“We,” Marni declared, eyeing Elle solemnly, “are about to meet some hot sailors!”
Elle couldn’t help but laugh at the way her voice started off normal but she ended in a screech. “And other guys,” she added.
“We’re ready for any guy in there,” Marni said. She looked as gorgeous as always in a deep red cowl neck top and leather leggings with her hair piled atop her head in a messy upswept ‘do. With her long legs, she was sure to turn plenty of heads.
But Elle didn’t look bad herself. When she had looked at the pic Marni sent to Tina of her: all dressed up, with her hair falling in a glossy sheen around her and past her shoulders, she had been taken aback by her own image. Elle knew the geek girl was still there, but she wasn’t necessarily visible. She just had to avoid making an ass of herself, which she could do, if she just kept… calm. Right.
“Remember,” Marni said before they got out of the car. “It’s time to let the tigress roar.”
That made Elle laugh. “You’re committable, do you know that?”
When they entered the café, a woman was sitting near the front at a table. “Did you pay in advance?” a woman asked them.
“No, no we didn’t.” Elle fumbled with the clasp on her clutch before managing to open it and get out a twenty-dollar bill. Marni followed suit.
Elle looked around as the woman took her money. There were women in dresses, skirts and blouses- everything. As usual, the guys were in jeans and t-shirts. Some wore button-downs. Why couldn’t they make even the slightest bit of effort? If she had to totter around on these heels, they could at least put on a pair of pants that weren’t denim.
“You’re table number fourteen,” the woman told Elle, holding out a little placard for her table with her name written on it in black marker.
“You’re table twenty-one,” she told Marni, handing her another placard. Drats. They weren’t close to each other.
Elle decided to run to the restroom before getting started. She glanced at herself and saw that her make-up was still in place. With all the women primping in front of the mirrors, she figured she wouldn’t even compete for a spot to check her own reflection. The lighting was dim in the café anyway, which she thought would work in her favor. Small round two-person tables were spread throughout the large room. Elle found the one with the number fourteen on it and set up her name card. The guys stood against the walls, checking out the tables.
She felt like she was about to go up for auction. The internet would have been easier. Maybe seeing people face-to-face was over-rated.
The woman who took the money at the door blew a whistle. That got everyone’s attention, quieting down the chatter. She was standing on a chair.
“Welcome to our monthly speed dating event!” She began. “Y’all ready to find love- or at least a good time?” That got lots of applause and some catcalls, making Elle swallow harder. What the hell had she gotten herself into?
“I’m only going to say these directions once, y’all, so listen up!” Quiet again.
“Here’s how this works: I’ll tell you gents to pick your first table.” The guys started catcalling again, but after a moment she quelled the noise with a stern look and an eye roll. “So ladies, you should be seated at your assigned table if you aren’t already.” There was some rustling as a few of the women found their way to their tables. Elle was glad she was already settled.
“Once the guy sits down, you two are free to make each other’s acquaintances.” The jeering and chatter got so loud the woman had to blow her whistle again for silent.
“Y’all have EIGHT MINUTES to work your charms!” She held up a stopwatch. “I’ll be keeping time, so it will be eight minutes. Then I’ll blow this here whistle-” she held up her whistle in her other hand “and it’s time to move on. If you’re interested in getting further acquainted, then offer up your business card. But you MUST move on after eight minutes.” More talking started up, which sounded kind of like protest.
She talked over the chatter. “Even if you think you’ve found your true love, you have to keep fishing in this ocean for the next two hours.” That got people going. “If you’ve found true love, they’ll still be here.” That got some laughs.
“Remember, we can NOT give out anybody’s personal information. So if you want to get to know someone further, you have to get their information from them. We’re not gonna have any stalking up in here.” More laughs. “Okay, gents, take your marks!” She held up her stopwatch and her whistle. The guys began to look around with more intensity. Some seemed to be trying to catch some of the girl’s eyes.
Elle looked down at her table. She didn’t even want to know if anyone was trying to catch her eye. Okay, honestly, no one probably was. Whatever.
“GO!” The whistle screeched and there was a mass scramble.
Elle braced herself. How embarrassing was it going to be if no one sat down at her table? If she tried to sneak out Marni would kill her. She was so busy preparing to be humiliated she could barely believe it when the chair at her table got pulled out.
The guy who sat down flashed a nervous smile. He was wearing jeans, but he also wore a blazer over a button-down shirt. A guy who put some effort into his appearance. Elle returned his smile. He pulled out a little bottle after pulling his chair in closer to the table.
“This is a busy café,” he told Elle as he uncapped the bottle and squirted a little of what looked like gel into one palm, “a lot of traffic. I like to keep my hands clean- reduce the transmission of germs.”
Okay…
“Would you like some?” He held it out to Elle.
Well, at least he shared. And clean hands were important.
“Thank you,” She held out her hand. He squirted some of the hand sanitizer into her palm before setting it down on the table.
“I’m Jared,” he said. His nervous smile was adorable.
“I’m Elle,” she said.
“You from around here?” he asked.
