Chapter 2
TWO
JJ
The woman across from JJ droned on, blending into the chit-chat from the over-crowded restaurant.
“...still haven't got the ignition fixed. It runs enough to get me where I need to go…”
JJ shifted in her seat. Yeah, this wasn't working.
“...I don't have the money anyway. Oh! Last night I was out with friends, and you've got to try this new Greek restaurant that's just opened in the city…”
Red flag. Red flag. Red flag.
This was the cost of dating these days. Spending an hour with a stranger, attempting to look empathetic instead of cringing at their lifestyle choices. JJ tried to keep eye contact with the woman. How was it this hard to find someone who had their shit together in their thirties?
Surely.
Surely there was someone out there who’d worked their life out, no longer living paycheck to paycheck.
Then they could banter over home loan rates and business overheads rather than run down cars.
JJ held her barely touched beer, the crisp IPA the only thing keeping her cool.
The label was wet, peeling easily as she picked at the corner.
It tore right off, a satisfied smile blooming on her lips.
Eyes snagging on the woman's furrowed brows, JJ eased the corners of her mouth into a solid line. Right, empathy time. The woman continued on about her lack of finances, all while downing the most expensive glass of shiraz on the wine list. JJ’s mind began a list of Ways To Get Out of A Doomed Date.
Phone a friend?
Her phone was in her jacket pocket on the back of the chair. Damn. She didn’t want to make it obvious.
Head to the toilet, then bolt?
Nope—she’d taken Remi’s advice to try Korean, and this place was so tiny, there was no bathroom.
She just had to say it. Thanks for your time, but this isn’t a good fit, yadda yadda. She’d wait for the next gap in their conversation and get out of here.
This was her seventh failed date in the last month. What was the definition of crazy? Doing the same thing, expecting different results?
Yep. That was JJ’s dating life.
Crazy.
Jess and Remi made dating look so easy. It was a pity JJ wasn’t hiring any apprentices anytime soon, as that seemed to work out well for Remi. No, JJ was just fine painting houses on her own.
With the constant questions from her family and seeing Remi paired up with so much love, JJ had jumped onto dating apps full steam ahead.
It was time. Putting so much focus into her home and business over the years, she’d be the first to confess she’d swept her dating life under a rug.
A chance connection had never come along, not like her friends and parents had experienced.
Watching Remi and Jess together was a stark reminder of what she could have if she put herself out there.
Her hypothesis was: the faster she dated, the quicker she could find The One—her perfect person.
Though, at the moment, all she was doing was burning herself out.
Her upcoming holiday couldn’t get here quick enough, just to give her a break from the dating pool.
Plates clattered on the next table over where a noisy family shared food, shoving the dishes between them.
JJ blinked. Her date’s glass of shiraz sat empty in front of her while the woman leaned over, gathering her handbag. “So sorry, I’ve got to rush off.”
JJ blinked again as the woman pulled at her dress, smoothing it down as she stood.
“It was lovely to meet you. I’ll be in touch.” She pressed herself between the tiny tables and fled out the door.
JJ blinked a third time.
Thanks for your time, but this isn’t a good fit. She hadn’t even given JJ a chance to spit it out.
So, that was how the woman saved her money. Touché.
After finishing the last of her beer, JJ paid their tab and left alone.
The moon was too bright overhead as JJ drove home, taunting her with its clarity as she plunged further into the murky dating pool. Another one to strike off the list.
JJ stepped inside her house and let out a long sigh. Jess looked up from her study notes at the kitchen bench, a hand threaded into her blonde hair. A failed date was at least more entertaining than TAFE study. JJ didn’t miss those days.
Eyes tracked JJ’s movement across the room. “You're back early. No luck?”
JJ avoided Jess’s eyes and beelined for the fridge.
Roommate shame was a real thing.
Living alone, she could get away with everything. Living with Jess? Not one failed date or bad hair day went unnoticed.
She was always there, ready to ask the big questions and grill JJ in a way that made her feel seen and heard, but also wanting to run for the hills.
It was a pity she wasn't attracted to Jess.
Actually, no, that was a good thing. Her best friend, Remi, would be growling at the mere thought of someone being interested in her girl.
JJ grabbed a beer, twisted the cap with her arm, and leaned against the benchtop. “No luck,” she replied to Jess, who was still watching JJ, arms now resting on her stack of notes.
Jess was the perfect roommate, exactly the kind of person JJ had been looking for.
She had Remi to thank for putting them in touch and couldn’t believe that was over a month ago now.
Jess and Remi had been dating for around the same time, but were taking things slow, so she couldn't see Jess moving out anytime soon.
Jess frowned and pushed out her bottom lip. “Bugger. What was wrong with this one?”
JJ scoffed and took a swig of beer.
Jess stared.
“You don't even know how the night went. She might not have liked me.”
Jess raised a single eyebrow.
JJ mumbled into her beer.
“What was that?” Jess tilted her head, eyes zeroed in. She waited with slow, unwavering blinks.
“She clearly wasn't my type,” JJ burst out, arms flinging and almost spilling her beer. She should’ve known.
“She arrived late, droned on and on about having no money while rattling off all the fancy restaurants she'd dined at lately, all while batting her stupid false eyelashes at me. Then, to top it all off, she left me with the bill!”
“You poor thing. That must've been terrible.” Jess mock-consoled her.
“It was torture,” JJ persisted. “I wanted to point out all the ways she could save her money rather than whinging about it. Instead, I took an extra swig of my beer to make my big mouth shut up.”
“I commend you on holding back from trying to solve this woman’s life problems on your first date.
” Jess's face told her she did not, in fact, commend her. As kind as Jess could be, she also wasn’t afraid to call JJ out.
“First dates are like a job interview, a get-to-know-you gig. Do you get along with the person or are you attracted to them?”
