Chapter 5
Hank
I carried Bruno as I cruised the dog park Saturday, scanning for the two Labs that belonged to my date. I hadn’t been so sure about Letting Iola play matchmaker, but this match was really charming.
We’d decided, since we’d traded dog pics, to find each other that way. I’d joked that it’d either be incredibly romantic or incredibly awkward.
We’d chatted several times over the course of the week, but never as much as last night, when our chit-chat had escalated to more flirting.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d clicked with a woman at a level that went beyond physical looks.
I’d definitely been meeting too many of my dates at bars or parties, where the alcohol was flowing and a first date amounted to a hookup.
I was a nice guy, so I always called for a follow-up date, and somehow I ended up in relationships without really even knowing these women.
Then they imploded in spectacular fashion because one of us—or both of us—realized we didn’t even like each other.
Iola had promised it would be different with matchmaking, since we’d be matched based on our profile of interests, and judging by how well Jamie and I meshed over text message, she might actually be right.
Jamie had won me over with her personality. I wasn’t even that worried about what she looked like.
My gaze caught on a yellow Lab running toward me, dragging along a figure who was five-foot-six, maybe. They were still at a distance, but the person was slim, with curly dark hair whipping in the wind.
The black Lab was meandering beside them, more interested in sniffing bits of grass or trees than racing ahead like the other one.
This had to be Jamie, because I recognized the dogs. I started toward them, my smile of greeting spreading across my face.
But wait—
My smile sagged.
That wasn’t Jamie. It couldn’t be.
I frowned, confused, as the dog owner came to a stop a few feet in front of me. The very male dog owner.
“Hi,” he said, voice airy as he tried to catch his breath. “This is Bruno, right?”
“Right,” I said.
“So you must be Hank, then.”
I set Bruno down on the ground, and the Labs, Lady and Tramp, Jamie had called them, surged forward to greet him, dragging this guy close enough I could make out the green flecks in his eyes and the spray of freckles over his nose and cheeks.
I took a hurried step back. I wasn’t used to a guy standing so close and looking up at me like that…
“So, where’s Jamie?” I blurted.
“Huh?”
“Did she get cold feet? I knew I put my foot in my mouth last night. I was just kidding around. Tell her I’m—”
“What are you talking about?”
I stopped, confused. “Well, Jamie’s not here, is she? Unless you’re just watching the dogs while she runs an errand?”
I glanced around the park, as if I’d even recognize Jamie if she were walking right up to us.
Still, I looked in the hopes some woman, any woman, would approach and set my fears to rest. Because the way this guy was looking at me?
It wasn’t like a platonic stranger who’d been sent to give me Jamie’s regrets, but rather like—
“I’m Jamie,” he said.
Shit. Like that.
I laughed nervously. “But you were supposed to be a woman.”
He blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Sorry, it’s just…Iola has thrown me for a loop here. I thought I was signing up to date a woman, and you’re…not one.”
Red crept into his cheeks. I was sure I wasn’t faring much better. Being a ginger, my face gave away all my emotions.
“You’re not bisexual, by chance?” he asked, peeking up at me.
“Sorry, no.”
“Not even a little curious?”
I chuckled. “Not really, no.”
“No.” His lip jutted out in a pout. “Noooo. Iola did not send me a straight man after weeks of waiting for a match!”
I winced. “There must have been a mixup. She swore she had the perfect woman for me.”
Jamie sighed and hung his head. “That means it’s back to the drawing board for me. Too bad the drawing board is freaking blank.”
“Sorry, man. Looks like we both have shit luck with dating, then.”
Jamie rolled his eyes. “You’ve got no idea what it’s like to be a gay guy in this town. You can walk across the park and meet another date. I mean, look at you!”
He gestured to my body and sighed mournfully.
I shifted uncomfortably. “Well, aren’t there a lot of gay couples?” I said. “Those guys who own the doughnut shop, and uh, Hunter and Clark Rhodes? Oh, and the florist just started dating Damon, right?”
His eyes narrowed. “You know Damon?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say I know him, but they had this wild date at the pub where—”
“This isn’t a prank, is it?” he cut in. “Because it’s really not funny.”
I raised my hands at his sharp tone. “No pranks. Not unless someone is playing one on me.”
Jamie deflated. “Okay, well, the joke is on both of us, then.”
“I guess so,” I said ruefully. “We did say meeting this way would be romantic or awkward.”
“Well, I was thinking awkward, as in your dog is better-looking than you, but that’s so not the case.” Jamie gave me a considering look. “You’re exactly my type. I was thinking Iola had really nailed this matchmaking thing.”
His gaze slipped from my face to my shoulders, seeming to caress the muscles of my upper arms before slipping down my body to my thighs. I was used to this kind of perusal from women, but seeing a man blatantly appreciate my six-three frame was disconcerting.
I cleared my throat. “Uh, well, our messaging went so well last night that I was also thinking Iola had worked some magic. Guess we were both wrong.”
“Because my dogs are better-looking than me, huh?”
“No. You’re…” I paused. “Cute. You know. For a guy.”
Jamie wasn’t bad looking at all. His dark curls slipped over eyes framed by incredibly long eyelashes, and his features were on the delicate side, with a little nose that scrunched up when he squinted into the sun.
His lips quirked as he gazed up at me. He was so short he barely came to my shoulder.
“I don’t suppose you could just pretend I was a woman?” he joked.
At least, I hoped he was joking.
“That might work until the clothes came off,” I said.
“Well, that means I’d get a whole date out of you first. It’s going to be so embarrassing to tell my friends that my date was a bust.” He groaned. “Silas will never let me hear the end of it.”
Tramp was bouncing around Bruno, bowing low and giving little yips to entice to him play. Lady was delicately sniffing his butt.
None of them looked as if they were ready to go.
“Tell you what,” I said. “The dogs seem to like each other, and I’ve got a cooler packed with snacks. And, uh…this is already the most interesting date I’ve been on in months. Why don’t we just let the dogs play, and you can tell your friends whatever you want about this date.”
He brightened. “Really?”
“Just don’t make me sound too easy,” I joked.
He laughed. “You don’t care if people think you’re queer?”
I shrugged. “I’m not a ’phobe.”
“Well, that’s something. This could have gone really badly.” He gave me a second glance. “So this date… How does it end?”
“With a goodbye,” I said. “No kissing.”
He nodded. “Of course not. I only put my mouth on men who want me to.”
That drew up an inappropriate image of Jamie going to his knees in front of me, offering to put his mouth anywhere I wanted.
Disturbed, I grabbed the cooler at my feet and went to sit on a nearby bench under a tree.
When Jamie followed, I sat the cooler on my left side, so it’d be a barrier between us.
I wasn’t trying to be rude. It would be easier for us both to access that way.
But I also needed a little buffer. This date mixup had me off-balance.
I pulled out a bottle of water and handed it to him. Then took out a second for me.
I cracked the lid and held up my bottle. “Well, here’s to awkward dates and friendship.”
Jamie tapped his plastic bottle to mine. “And awkward friendship.”
“That too,” I said with a chuckle.
He smiled at me, and it was a perfectly nice smile. Yet, I had no doubt that lurking beneath the surface was the same disappointment weighing me down.
Iola had screwed the pooch—and we were stuck with the mess.