He was so nervous, she felt at ease. Elle laughed, giving her hair a little shake. Had she really just shaken her hair out? “Did my voice give me away?” She held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Jared.”
Jared looked at her hand as if it was a suspicious package. After a hesitation that wasn’t very long but awkward because he hesitated at all, he took her hand for the fastest handshake Elle had ever experienced. Before she had even pulled her hand back Jared had squirted more hand sanitizer into his palm.
“It’s nice to meet you, too.” He rubbed the sanitizer all over his hands with the thoroughness of a surgeon prepping for surgery.
Did she look dirty or something? Elle tucked some of her hair behind her ear. Maybe he thought the glossiness of her hair was oil? “So, what do you do, Jared?”
“I’m an accountant,” he replied.
Well, at least he wouldn’t get his hands dirty.
“So where from up north are you from?” he asked.
Eight minutes hadn’t seemed like a long time to Elle; now she was wondering just how many more minutes they had. “I grew up in Lake Forest, Illinois. It’s a suburb of Chicago.”
Jared looked impressed. “So what brings you down to Norfolk?”
“Work-” The whistle blew.
“SWITCH!”
Jared reached into his blazer and pulled a business card out of an inner pocket. “It was nice to meet you, Elle.”
Elle gave him a smile as she accepted the card. He seemed to pause, as if waiting for her card, and she got one out of her purse, although she hoped he would lose it sometime during the evening. Eight minutes may not be a long time, but it was long enough for her to figure out things weren’t going to work out between them. How did he have sex if he was that worried about germs? Jared gave her a quick smile before surveying the other tables and hurrying off.
There wasn’t any time for Elle to wonder if someone else was going to pick her: a guy in jeans and a Navy t-shirt sat down with hair so short he had just enou
gh to not be called bald. It seemed to grow evenly on his head, though, so he didn’t look like he was hiding a bald spot. He certainly didn’t look old enough to be worried about losing his hair. The guy settled back in his chair, almost slouching, giving her a slow smile as he held her gaze. Something told Elle this guy was no fussbudget.
“Hey, whassup? I’m Kevin,” he said with a relaxed nod.
Elle returned his smile. “Hi Kevin: I’m Elle. So what do you do?”
“I’m a sailor.” Another slow smile. That explained the buzz cut.
Since he didn’t say anything else, she spoke up. “I’m an Information Scientist.”
Predictably, his brow furrowed. “An Information Scientist? What in Sam Hell is that?”
Elle laughed. Most people had that reaction. Maybe it would make her stand out? “I organize large datasets: analyze the metadata and develop models so that people can actually find what they’re looking for and use it.”
His brow remained furrowed. “So where do you work?”
“I work for the Library of Congress,” she said. “I’m a liaison with the Virginia university libraries to provide information and help ensure the library systems are running smoothly.”
No reduction in the confusion on his face. “So you’re a librarian?” he asked.
Elle fought not to grit her teeth. “Information Science used to be called Library Studies, in the twentieth century. Now, with the internet and all the information generated, we do far more than organize and shelve books.”
Kevin rubbed the side of his face. “Well, where I come from, they’re called librarians-”
The screech of the bell cut whatever he was going to say short. Thank God. She would not be giving him one of her cards. He apparently felt the same way: they simply nodded at each other as he stood up and started looking around again.
Elle realized something: she was so worried about guys not being all that interested in her, the geek, that she forgot she wouldn’t like everyone, either. It did go both ways.
The next guy who sat down showed her pictures of all the important women in his life, from his mother to his seven sisters to aunts and cousins before asking if she wanted her picture to go in his collection. She politely declined. Another guy said his ex-wife was his best friend, but she realized she was a lesbian, so he had to find someone else. The dating scene really was as treacherous as everyone said it was. Well, not for everyone. Elle could see Marni living it up at her table, chatting and laughing as she batted her eyelashes.
A guy sat down who was actually wearing pants that weren’t made of denim and a button-down shirt. His hair was cut short but not as short as Kevin’s.
“Hi, I’m Elijah,” he said, offering his hand.
Elle shook his hand. “I’m Elle, nice to meet you.” His handshake was firm and not too quick. He looked interested without being nervous. So far, so good.
“So, tell me, Elle,” Elijah began, resting his arms on the table as he looked her right in the eye. “Do you like to read?”
Elle’s grin was genuine. “I love to read.” I’ve been a bookworm since I learned how.” This twenty dollars may have been well-spent after all. “What type of books do you like?”
“There’s only one book I like to read, over and over,” he said with a smile.
“Must be an amazing book.” She had a few books she enjoyed reading but couldn’t imagine reading just one.
He reached into his back pocket, brought out a miniature book, and set it on the table. It was a Bible. “Greatest story ever told,” he declared with a smile.
She knew Virginia was part of the Bible belt, but seriously? “That’s a great one,” she agreed with a laugh, not knowing what else to say.
“I like to get the preliminaries out of the way.” Elijah was still leaning in close, as if to better gauge her responses. “So tell me, Elle, have you accepted our Lord, Jesus Christ, as your Savior?”
