Page 33 of Just Joshing
I turned to the guy on my other side. Mr. Eyepatch gave me a friendly smile. "Syd, I'm a veteran just looking to get into dating again." He tapped his eyepatch. "Lost it from a pen, if you can believe it. Two tours and not a scratch. Back in the country for less than three months and a random pen pops up and impales my eye. Makes for a great story though."
I nodded, unsure how to answer. A man scraped out the chair on the other side of my table.
The horn sounded just as he sat down. We both winced.
"You have six minutes Speedy Singles! Begin!" Lolly pressed the horn again.
"Hey, I'm Jeremy." He held out a hand.
"Molly," I shook it, offering a small smile.
We made small talk for several minutes before the conversation ran dry.
I smiled, feeling awkward. He cleared his throat, looking around at the other tables. I glanced over at Syd's table.
"Oh, they brought notes. That's cute." I laughed, turning back to Jeremy in time to see him place a clipboard on the table.
I tilted my head, "did I miss a memo?"
"No, it's your answers." He ran a finger down the page then stopped, looking up at me. "Says here you're into Dino Erotica. What type of Dino?"
I blinked. "Excuse me?"
"Oh, of course. Sorry." He pulled a piece of paper off the clipboard, handing it over. I took it, too surprised to refuse. The words swam for a moment before I registered what was on it.
His questionnaire. I had the answers to his questionnaire.
"Oh my god." I whispered, horrified.
"So, do you-"
"Look, Jesse was it?" I interrupted.
He frowned, tapping his name tag. "Jeremy."
"Right, Jeremy. Look, that paper isn't me. I was drunk when I filled it out and thought it would be hilarious to send to a friend but accidentally submitted it instead and-" I broke off, swallowing rapidly. "Let's just say that isn't a great indication of what I actually want."
He tilted his head, squinting a little. "So, you don't like Dino Erotica?"
A little bubble of hysterical laughter floated up my throat. "No."
His face fell for a moment.
Oh my god. Is Dino Erotica a thing? I THOUGHT I'D MADE IT UP! HOW IS IT A THING? IS IT LIKE FURRIES? DO I EVEN WANT TO KNOW?
"That's really disappointing because-"
The airhorn blew, followed by Lolly yelling, "Time! Swap around Speedy Singles!"
Jeremy shuffled across to the front of the line while the guy who'd been speaking to the Elena the librarian sat down at my table, placing a clipboard on the table and handing over his questionnaire.
"So, you're a fan of llamas?"
This is going to be a long night.
Chapter Eight
Josh
