“I’ve never tried it myself,” I admit. “My cousin has, but I’m not sure if the results could be considered quality dates. I honestly have no idea how people are supposed to meet these days, let alone avoid the assholes.”
Jude places our drinks in front of us and slinks away.
“No matter where you meet,” Cherry says, “there is always that chance.”
“Sounds like you’ve had a bit of experience there.”
“I have though this is the first one I’ve tried off an app. None of them have been worthwhile. I should probably just give up on the idea. For now, at least.”
“Just internet dating or dating altogether?”
“Either. Both. I don’t know.” She laughs. “They’ve all left a pretty bad impression.”
“How so?”
She takes a sip of her martini and stares at me over the rim of the glass. The look makes my heart beat faster, and I turn toward her, leaning an elbow on the bar and trying to maintain my casual appearance.
“Do you really want to hear this?” she asks.
“I’ve got to make sure I don’t make the same mistakes.”
She looks at me, blinks a few times, and then presses her lips together. I hope I’m not coming on too strong, but I want her to have a good experience here at my club. If I’m being honest with myself, I also want her to think of me as the person who improved her evening out and not think of Antony as some kind of savior.
“Right after high school, I was set up on a blind date by a friend of mine. In her defense, she didn’t know him. He was an acquaintance of her brother’s, and she felt awful about it afterward.”
“What happened?”
“At the start, the date was going fairly well. I should have known there was something wrong with him though.”
“Why is that?”
“He was rude to the bartender,” Cherry says, shaking her head. “Anyone who has ever worked any kind of service job knows to treat waitstaff well. He was impatient and rude. I should have just left then. Aaron—the guy I met up with tonight—was rude to the bartender, too. I guess I…”
“You what?” I ask when her voice trails off.
“I guess I haven’t learned that lesson,” Cherry finally says. “Rudeness should be a red flag, and I didn’t treat it like one. Like tonight, I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. I think it’s a female curse. We’re taught to always put other’s feelings before our own, always give people a second chance even if they don’t deserve it.”
“I think that’s the only way us idiot guys have a chance.”
“Anyway, at the end of the night, he offered to drive me home. I was a little hesitant to accept, but the date had gone pretty well, and I didn’t think it would be a big deal. After all, he knew my friend’s brother, and it’s a small community. Nothing bad ever happens in small towns like that.”
I tense. I have a horrible feeling about where this story is going, and if it’s what I think it is, I might have a very difficult time controlling myself.
“The bar was closing, and it was taking a while for the server to bring our checks.”
“He made you pay for your own drinks?”
“I was fine with that,” she says. “I prefer to go Dutch, especially on a first date. No expectations.”
“Hmm.” I don’t agree, but I back off, waiting to hear the rest of the story.
“We decided to go up to the bar to settle up, but he was still really impatient. He ended up cussing at the bartender and then walking off toward the parking lot. I waited, paid my own tab, and then wandered around in the parking lot for fifteen minutes looking for his car.”
“Wait…what? Are you saying he just left you there?”
“Left me there intoxicated in a dark parking lot at an unfamiliar bar at one in the morning, yes.”
“Motherfucker!” I nearly bite my tongue off. “Sorry…I shouldn’t have said that, but damn.”