I smiled at Birdie’s being excited. Though again I felt disappointment that the text didn’t mention anything about the two of us. Yet still, I said nothing. Instead, I’d answered:
Sadie: That sounds good. Can’t wait!
Half an hour later it was still irking me how innocuous our texts had been. So I decided to see if maybe I could get a rise out of him. It was dumb, a spur-of-the-moment reaction to my feelings being hurt, and I regretted it right after I hit “Send.”
Sadie: It might be closer to 8:00, but I’ll come straight after my . . . work thingy.
I chewed on my nail, waiting to see how he’d respond. He knew what type of work things I often did after business hours. This time, I had a combination happy hour and six minute dating with a friend event. After everything that had transpired between Sebastian and me the last two weeks, the truth was, I felt weird about going at all. Eight six-minute dates with men consuming copious amounts of alcohol wouldn’t have sounded appealing even if I’d never met Sebastian Maxwell. But I’d signed up two months ago because the with a friend part intrigued me, and I’d thought it would make for a fun article. In regular speed dating, you spent five to ten minutes talking to a stranger and then moved on to the next. At the end of a session of six or eight different mini dates, you wrote down if you were interested in an actual date with any of the men. If they also wrote your name down, then your contact information was given to each of you by the host. That was all true with this event, too. Only tomorrow night’s event had a twist. Both the man and woman seeking the dates brought a friend, and it was the friends who did the talking on the six-minute dates. They each asked questions about the prospective date to the prospective date’s friend. It sounded a little nutty, but I knew bringing Devin would make it interesting. Plus, months ago, I’d had no idea the Maxwells would be in my life. Which was pretty surreal to think about now, since I felt like I’d known them so much longer.
I watched my phone as my text went from Sent to Delivered to Read. The little dots started to jump around, and I held my breath, waiting to see Sebastian’s response.
Sebastian: Work thingy?
I smiled to myself. I’d gotten his attention, but as I started to type back, I became nervous. Why? I didn’t know. It wasn’t like we were in an exclusive relationship or anything. Though to me, things with Sebastian weren’t exactly casual, either. I regretted poking the bear even after I’d gotten exactly what I’d been after. How would I feel if Sebastian told me he had a date? Ugh. I needed to backtrack a bit . . . rewind and put Jack back in the box.
Sadie: Yeah. Just some research for an article.
But Sebastian wasn’t having it.
Sebastian: A date?
Well, technically I had eight dates. Though I didn’t think I needed to clarify that small point at the moment.
Sadie: Technically yes. Though not really. Just a new kind of speed dating for an upcoming article.
I braced myself, waiting for the response. While we’d been texting back and forth conversation-style, suddenly Sebastian went radio silent. It was a full ten minutes before my phone buzzed again. And when it did, my heart stuttered to a halt as I read his words:
Sebastian: Have a good time.“So. What does Tyler do for a living?” Devin said, sipping her second Cosmo.
Tyler’s friend Ethan answered. “He’s a pilot. Does long hauls between here and Sydney.”
“Wow. That’s a cool job. Does Tyler get discounts for friends and family? If so, I might be willing to skirt the rules and give you Sadie’s number right now.”
We all laughed. It was our fifth date of the night, and Devin had gotten really into her role of vetting prospective dates. Though the fun of the evening had nothing to do with any of the men, because let’s face it, I had no interest in any of them. The fun was the outlandish shit that came out of Devin’s mouth. Maybe if I’d been more into the night, I’d have noticed how cute Tyler was.
“Does your friend have any nicknames?” Devin asked.
Tyler flashed Ethan a menacing warning look.
“Oh no you don’t,” she said. “Spit it out. Now we need to know.”
Ethan grinned. “His nickname is Tink.”
“Tink? Like in Tinker Bell?”
Ethan shook his head. “No, Tink because the first time he ever got drunk, we were about thirteen, and he got so shit-faced that he wet the bed after he passed out.”
We all laughed while Tyler punched his friend’s arm. “You’re supposed to be helping me find a date, not scaring them away, jackass.”