"You were trying to see if I would eat snails," he fired back.
A cute blonde receptionist, with teeth that had obviously been professionally whitened, appeared at the counter and smiled at the both of them. Her teeth were nearly blinding, but that wasn't half as obnoxious as her overly cheery disposition.
"Hello! Welcome! I'm so glad you decided to stop in today!"
Harry turned to Sally with an expression of murder on his face, which she promptly ignored and instead jabbed him in the ribs.
"Yes," Sally said, stepping in front of Harry mostly to hide his glaring contempt for the receptionist from the receptionist. He had a thing against super happy people. "I'm interested in your program and I was hoping you could give me a little more information on exactly what's involved."
"I would love to!"
Sally had a thing against super happy people too, but she was slightly more desperate. "Okay." After waiting a beat and trying not to squint at the beam of light reflecting off the woman's teeth, she asked, "So can you tell me what's involved?"
"Oh, you mean now?" The woman asked.
"Oh my god," Harry muttered.
This time Sally was forced to kick him in the shin. "I thought now would be a good time. Since I'm here."
"Excellent!" she shouted, then clapped her hands enthusiastically. She pulled out a clipboard and a sheet of paper from a drawer and handed them both to Sally. "I just need you to fill this out, be very specific about what you are looking for, and make the check out to Lovers Videos and Other Matchmaking Services."
Sally refrained from saying that she wasn't quite ready to hand over a check and instead took a look at the form she'd been given.
"What are the 'other' services?" Harry asked the young woman. "Just out of curiosity."
"I'm sorry," she replied apparently confused by the question.
"I get the video stuff, but what are the 'other' services?"
"We do video dating here," she explained and smiled again.
Working on the assumption that he wasn't going to get an answer, he just nodded politely. "Never mind."
"Would you like to sign up?"
"No."
"Do you already have a girlfriend?"
"No," he answered her curtly.
"Boyfriend?" she whispered.
"No! I, unlike my employee here, am perfectly content with my single status."
The woman nodded sympathetically and patted his hand. "Of course you are."
"I am," Harry insisted. "Sure being in a relationship was nice. There were certain …comforts."
Sally could see the receptionist was bewildered. "Sex," she explained.
"Ahhh. I see." The girl nodded in understanding.
"Not just sex," Harry returned. "I had other things."
"Like?" Sally wanted to know.
"Like, like… like clean socks."
She looked at him quizzically.
"What?" Harry asked in defense of his socks. "She had a thing for doing laundry."
The girl behind the counter then handed him his own clipboard and form. "And wouldn't you like to have those socks cleaned one more time… you know, before you die."
"Before I…"
Sally cut him off by dragging him away from the counter. "Will you please stop antagonizing the receptionist of the business I am currently expressing an interest in? She might have power here and can put a black mark on my video."
Harry turned around and studied the girl, who was currently standing at the counter and staring off into space. "You think she's got power?"
"Harry," Sally growled.
"Fine. But she started it," he huffed, taking a seat on the couch in the waiting lounge.
"Your problem is you're in denial. You know you would love to be back in a steady relationship again. Admit it."
"I'm not saying I wouldn't, but I'm sure as hell not going to make a video in the hope that might happen."
Sally's face fell. "What are you saying? Are you saying I'm being ridiculous by doing this?"
"I think I've already suggested as much." He crossed his arms over his chest and stubbornly stared straight ahead. He was against the online dating. He was against the video dating. He was against Sally dating, period. Not, he assured himself, that there was anything wrong with that. After all a single Sally was a more productive Sally. She worked longer hours, came in earlier… and she liked to eat dinner with him.
He liked to eat dinner with her.
"You think I'm desperate."
He heard the sadness in her voice and was forced to turn back to her. "That's just the point. I think you think you're desperate, but you're not. You are as far from desperate as anyone I know. You're beautiful, smart, fun, and really…"
"Yes?" she encouraged him.
"Efficient," Harry finished, deliberately discarding the other adjective he'd had in mind. It wasn't quite as professional as efficient.
"Efficient," Sally repeated.
"Very."
"A prominent quality when one is searching for a mate," she said dryly.
"Efficiency is highly underrated."
Sally looked down at the form on her clipboard. "It says in my video to list several activities that I enjoy. Then it gives me suggestions."
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"Long walks in the park?"
"Number three on the list. Right behind traveling and spending quiet evenings at home."
"Are you ready to go?"
Sally nodded. "I think I'm ready to go."
They both stood up when the door to the office opened, and a nice looking man entered. He walked up to the counter and smiled at the receptionist. Then he turned and smiled briefly at Sally.
He turned back to the receptionist and said, "Hi, I'm Kent. And I can't believe I'm doing this, but I think I would like to sign up for this program."
Sally studied the man at the counter for a moment, then marched back to the couch and picked up her clipboard once again.
"So do you think this blue sweater will look nice for my video?"
Harry groaned.
"No, seriously. I think it brings out the blue in my eyes."
"Your eyes are hazel."
"But with blue flecks."
He simply groaned again.
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My March Release, Calculated Risk!
Calculated Risk
March 2005
Silhouette Bombshell™
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