Next Guy Through the Door

CHAPTER ONE

* Lindsay *

It’s great when your close friends pitch in to help you when you need it. It gets to be a bit much when they start pushing you to do things you’re not quite ready for.

“Lindsay, we’ve heard you talk about wanting a boyfriend for two years now,” Nadia said, swirling her margarita emphatically. “If it’s something you really want, you’re actually going to have to apply yourself. Do something. Anything.”

“Absolutely,” Charity agreed. “You say that you get nervous around guys, so it just means that you need more practice. I used to get nervous at every single meeting with my boss. Now I’m completely relaxed. Well, pretty much.”

Staring down into the fancy glass of green slushy ice, I nodded. “You’re both right.”

“Oh my God,” Nadia laughed. “Say that again but a little louder.”

I shot her a look. Ladies night Thursdays often got a bit rowdy at our quiet pub, but she couldn’t possibly expect me to get loud as well.

Rolling my eyes, I slowly and clearly said, “You two are right. I’m going to need to talk to guys if I want a boyfriend someday.”

“There you go,” Charity said brightly, patting my hand. “You should do it right now. You just made up your mind, so you should jump on that action. Stay with the momentum.”

My two best friends both read a lot of those motivational books, and it trickled down into their everyday conversation.

“Yes, absolutely,” Nadia agreed. They both started looking around the room. Then Nadia pulled a face. “Dammit. We already know practically everybody here. It’s not the same if she goes to chat with a guy who is married, or one of the regulars.”

“It has to be a stranger,” Charity agreed. “That will be a great challenge for her.”

“It doesn’t have to be anything serious,” Nadia said. “She just has to go talk to him for five minutes. Just to break the ice and get over the awkward part.”

“You’re right,” Charity nodded quickly. “As soon as her fear response starts declining, and her heart rate returns to normal, she’ll realize that the panic was all in her head. This is going to be a really important learning moment.”

“So she has to talk to a strange man for five minutes,” Nadia grinned, taking a huge sip of her drink. “Should be easy.”

“Guys, you’re insane,” I giggled. “I can’t just do that, you know. Here. Now.”

Charity reached over to fluff up my hair. “Of course you can. Think of it this way – he’ll appreciate the attention. All guys want to think that they’re god’s gift to women. So if a cute thing like you went over to chat them up, it’s going to boost his ego.”

I could feel my lips pressing together hard, like they always did when I was terrified. “What if I go talk to somebody and he’s married?”

“Look for a ring. If he’s wearing one, order a drink while you’re there and come back right away,” Charity said.

“What if he’s really boring and I don’t know how to make him talk?” I said, my voice nearly shaking.

“You try your best for a minute, then come back to us,” Nadia said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Staring down at my margarita, I replayed all of the times that my friends had given me good advice and I hadn’t taken it. They really had listened to me vent my problems for the past few years, and always tried to help. They both seemed so delighted by the idea of me taking a chance and doing something outrageous, that I sort of felt obligated.

Trying new things was one of those important steps in the process of becoming less shy. Or at least, that’s what the books said. If I were able to break my normal habits for one evening, it could set me on an entirely new path.

“If I did this,” I said slowly, noticing how their eyes became wide and excited, “It would have to be a total stranger. If I embarrassed myself in front of one of the regulars, I’d have to run into him over and over. That would be humiliating.”

“You’re right,” Nadia said quickly, almost bouncing in her chair. “And you’re going to have to do it quickly. The more you think, the more you’re going to talk yourself out of it. Just do it. It’s a tiny thing. Get it over with.”

Looking around the pub, I saw a nice mix of regular people having a drink after work. There was a table full of cute geeky guys who may have been software developers or something. There was a cluster of men in suits in a far corner. There were many couples and mixed groups of people.

Seeing the couples reminded me of why I wanted a boyfriend. Someone who would never abandon me. I wanted to be half of a team, and always have someone right there. To truly share our lives.

Nothing was frightening about this. They were just people. Everyone was used to conversations. A man probably really would be amused by a random girl coming over to chat him up for a moment.

They were absolutely right. I had to do it immediately. If I thought about this any longer, my fingers were going to start to shake.

A couple left, causing the tiny bell over the door to ring. Taking a long slow breath, I tried to center myself. I took the last sip of my drink, knowing that I could use the excuse to get a second one if I had to get away from the guy.

“The next guy through the door,” I said softly.

“Oh my god, I’m so proud of you!” Nadia squealed.

“Your choice is made,” Charity said quickly, fluffing my hair again. “Too late to back out. Use the nervous energy and turn it into excitement.”

I nodded, feeling like my face was going numb. Trying to take deep, slow breaths, I told myself that this bar usually wasn’t very busy on Thursday nights. There weren’t a lot of people coming and going. It could be at least half an hour before someone...

A man walked by the front window. My breath caught. The door opened as he walked in, the tiny bell tingling over the smattering of voices filling the room.

As my mouth fell open, Nadia breathed, “Holy shit.”

The words may as well have fallen from my own lips. He was flat out gorgeous. His dark eyes flashed in the dim amber light. His cheekbones and jawline were sculpted, enhanced even more by his slightly tanned skin. His thick, wavy dark hair, tight black t-shirt and leather jacket gave him an edgy look, making his broad shoulders seem even wider. It wasn’t until he passed one of the servers that I realized how tall he was.