Enjoy the following short. This would be the last blind date of my heroine’s life. Her date disaster!

~ Fiona

I didn’t want to be there. Especially two days before Valentine’s Day. Kimberly had talked me into this blind date, and I knew it was a mistake from the start. The restaurant was slow and dim and supposed to be romantic and one of the hottest new places to dine in the city. Kimberly always pushed until she had her way. I couldn’t go through with the online dating again not after the last time. I deleted my online profile forever. What a nightmare that last guy turned out to be. Not only was he a compulsive liar but for a second I believed him when he said he was an undercover agent for an undisclosed government group. Yeah, the Get in Her Pants club. He was really good and gave an academy award performance. So, I sat here like an idiot seeing if it was going to happen again. I guess I have a gullible nature.

Kimberly wouldn’t tell me a damned thing about the guy. Said he wanted us both to have a genuine reaction to each other. What did that mean? I didn’t have a name or description. He would only know who I was because I wore my purple stripped Henley, and I placed a single purple rose in the center of the table.

I shouldn’t have agreed to this nonsense. Not knowing who I’m meeting screamed serial killer. Right? When someone wouldn’t identify themselves weren’t they up to no good? I trusted Kimberly despite extreme blind dating being her method of operation. Who in the hell went on blind dates in this day and age? Me. So, Mr. Secretive was already ten minutes late. I decided to only give him another five and the I was out.

A hand touched my shoulder and spread across my back. “I’m so sorry I’m late. There was a traffic jam on the loop.”

Right. That’s all I can think. Nice save.

I squirmed in my seat shaking off his hand, not because it creeped me out but because it had the opposite effect. Hi, Mr. Seductive. He sat as I reached for my ice water to cool my heated body down and immediately noticed his warm and friendly brown eyes, sexy stubble, and the bulge in his jacket. Kimberly never said he was a cop. I couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not considering my last encounter with “law enforcement”.

The waiter came and took our order. I already knew what I wanted (he had been late) and wasted no time. I wondered if my date would be annoyed at me for rushing him. My confidence didn’t phase him. He ordered without looking at the menu. A regular?

“Our mutual friend didn’t do you justice.”

I lowered my head to ask for clarification and before I could say anything.

“You’re beautiful.”

Holy Cow! My blush further heated my body and even in the darkness of the restaurant I wasn’t able to hide it. “She wasn’t supposed to say anything because she was zipped tighter than a pencil skirt on her fat days.”

I shocked him, but his immediate laughter let me know he liked my sass. Good. The last guy had issues with my mouthy attitude. He stood slightly and reached across the table. His extended hand knocked the vase over, and cold water rushed from the center of the table to the center of my body. I jumped from my chair and knocked it back into the table behind us which upset all of the water glasses waiting for the next patrons.

“So sorry. I got this.” His napkin, and of course his hand, brushed against my legs before I knew what was happening. My body couldn’t decide if it rather have the heat of his fingers between my thighs or the freezing sensation of the water to snap me out of this spell he wove over me.

The waiter and the hostess trotted over with additional towels and napkins. At the hostess’s gasp I looked down and the red fabric of the napkins apparently didn’t like the white of my skirt and there were red streaks along the front. Mixed with the wetness and pressing of the towels, my white panties (I wasn’t a complete idiot back then, just a partial one) showed and also all the tiny little hearts and lace edge. On a dry skirt these were NOT noticeable.

“Don’t tell anyone, but I’m wearing the same underwear,” Mr. Seductive whispered in my ear.

I burst out laughing.

The server from the back came over with our meals but in all the commotion of me trying to hide my underwear with a napkin and at the same time get closer to Mr. Seductive’s smoldering stare my elbow hit the server in such a way that the entire tray of food slid off in slow motion. It landed on my date.

I’ve never seen a mouth gape so wide. He wiped some of it off with the same napkin he used on me and the same red streaks appear on his jacket. He held back a smile and winked. “Don’t worry. The same thing happened to me the other day on a sting.”

I started laughing and really didn’t think I would be able to talk but finally I said. “Kim has a really funny sense of humor.”

He eyebrows quirked in a funny movement. “Who’s Kim?”

Apparently we didn’t have a mutual friend, and the fates somehow brought us together in a somewhat unconventional fashion. The rest is history. Married ten years now this fall to the love of my life.