Eat Your Heart Out: A Romance Charity Anthology

by Skye MacKinnon

  I knew she was only saying this to make me feel better but it was hard not to compare stalls, brands, and amount of customers, with someone that was doing the same as me. If she could sell her juice on a rainy day, why couldn’t I? What was wrong with my smoothies? Or what was so fantastic about theirs?

  I pulled my apron off and shoved it under the bar. “Man the stall for a moment please? I’m going to check out the competition.”

  With my politest smile, I weaved through the crowd to the other juicy stall. The food festival was eclectic and there were so many competing smells and sights, but even from two booths away, the zing of orange caught my nose. They were lucky they weren’t standing next to a churros stall.

  I dug up a handful of coins and joined the queue. The two women in front of me had trouble choosing, giving me the perfect time to check out the menu and the people.

  At first glance, the whole thing looked good. They only had one more person working their booth so they couldn’t be much bigger than me. The blenders were from a brand I recognised and looked like they were kept clean. The fruit, while not as vibrant as mine, seemed fresh and fragrant.

  The couple got their order and as they wandered off to the next stall, a teenaged boy smiled at me. “Hello, welcome to Her Juicy Lady. What can I get you?”

  “What would you recommend?”

  Before he could answer, a woman with short red hair appeared behind him and smiled. “Why don’t you take your break? I’ll handle this.”

  The teenager seemed confused but didn’t hesitate long to jump on a break.

  The redhead took his place, her smile never faltering. “So you’re looking for a recommendation? What do you prefer, sweet or tangy?”

  “Sweet.”

  “Berries or exotic?”

  “Berries.”

  Her look intensified. “Juice or smoothie?”

  “Either.”

  She flashed me a triumphant grin and pointed to the big menu behind her. “Then I would recommend you the Cherry Berry Bingo. It’s a smoothie with strawberries, raspberries, and cherries.” As she leaned forward, her apron displaced and showed a glimpse of her cleavage. “Absolutely delicious.”

  “R-Right. I’ll take that one then,” I stammered, slightly taken off guard.

  “Certainly.” The woman turned away to gather the ingredients for the smoothie and skilfully cut them all up for the blender.

  From the quick, precise cuts and her smooth, coordinated movements, it was easy to tell that she’d been doing this for a while. She looked a little younger than me but the skill was definitely there.

  In no time, she placed two plastic cups in front of me and smiled. “There we go. One Cherry Berry Bingo and a Cucumber Fresh.”

  “I only ordered the one.”

  “The Cucumber Fresh is our bestseller. I figured you’d want to taste that one too when you go…” she clicked her tongue as she gestured to my booth. “Back to yours.”

  My ears burn hot. Awkward.

  “Oh. So you recognised me, huh?” I mumbled, glancing at my stall where Erin hesitantly gave a hesitant wave, looking confused.

  The woman chuckled as she held out her hand. “I noticed you earlier. I’m Julie, I’m the Juicy Lady.”

  “Lisa.”

  “Nice to meet you. Are you here for the full three days?”

  I puffed up my chest. “Yes, this is our fourth year here.”

  “Wow. Nice. This is our first time. I guess you could teach us newcomers a thing or two.” She glanced past me where a handful of people joined the line and smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I have more customers but I bet we’ll see more of each other. Hope you enjoy your smoothies.” She waved my attempt to pay away. “On the house.”

  With my two drinks in hand, I returned to my own stall, a little befuddled and unsettled

  Erin grimaced and gestured to my face. “That bad?”

  “Yes. I met Julie, the owner of Her Juicy Lady and she’s very nice. She recognised me and gave me an extra drink. Both free of charge.” I slurped from the Cherry Berry Bingo and groaned. “And this smoothie is freaking delicious. Ugh. So annoying.”

  “So annoying,” Erin agreed as she took the other drink from my hand. “What’s this?”

  “I don’t know. Cucumber something. Cucumber Fresh?”

  My best friend slurped from the green beverage, her eyes widening. “Ooh, that’s tasty. Definitely cucumber-y, definitely fresh. It’s got some citrus in it, some mint. Really good.”

