“It’s okay, relax. Really, I’m nothing to be nervous about. Here, sit down and I’ll go get myself a coffee. Do you need anything while I’m up there?”
“No, I’m good. I was going to get that slice of chocolate cake, but I didn’t want you to think I was a glutton,” she said with a laugh, “I mean, who goes to meet someone for coffee and eats a piece of cake the size of their head? I didn’t think that would make a very good impression. But I only say that because I won’t judge you if you decide on dessert. I’ve always been a fan of dessert first. I feel like as adults we should be able to do things like that without judgement you know? But then anytime I do, I worry...”
Ozzie stood there with a smile on his face as Sofia went off on another tangent about desserts. When she finally caught herself, she stopped mid-sentence and put her head down on the table, murmuring, “Kill me now.”
Sofia was utterly amazing, and he had only spent five minutes with her. It was a treat to find someone so real in a city full of people pretending to be something they are not, even though her true self was something she was trying desperately to silence. He reached forward and rubbed her back, trying to get her to calm down. She tensed at his first touch, but slowly relaxed as he applied more pressure.
“Sofia, take a deep breath. You are doing great.”
She sat back up and shook herself off. “Can we start over?”
“Absolutely not. I don’t want to forget any of this,” he said with a wink, then headed to the counter to order his coffee and the biggest piece of chocolate cake he had ever seen in his life. He also ordered a slab of the peanut butter chocolate cake too. His gut told him that unless he planned to overeat cake with her, she likely wouldn’t do it. The woman behind the counter prepared his order, and he took the small tray she gave him over to the table. Sofia’s eyes went wide as he approached, smiling at how excited she was about the cake.
“You got it.”
“I did, and I got one for me too. But I fully expect you to share and you’re welcome to some of mine. You’re not allergic to peanuts, are you?”
“Please, I spent most of my life living on peanut butter and bologna sandwiches. Not together, of course. That would be gross. What I mean is I’d be long dead by now if I were allergic to peanuts,” she said as he handed her a spoon and took one for himself. They were quiet for a minute as they both dug into what had to be the most delicious dessert he had ever tasted. She moaned and closed her eyes at the first bite and his cock appreciated the sounds more than it should have. This was just coffee, fulfilling an obligation that his boys got him sucked into. This was not an invitation for him to pin her down to the table and fuck her in front of everyone there. Even though that fantasy was on replay in his mind.
“I have to admit, I really don’t know what to do next. This whole thing is a little strange, isn’t it?” she said after taking a sip of her coffee.
“It is. Have you done something like this before?”
“No. Never. Honestly, my best friend and I had way too much to drink last night, and we filled out the profile. Never in a million years would I have expected a match so quickly. Seems a bit suspect if you ask me,” she said with a smirk, “Have you?”
“Um... no, and in full disclosure, I didn’t sign up this time either. I run a youth center, and after the call from Vicky this morning, I got to the bottom of it all. A few of my boys decided it would be fun to make a profile for me.”
“Oh no. Really? You weren’t even looking for someone? How embarrassing. Why wouldn’t she have told me that when she called me this morning? It figures this was the case. You were too good to be true on paper. Are you with someone? Gay? You must be. All the good men I’ve met in my life end up gay.”
Ozzie chuckled and reached for her hand. “Sofia, take a deep breath.”
“I’m sorry. I really am nervous here.”
“I know. To be honest, I am too. I came because I didn’t want to let you down. I mean, it wasn’t your fault my boys thought this was hilarious. When Vicky explained how things worked, I wanted to give you a chance to pass on me to get to the next person. But since I’ve met you, I’ve become intrigued.” Sofia’s blush made him smile. “What do you say about maybe getting to know each other after all?”
“I don’t think that would be a bad thing at all,” she said with a smile so bright it could light up the room. Sofia Corsetti was unlike anyone he had met before. In the short time they spent together, he could already tell she had confidence in so many things, but her adorable habit of rambling warmed him inside. He often found himself with women who lacked confidence, because those who did would overwhelm him. After a childhood where everyone argued over what was best for him without ever asking what he wanted out of life, he preferred people who let him be himself. He was drawn to Sofia because she was completely herself whether or not she chose to be. She was full of both strengths and faults, which made her who she was and he admired that about her.
“So you said that this was all done on a slightly tipsy whim, but had you ever considered a matchmaking service before?”
“No, not really. Truth be told, I’m in a bit of a bind. I was invited to my brother’s wedding in New York and it’s a bit of a strange situation. I just met him and my brother, Micah. They are my half brothers and I just recently found out they exist. I didn’t want to turn up to my first big family event without a date and my best friend Hattie insisted on trying this. She’s a bit of a rom com junkie and believes everything she sees in movies. It was between a dating service and hiring an escort… the dating service was budget friendly,” she added with a laugh.
“I can’t say I’ve seen too many of them. To be fair, I didn’t even know services like this even existed. Online dating, sure, but actual matchmakers? Who would have thought?”
“I know, right? Honestly, the idea of it all kind of makes sense. It’s hard to meet people nowadays.”
“You’re telling me. I spend most of my time with teenagers and the rest in the water. Not a lot of opportunities to find anyone real.”
“Do you like the work you do at the youth center?”
“Absolutely. It’s my purpose in life. I hate when people call things like the center a passion project, because it’s not. Those kids are my life and I’m okay with that. Honestly, they give me everything I need. Well, them and Samson.”
“Samson?”
“My pup. He’s my main man.”
“That’s right,” Vicky said, “The only question you had for me was if I liked dogs.”
“Do you?”