“No and no.” JJ scrunched up her nose. “Not after meeting her in person anyway.”
“You gotta give ‘em a bit of a chance, JJ.” Jess sat up straight, a piece of notepaper sticking to her arm.
She pulled it off and continued, “While I agree she doesn’t sound like the best fit, I'm not sure judging your dates’ everyday flaws straight off the bat is gonna get you far. They're only human.”
JJ folded her arms. “I can't help that I know what I want.”
“Just be careful you’re not making up this ideal woman who doesn't exist.” Jess mimed doing the robot.
A smile tugged at JJ’s lips as she chuckled at her roommate’s antics.
“I don't see them as perfect machines, I just want someone perfect for me. Same values, interesting personality, have their life together…”
Jess’s blue eyes were unwavering, pressing JJ to dig deeper.
“Well, it’s important,” JJ said.
Everyone had standards, and for good reason. The only problem was, the more dates JJ went on, the longer her list had become. Still, when she met the right woman, she wouldn’t hesitate.
Jess’s features relaxed. “I get that. I don’t mean lower your standards or settle for less.
Knowing what you want is half the battle.
Just make sure you’re seeing them for who they really are.
Holding people up to high expectations—especially if they need to meet every standard you’ve set—could be holding you back. Just think about it, okay?”
JJ shifted, leaning an arm on the bench and looking away.
“Maybe, you just need a break for a bit?” Jess continued. “From dating, and maybe even everything else for a few days.”
JJ looked back at Jess, lips pressing together. “I’m trying. The time’s booked off and everything.”
“I’ve heard that once or twice before. Gotta watch you tradie ladies and your skewed work-life balance. You saw where that got Remi.”
“You’re a tradie lady now too, remember.” JJ eyed the study notes Jess had been working on. “And, as I heard it, you patched Remi up real good.”
Jess threw a pen at her, narrowly missing her head.
“Hey!” JJ lifted her beer in the air to protect her face. “Missed me.”
She launched a kitchen sponge next, clocking JJ on the chin.
“Gotcha. And I don’t want you changing the subject on me,” Jess said with a wide grin. “Why haven’t I heard about this time off? Haven’t seen you planning anything.”
JJ’s stomach churned. She had two whole weeks cleared in her work calendar.
But whenever she sat in front of her laptop or looked something up online, she froze.
She’d open a million tabs, only to close them all before actually looking through them.
Now, she didn’t even like checking her socials because the algorithm had latched on to her plans, showing her videos of the beautiful South Australian outback, pink lakes, cliffside hikes and dozens of other picturesque places, all within her home state.
“I have no idea where to start.” JJ walked around the kitchen bench and plopped herself onto the stool next to Jess.
“Well, they say honesty is the first step,” Jess replied.
JJ’s face contorted. “I’m not an alcoholic.” She glanced at the beer in her hand, rolled her eyes and set it down on the bench, turning to Jess. “But I know I’m procrastinating. I just can’t make a decision.”
Exactly like the time she’d had to choose which shade of white for the interior of this house.
She’d spent weeks going back and forth to the paint shop, getting samples, painting patches on different walls in different rooms to see the light contrast. Then more samples and showing the options to almost everyone she knew, until finally, she chose the first colour she’d picked out.
As a professional painter by trade, looking back, she didn’t know why she hadn’t just listened to her gut—it was the same white she recommended to her clients all the time.
“You know what you want in a woman, but not where you want to holiday?” Jess prodded, breaking JJ from her thoughts.
JJ picked up one of Jess’s highlighters, twirling it between her fingers. “This is different. There’s so many choices and everything sounds so good, I can’t pick!”
She’d even resorted to asking her family to help at last Sunday night’s dinner. Instead, her parents went on a tangent about their own holiday memories, and her gran—who doesn’t travel anywhere—merely shrugged.
“Is this a ‘too-high-expectation’ thing again? Or are you afraid of making the wrong decision?”
JJ pulled in her lips, picking her beer back up and tapping the neck against her chin.
“Hmm. Both, maybe?” She took another sip. “I want this to feel like a holiday, a complete break from my day-to-day.” JJ shifted, making her back twinge. She winced and rolled her arms, trying to crack her shoulders. Her muscles remained tight.
Jess eyed the movement. “I’m all for you stepping away from the tools.”
“I know,” JJ replied.
Jess had made that very clear after Remi’s recent work accident and recovery.
JJ’s conversation with Remi had been the catalyst she needed to book the time off.
Seeing Remi’s arm in that sling wasn’t where she wanted to end up.
It was time to get away from nights on the couch watching TV after slinging paint rollers all day.
“So.” Jess pulled a hair tie off her wrist and threw her blonde strands up in a messy bun. “Why don’t you just look up a top ten list and go to each place in order. Cut out the thinking and go with a pre-planned route. Or just pick a destination and drive?”
“Nah, I want to look into it.”
Or maybe she should cancel the whole thing.
It was too bloody hard. She could stay home instead, make it a staycation—get some new plants for the garden, spend extra time with her family.
But… no. She had to do it, get out and actually live her life a little.
Time to get her act together and just organise the thing!
But then there was work.
JJ’s business, Precision Painting, wasn’t slowing down anytime soon.
She had clients booked back-to-back for the next few weeks, starting with Jess’s friends—Marie and Hayley’s place—which kicked off bright and early on Monday morning.
It was a monster of a job: she needed to paint the entire internals of their two-storey home and patch up a few wall cracks.
Her shoulders ached just thinking about it.
With all that, when would she have time to sit down and look at everything?
She should’ve pushed through the overwhelm and organised it sooner.
Well, there was no choice now: she’d have to figure it out, otherwise she’d be off in less than a month with nowhere to go.