  “I hate vegetables in juices and smoothies. And what’s the point of all those ridiculous names?” I grumbled while taking a reluctant sip. “Ooh.”

  “I know.”

  “That is delicious. I hate it.”

  Chapter 2

  With the end of the first day in sight, Erin and I reluctantly started packing up our fruit and cleaning out some of our blenders. The poor weather had done a real number on our profit and I just wanted to get out of there.

  Still, there was still about an hour of festival left and it seemed silly to leave when I could squeeze in a couple more sales. Despite my optimism, the thinning crowd didn’t seem very interested.

  From the corner of my eyes, I saw someone queuing up at our stall and I jumped up from my seat, only to recognise the redhead lining up. Julie. Probably here to scope out the competition.

  She grinned from ear to ear once she caught my attention. “Hellooooo.”

  “Hellooo,” I mimicked weakly, earning a muffled snort from Erin.

  I didn’t know what she was snorting about, I was actually a very bubbly and chipper person. Just not compared to the Juicy Lady who seemed to be all smiles, all the time.

  “I came to check out the competition,” Julie joked as she gestured to my juice list. “What’s in the strawberry smoothie?”

  “Strawberries and bananas,” I replied dryly. “It’s written under the name.”

  “Oh, so it is. I couldn’t read it from over here.” She cocked her head to the side. “So what’s your bestseller? I bet it’s the exotic smoothie.”

  “Actually, our bestseller is our orange juice. We’re very well known for our orange juice,” I corrected her, pride swelling in my chest. I didn’t need fancy names and complicated drinks. My customers just liked their juice clean, fresh, and healthy.

  Julie didn’t seem phased. “Alright, I’ll take one orange juice then. And I have to try the exotic smoothie as well. I love mangoes. It has mangoes, right?”

  “Of course, it has the best mangoes in town,” I replied. What kind of exotic smoothie would this be if it hadn’t?

  I turned around to Erin to call the order and let her make it while I remained in an awkward stare-off with Julie. Luckily, the loud rumbling of the blender and the chatter from the festival goers filled the tense silence.

  “One orange juice and an exotic smoothie,” Erin announced as she put the two cups in front of me. “That’ll be—”

  “It’s on the house,” I interrupted, pushing the two drinks forward with my best, brightest smile. “Enjoy.”

  “I’m sure I will,” Julie replied cheerily, the sarcasm completely lost on her. She grabbed the cups and with a wink, she bounced back to her stall on the other side of the market.

  She was barely out of earshot when Erin flashed me a smile. “So that was the Juicy Lady?”

  “Don’t start,” I warned my best friend.

  “She’s cute.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t notice.”

  “Come on, she’s totally your type,” Erin continued. “Bright, spunky, easy on the eyes. She even likes juice.”

  “Everyone likes juice.”

  “Not the way you like juice.”

  “Whatever.” I glanced at the stall across the market where the redhead was slurping from her drink. “She’s probably not even into women and besides, it doesn’t matter. I’m not interested.”

  My best friend groaned loudly. “Come onnnn, it’s been ages. You need to get over—�
��

  “Nuh uh. We agreed not to say her name again. Ever. Whenever we talk about her, I run into her the next day. It’s like summoning the devil,” I said, shuddering. “It’s creepy. Brrrr.”

  “Fine. But you need to get over the devil. Get back on the horse.”

  “No, thank you.”

  Demonstratively, I turned my back to Erin to stop the conversation about my love life. While it would be good to have someone to share things with again, it wasn’t like Miss Right was just waiting around the corner.

  With nothing to do, I grabbed a rag and gave the whole counter another wipe. Not that it needed it but I had to occupy myself somehow.

  Luckily, two women with interlocked arms approached and gave me something to do. As always when I saw two women together, I wondered about their relationship. Partners? Lovers? Friends? Sisters? One of them looked a little older and was wearing a casual suit but that didn’t help me determine anything.

