paper."
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She shot him a doubtful look. "You could so not be Russell Crowe. Maybe, maybe, Daniel Day Lewis on a good day. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I agree with you."
"You do?"
"Yes."
"With me?"
"Of course. This surprises you?"
"This astounds me."
She smirked at him, but continued her point. "I agree that blind dates are too much of a risk. If I had seen Alex first, I would have immediately known that he was gay."
"Did he wear pink?"
"Yes, but it was actually the walk that gave him away. Anyway, no more totally blind dates for me."
"I think that is a sound decision." Harry stood then with a satisfied sigh.
"Next time, I'm going with video dating."
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My March Release, Calculated Risk!
Calculated Risk
March 2005
Silhouette Bombshell™
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