“Right,” Peyton confirmed.
“And because your other friend, Jonathan, told you that Kaitlin’s friend only knew two people on the basketball team, him and you, you think the guy she likes could be you?”
“Yeah, because she already said she doesn’t like Jonathan.”
“And what’s her name?”
“Holly.”
“She cute?”
Peyton’s eyes widened. “She’s really cute.”
“Good.” I started the car. “You can’t date her.”
Peyton’s jaw dropped. “What? Why?”
“Why? You think I’m gonna just let you haul off and date some cute girl. No.”
He gave me a half-lidded gaze. “You’re being pretty overprotective for someone who won’t even let me live with them.”
“I told you not to start.” I side-eyed him nervously, but he was chuckling so I let out a breath of relief.
“How’s work?” he asked. “Still working the front desk?”
“Yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?”
I worked for my cousin Teru’s construction company. It was just a little start-up when I was in high school, but by the time I graduated with my associate’s degree, he’d already outgrown the local market and was expanding. He offered me the receptionist position at his company, and since I didn’t have to put in too much effort with preparing a resume or interviewing, I took it. I’d been there ever since.
Peyton shrugged. “I don’t know. You don’t think you want to do something different?”
“Different like what?”
I waited for a response that never came and was happy to let the conversation die. It probably would have led back to his wanting to live together, and I’d exhausted myself on that topic for the morning.
I pulled up in front of his school and got out. Peyton scoffed, annoyed that I felt the need to hug him before I left him at school, but when I didn’t get to see him every single day, I had to take what I could get.
“Aunt Aiko will pick you up after school, okay?”
Despite the protest in his tone, Peyton’s arms wrapped around me and held on tight. “Okay.”
“I love you, P.”
He smiled up at me. “I love you too, P.”
I kissed his forehead before finally releasing him and waving as he rushed off to join his friends. Sometimes I entertained the idea of living together, if only in my own head. It would be nice to not have to say goodbye every day, but I wasn’t reliable. I was just a front-desk worker, I had a shitty, one-bedroom apartment. Would it be impossible to work a little harder and create better circumstances for us? No. But he’d be far better off staying with my aunt and uncle until he graduated, going off to live in the dorms of some college, and then getting his own place. He’d be happier that way. I just knew it.
I turned around to head back to my car, but when I did, there was a woman leaning against my driver’s side door. She had brown hair in a bun on top of her head and green eyes.
“Um. Hello?” I greeted.
She smiled at me. “Hello.” She held out her hand. “I’m Hannah.”
“Hannah.” I took her hand and shook it, though apprehensively. “Parker.”
“Nice to meet you, Parker. Does your son go to this school?” she asked.
It made me instantly nervous. Had Peyton caused trouble with someone and not told me? “My brother does. Is something wrong?”
“Oh, no. My son attends as well. I noticed you and had to come over. I’m wondering if you might be interested in being set up on a date?”
I looked around, convinced I was on some candid game show. “What?”
“I work for a service, a dating service, I guess you could say. We take beautiful women such as yourself and set them up with eligible bachelors. We all know that love isn’t about money or looks, but it’s worth mentioning that we only work with the elite. I have a bachelor in mind who I think would be just perfect for you.” She chuckled. “Normally I don’t do it like this. There’s a whole process, you usually have to fill out an application, but something about you just struck me.” She lifted an eyebrow. “You seem interesting.”
“I do?” I said with disbelief.
There wasn’t a single thing interesting about me. I considered myself attractive, though short. I stood at five-feet-five and Peyton would be passing me up within a year. I had my mom’s long, wavy orange-red hair and green eyes, plus a face covered in freckles. I didn’t have much to speak of in the ass department, but boasted an above-average bust and did my best never to be too thick or too thin. I guessed some people found that unique. Personality-wise, I was a paper bag.
“I think you may have the wrong person,” I said with an awkward chuckle.
“Not at all. I think you really have a lot to offer someone.”
I looked around again and then back at her. “Are you trying to sell me something?”
She laughed. “No! In fact, the service is totally free. All you have to do is show up and enjoy yourself.”
“You can see why I think this is some sort of scam, right?”
She held up a hand. “Totally. Here.” She flicked a card, as if from nowhere, out toward me. I grabbed it and it had “Wishes” scrawled across it in sparkly pink letters. It had a number on it along with a website, and at the bottom it had a line that said, “Your date is at:” and the date for the upcoming seven pm had been filled in. “These are your date details. Take some time and look at our website, call references if you need to, and then text that number if you’re interested, and I’ll send you the address. It’ll be in a public place, with lots of security, and other couples on dates, so it’s totally safe.”
She gave me a smile and then waved before walking away without another word. I’d planned to ignore it, but I couldn’t get it off my mind. I remembered my idiot neighbor yelling at me that I didn’t even try dating, and she wasn’t wrong. Relationships were often more trouble than they were worth. Still, it had been a while – a long while – since I’d gotten laid, and if it was exactly what it said it was, a night of bliss with some rich, handsome bachelor sounded alright.
“You’re basically becoming a virgin all over again, right?” my coworker Callum asked after I explained it to him, and that was all it took for me to send Hannah a text.
4
Andrew
When Friday came around, I was more than a little nervous. I wasn’t a nervous dater per se, but it had been a while since I’d been out with anyone of real substance, and this was a 2.5 million dollar risk I was taking that a permanently-disguised stranger had magically managed to capture my tastes after just a few short conversations. My wallet would be the most upset if this date didn’t go according to plan, followed closely by my long-neglected nether regions.
I slipped out of work early so that I could head home and take a shower before gelling my dirty-blond hair up into a perfect coiffure and shaving my goatee down to encircle my mouth, but leave my jaw and cheeks clean. I didn’t want to seem like a total ass on my first date with this mystery woman, so instead of my normal suit and tie look, I opted for a jean jacket with a white t-shirt underneath and a pair of dark blue slacks and doc martens. I’d learned a long time ago that women really went nuts for a guy in glasses, so I skipped my contacts for the night, and instead pulled on a pair of designer prescription glasses with a black frame. I completed my look with the white diamond Rolex my dad had gotten me to celebrate five years at our company a few years back and left.