  “Hello! Anyone interested in speed dating?” The girl around my age asked as she waved a stack of pinkish flyers around. “Speed dating for lesbians,” she clarified as she handed me one of their flyers. “Well, women that are into women, really. Rainbow Central organises monthly events for people between twenty and thirty to mix and mingle.”

  I let out an awkward chuckle. “Yeah, I don’t speed date.”

  “Why not? It’s fun,” the other woman said, the one in the suit.

  Before I could reject their offer again, Erin popped up next to me.

  “Quinn!” my best friend trumpeted.

  They knew each other?

  “Hey Erin.” The younger woman gestured to me and the booth. “You’re working here? No longer doing your films and video things?”

  “No, I still am. I’m just helping out my best friend.”

  I gave a little wave, feeling a little awkward. “That’s me. My employee had an unexpected baby so Erin is being a lifesaver and filling in for her. Hi, I’m Lisa.”

  The girl named Quinn chuckled. “Unexpected? She didn’t know she was pregnant or it came out at an unexpected time?”

  “Kind of both,” I replied. “I think she was in a gas station buying snacks when her water broke.”

  “Oof,” Olivia winced.

  “This is her fourth baby in five years and they keep popping out at unfortunate times. She said this was the last baby two children ago. What kind of person winds up pregnant so many times by accident?” I asked rhetorically.

  “Someone that doesn’t like condoms?” Erin replied, not catching the rhetorical part of my question.

  “Horny teenagers,” Quinn quipped without missing a beat.

  “Straight women,” Olivia joked.

  I snorted. “I don’t think that’s fair to straight women. Not all of them are obsessed with children.”

  The group nodded and murmured in agreement. I worried they’d continue the conversation, but luckily, Quinn pulled the focus back to her flyer.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to join the speed dating event?”

  “Speed dating?” Erin squealed as she took the flyer from Quinn’s hand. “Yesss!”

  “Why are you so excited?” I questioned. “I thought you and Tasha were solid? Don’t tell me there’s trouble in paradise.”

  “No trouble. I’m excited for you. This is exactly what I was talking about. Getting back on the horse. You have to go.”

  I pulled a face. “I don’t want to.”

  “Come on! I…” Erin looked around and with a triumphant grin, grabbed one of the blenders. “I’ll wash all the blenders for the rest of the event if you go.”

  “That’s a tempting offer,” I admitted. Washing blenders was the worst, even when using the soap and water trick.

  Erin beamed as she turned back to Quinn and Olivia. “She’s going.”

  “I didn’t agree yet,” I protested weakly. When it came to dating, a little encouragement was exactly what I needed and we both knew I was going to cave.

  With a sigh, I snatched the flyer from Erin’s hand. “Fine.”

  Chapter 3

  Speed dating was stupid. It required people to make snap judgments about others and while I loved some snap judging, I didn’t like when people did it to me. If that made me a hypocrite, it made me a hypocrite. At least I was self-aware.

  I stared at the flyer, making sure the address was what I was standing in front. Not sure what to expect from a place that did speed dating for women into women, I was surprised to find a classic and rustic bar. Rainbow Central. That name was a little on the nose but I didn’t mind it.

  A little bell rang as I pushed through the glass door and stepped inside the cosy bar. At first glance, it looked classy and intimate. It certainly didn’t have that kind of desperate vibe I always imagined about singles that came to this sort of thing.

  One of the women that handed out the flyers earlier, the younger one, greeted me at the door. “Hello, welcome to Rainbow Central. Are you here for the speed dating?”

  “I… guess I am.”

  “How lovely.” She looked at me with piercing eyes and smiled. “Oh, aren’t you Erin’s friend? The one from the juice stall?”

  “That’s me.”

  “So glad you could make it. Lisa… was it? I loved your juice.”

  I smiled as I nodded. “Thank you. I… Sorry, I forgot your name.”

  “Quinn,” she supplied. “Why don’t you follow me? We’re almost starting so can I get you a drink? On the house.”

  “I’ll have a glass of white wine.”

