Page 1 of Deuce

Chapter One

Sophia

Current wisdom says dating apps are a step above those blind dates arranged by well-meaning friends.I wasn’t so sure about that.

This was the third first date I’d been on this month after signing up for what was supposed to be the top-of-the-line dating app, and unless things improved in the next half hour I’d be looking for first date number four as soon as I managed to extricate myself from this one.

Staying single was starting to look like an attractive option.

Online, George Landry had looked and sounded like a reasonably good guy.We had several things in common, including our love of sitcoms and our lack of sympathy for the whining of vegans.We’d done the first steps, the back-and-forth messages.I’d even Googled his name and nothing had raised any alarm bells.

In person, however, he sent chills down my spine.

Creepy.

That one word described him to a T.From his eyes that shifted restlessly and didn’t quite meet mine, to the disturbing way he used that plastic fork to stab his slice of apple pie into tiny pieces.He didn’t actually eat any of the pie, just dissected it and pushed the ragged pieces around on his plate.

Like I said, creepy.The guy was a definite no-go for a second date, and I hadn’t even tasted the coffee yet.

We’d agreed on a local coffee shop for this first date, and I picked one a fair distance from my house.It was one of those Mom and Pop kind of places.The neighborhood was a little run-down, and the place could use a good coat of paint, but this coffee shop had one stellar thing to recommend it -- this was one place I didn’t frequent.That way, if things went south I wouldn’t have to worry about an accidental meeting in the future.

Normally I liked to do these meetings during the afternoons, when it was still daylight out and there were lots of people roaming around, but George had mentioned he was on call during the days and he didn’t want our first meeting to be interrupted by business.At the time, it had sounded reasonable, even thoughtful.Now I wasn’t so sure.

I blew on my steaming cup of coffee.No need to add a burnt mouth to the reasons this date sucked.

Sadly, my dating life up to now hadn’t been all that great.I’d learned the hard way to be careful about where I met strange guys.Before I’d left home, I’d texted my BFF to let her know where I was going and who I was meeting.If I didn’t check back in with her by midnight, she’d alert the cops.And my dad.

Not sure who’d be scarier.

“So you’re a teacher?”George gazed at something over my left shoulder.

“Yes.I teach chemistry to high school kids.”A little white lie.Some instinct made me reluctant to let him know where to find me during the working day.“What about you?”

“I’m in the import/export business.”He shrugged.“People want something, they let me know and I supply it for them.”

His profile had been rather vague on what he did for a living, but I just thought he didn’t want to give out too much detail on a public forum.What the heck did import/export mean?Did he sell cheap Christmas decorations made in some factory in China or was he talking hardcore drugs?

Did I mention creepy?

“That sounds interesting.What kinds of things?”

“Stuff they can’t get easily at the local Wal-Mart.Like specialized parts for vintage cars.”

That made sense, I supposed.“How do you find them if they’re not easy to get?”

He smirked down at the mutilated pie.“I’ve got connections.”

That sounded ominous.Like maybe the connections weren’t exactly legal.Surely I hadn’t managed to date someone with ties to the mob!

“Sounds fascinating.”Time to change the subject.“Are you into vintage cars?”

He shook his head.“Nah.Too much work to keep them up and running.”He reached for the sugar dispenser, knocking his coffee over in the process.

I jumped up, managing to avoid most of the hot liquid cascading in my direction.

“Shit, I’m sorry!”George grabbed a handful of napkins from the dispenser in the center of the table and started to soak up the spilled liquid.“Can you get a wipe or something from the girl at the counter?”

“Sure.”This was definitely in the running for the worst first date ever, and I’d had some doozies.

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