Elle knew her mouth dropped open before she thought to snap it shut. She wasn’t really religious. She wasn’t even baptized. She had a feeling that wasn’t something to share. “Um, well- uh- I’ve read a lot of different religious philosophies-”
“SWITCH!”
Elle had never been so happy to hear a whistle. Elijah still looked suspicious, but he gave her a polite smile and nod. “You can keep this,” he said, sliding the Bible to her, before he got up, looking around. Elle could see the outlines of what looked like more miniature Bibles in his back pockets. How did he sit with them stuffed in there like that?
Maybe this speed dating thing wasn’t for her after all. She bent down to pick up her clutch, planning to slip out- Marni would just have to understand- when she heard the chair scoot back again. Shit.
She sat up to see who this guy was. Lyle gave her a friendly smile.
“When I saw you come in,” he said as he gave her a wink and scooted his chair closer to the table, “I thought you must’ve lost my card, so I figured it would be mean of me not to come on over and give you another one.”
Elle had to laugh. “I’m glad you were so thoughtful.” She held out her hand. “You would be right.” She hadn’t been able to read his card after ripping it to pieces, so in a way, it was lost, right? Besides, Preston himself had told her to call him.
Lyle twirled another card between two of his fingers before holding it up, out of her reach. “This time I have a condition.”
“Condition?” Elle didn’t know why this guy made her feel so playful, but he did. She could feel her cheeks stretching from her grin. She had to hear this.
“I don’t want these circulating too widely, you know. Can’t have people thinking I’m some kind of ambulance chaser. The JAG Corp would frown on that.”
Elle laughed. “You have an image to maintain.”
“Absolutely.” He held up his card again as he leaned in closer. “I want an exchange this time.”
“An exchange?” What was he playing at?
“My card for yours.” He gave her a wink. “I’m very organized; I don’t lose things.”
Elle didn’t think of herself as the kind of person who swooned, per se, but she was drawn to him. She felt like she was being invited to play, and she was happy to accept the invitation. She opened up her clutch, which she had in her lap, drew out one of her business cards, and held it up. “Agreed.”
They each handed over their cards simultaneously, causing their fingers to brush. Elle felt the tingle. So it wasn’t unique to Preston.
“How are you getting settled into our great city of Norfolk?” Lyle asked.
“SWITCH!”
Elle laughed and groaned at the same time. “I hate to see you go.”
Lyle glanced around and held out his hand. “Then let’s blow this popsicle joint.”
Elle took his hand, grinning. “Best line I’ve heard all night.” She glanced over at Marni, who was chatting up two guys. She’d send her a text.
She enjoyed the warmth of his hand and was glad he didn’t let go as she walked around the table.
“You have a beautiful smile,” he told her and then leaned in close, close enough for her to smell his aftershave. “And that’s not even a line.”
Elle was sure she was the color of a tomato as he led her out.
Chapter Seventeen
“Want to grab a drink?” Lyle asked.
“I need one after that.” She nodded to a bar up the street. Its lights could be seen from the café. “How about that place?”
Lyle gave her a surprised look. “You like Shore Leave?”
She almost laughed aloud at his expression. “Never been. I take it it’s not my kind of place?”
“Not unless you like hanging out with drunk sailors and dodging when they have too much to drink and start throwing chairs and what not.”
Sounded like he had a good point. “Ending up in the ER for stitches isn’t how I want my night to end,” she agreed. She realized she didn’t know anything about nightlife at Norfolk; she’d never b
een out in the evening there.
Lyle’s grin was just lascivious enough to make him interesting without giving her the creeps. “That’s not how I want the night to end, either.”
Elle had to laugh that time; she’d walked right into that one. “You promised to show me around Norfolk: pick the first place for me to see.”
Lyle tucked her arm under his, bringing their bodies closer together. “The Palm is right around the corner.”
He kept hold of her arm as they walked to The Palm and held the door open for her. Elle had never had a guy offer her his arm before; this must be the southern gentlemen manners she had heard about. Midwestern guys were a bit more informal. As a Midwesterner herself, Elle was also informal, but she had to admit it was nice to have a guy treat her this way.
“Aren’t you the gentleman,” she said as they entered The Palm. It had the expected dim lighting of a bar. The dark hardwood floor gleamed, as did the wood furniture.
“My mama raised me right. Yanks sometimes lack civility.” He led her to a small table and held out her chair for her. Now this was something Elle had never had a guy do. It was a little awkward: she kind of sat but waited, not wanting him to have to actually lift her and the chair to get closer to the table. They managed, however, and then Lyle eased himself into the other chair with an effortless grace.
The server brought them menus, and they spent a few minutes perusing them. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable; it was a chance to decompress after the high-charged speed-dating atmosphere they had just escaped. Glancing up at Lyle, Elle thought he looked even better than she remembered. Odd he was at a speed-dating event; he was cute and charming, so finding a date shouldn’t be a problem for him. He set his menu down and glanced up at the TV behind the bar. It was on a sports channel, of course.
The server returned and they ordered their drinks. Elle couldn’t resist teasing him a little. “One similarity between men from the north and south is their obsession with sports.” She shook her head, grinning to let him know she wasn’t really upset. “Guys and their games.”
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