  “Coming right up,” Quinn said. “The event is through the red ropes, please sign in with Olivia over there.”

  Ah, the other woman from before. From what I gathered, they looked like they were in a relationship but I could be mistaken. There seemed a bit of an age difference so perhaps they were more like mother-sister or close friends. With women, it was always hard to tell.

  I made my way over to the large barrel that Olivia was using as her desk. She clicked a fancy pen demonstratively and hovered it above her clipboard. “Are you here to sign up for— oh, hey. You’re the woman from the juice stall!”

  She recognised me too? Apparently, I made quite an impression. Or maybe it was because I knew Erin?

  Olivia shot me a smile. “How nice that you’re here. Let me quickly explain the rules to you. It’s a tenner to participate and includes two cocktails. You’ll have five minutes to talk to each woman until we swap partners and we’ll do two rounds so you get to talk to everyone twice. At the end of the night, if you’d like to make contact with another participant or participants, you can leave your details behind and you’ll be put in contact if the feeling was mutual. We ask that you don’t exchange any contact information during the date so nobody feels pressured into anything.”

  I nodded.

  “During your blind dates, if someone makes you uncomfortable or behaves inappropriately, alert me or my partner, Quinn. Any questions?”

  Only whether she meant partner romantically or in a business sense but that was just me being nosy.

  I shook my head as I handed her a crumpled up bill. “Sounds good to me.”

  “Excellent. What was your name again? Lara?”

  Maybe not so memorable then.

  “Lisa,” I corrected awkwardly.

  “Great.” Olivia jotted my name down on a sticker and handed it to me. “Please put that somewhere visible. I hope you have a good time.”

  I joined the group of people waiting around a couple of tables and chose to stand somewhere near the bar. Quinn handed me my glass of wine and I immediately took a sip, pleased to have something to do. If only I smoked, then I could wait outside without looking so awkward but I hated the taste.

  I scanned the crowd to get a feel for the potential and the competition. One of the perks and cons of being surrounded by women with the same preference. Everyone was a potential match or a potential rival. Sometimes, quite often actually, both. It wasn’t uncommon to date t
he ex of an ex.

  At first glance, nobody really stood out to me. There was a good variety of women. Blondes, brunettes, redheads. Some with short hair, others in dresses, some with glasses, others with heavy boots. An eclectic mix of different tastes. Something for everyone.

  After waiting for a couple of minutes, Quinn gathered everyone and led us further into the bar to a sectioned off area with small tables and chairs opposite of each other.

  I zoned out while they explained the process again and the particular way they were organising the chair hopping to make sure everyone got to talk to everyone. Unlike with men and women, one side couldn’t just remain seated. Everyone had to move at some point.

  Confident I’d figure it out, I just sat down in my assigned seat and waited for the first date to show up.

  A slightly chubby woman with very blue eyes took the chair across from me and folded her hands under her chin. “Hi!”

  “Hey! I’m Lisa.”

  “Do you like cats?” she asked abruptly.

  “Ummmm. I guess?”

  “Awesome. They say you can tell so much by a person from their choice of pets. Personally, I have five cats. You could say I like…” she did a little drumroll on the table. “Pussy.”

  I chuckled awkwardly at her awful and cliché pun. “Five, Huh?”

  “Yes. Do you have pets?”

  “No.”

  “That’s sad. Would you like to see pictures?” Before I could answer, she shoved her phone in my face and flicked through a gallery's worth of cats.

  “This is Pipi, my ginger beauty. She’s the playful one, if you hadn’t guessed. These rascals are Bayleaf and Thyme, they’re two brothers I rescued. Aren’t they cute? And then I have two more foster kittens, two striped tigers.”

  I nodded, not sure what was an appropriate compliment. “Yes… cute… whiskers.”

  “I know! I love their whiskers. They’re so adorable.”

  She rambled on and on about her cats like somehow this meant anything to me and I was relieved to hear the bell.

  “Aww, our time is already up,” Cat-lady pouted. She hadn’t even bothered to introduce herself.