Page 61 of Written By a Woman

Jake, the date that I swiped right on this morning, who had immediately messaged me asking if I wanted to meet up for lunch, was a little older than the men I usually went out with. He was forty-two, twelve years older than I was. He was handsome. He had dark brown hair with a touch of grey over the ears. Jake had blue eyes, a kind smile, and no pictures of dead fish or animals anywhere on his profile.

Most importantly, he wasn’t Zaid Ansara.

I was determined to squash any romantic hopes or interests on my part. The progress I was making on my manuscript didn’t allow me to explore whether Zaid returned my feelings. The ethics were still very grey.

I had just said something to make Jake laugh, which made me wince as his laughter boomed loudly and a little obnoxiously across the little café we sat in. Whatever I said probably justified a small chuckle or a scoff, not…whatever that was.

“You’re funny, kid,” Jake wiped a tear from his eye as his shoulders shook, another laugh escaping him.

I couldn’t stop my grimace this time, an expression he noticed but pretended not to as he finally pulled himself together enough to clear his throat and rest his forearms on the table.

I made a show of checking the time on my phone, “I should probably get back to work soon,” I turned my wince into one of disappointment, even though I was desperate to get out of there and block the guy. The date wasn’t the worst date I had ever been on, but it wasn’t a good time either. He never asked me questions and was already in the habit of cutting me off mid-sentence to add his own two cents. The only time I could get a word in was when I interrupted him, which is probably why he was so startled by my last sarcastic remark to whatever story he was telling, and I laughed as obnoxiously as he did.

“Oh, wow, I didn’t realize it’s already been an hour,” his eyes widened as he gave me a sheepish expression, darting to my chest quickly while pulling his wallet out and laying some money down on the table.

I thanked Jake for covering the bill as we both gathered our things and stood, walking awkwardly next to each other out of the cafe. He placed his hand on my lower back to guide me out of the door first, so I took a larger, dramatic step away from him to get him to drop his hand as soon as we were both outside.

“I had a great time, kid,” part of me was convinced he couldn’t pronounce my name and was too prideful to ask me how to again, “Are you free this weekend?” He stood in front of me, blocking my path and lowering his head to meet my eyes. His body was a little too close to mine again, so I stepped back once more to create distance.

“I’ll have to double-check,” I smiled, mentally checking the list of how to turn down a man and not become a skin suit afterward, “I’m getting together with some friends.” Vague, believable, and gives enough reason to not commit to anything at this very moment. I finished it off with a friendly smile and shouldered my purse, checking the time on my phone one more time to emphasize the importance of me returning to work at this moment.

“You’re not going to ghost me, are you?” His words were a joke, and his tone was a joke, but the look in his eyes let me know this wasn’t the first time a woman was not interested in making plans with him after one date. I felt my body tense at his words, and my smile became a little wobblier than I would have liked.

“Does that happen to you often?” I countered, wondering if I had just blown everything.

He rolled his eyes, his friendly smile fading to something more bitter, before shoving his hands in his pockets and saying, “I’ve been doing this longer than you have. I know when a woman is trying to shake me, I’m not stupid.”

I blinked at him, my mouth hanging open in shock before I caught myself and snapped it closed, “Okay.”

Jake gave me a once over, longing clearly in his eyes before he replied, “You’re not even going to try denying it?”

I lifted my shoulder, “I don’t really see why I should.”

He frowned, looking down at the ground, “Is it something I did?”

I tilted my head, shifting my weight on one hip before crossing my arms across my chest and assessing him, “Do you really want to know, or do you want me to soothe your ego?” I tried to ask the question as gently as I could, but he still flinched. He still pressed his lips together in a firm line before giving me a hurt expression. After the longest couple of seconds of my life, he finally lifted both of his shoulders and grumbled to the ground.

“I keep striking out,” his hand lifted, and he rubbed his neck as he continued, “If there is something I’m doing that’s off-putting, I’d like to know.”

I sighed, checking the time on my phone once more before I saw a text message from Zaid.

My heart skipped a beat at the notification, but I ignored it while I addressed Jake.

“Look,” I relaxed my body language, my tense shoulders loosening, in an attempt to get him to relax as well, “You’re a really nice guy. You’re chivalrous and kind and handsome,” his head lifted a little as hope coated his expression, right before I added, “But you didn’t let me get a word in.”

His brows furrowed the slightest bit, “I didn’t?”

“No,” I shook my head once, “I know all about you. I know what you do for work, what your hobbies are, and why your cat got his name. I know about your friends and their partners and a couple of fun memories you have with them,” he was nodding slightly as I listed off all the things he spoke about during our date, “And yet, you don’t know any of those things about me in return.”

His ears started to turn a little pink, his lips tucking into his mouth before releasing a clearly embarrassed sigh.

Right when he opened his mouth to reply, I quickly cut him off, “And you interrupted me six times within one hour.”

Jake’s eyes widened a little before he slumped his shoulders, “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

“Thank you,” I gave him what I hoped was an encouraging smile, “But now you know.”

He gave me another sheepish expression, his gaze dropping to my chest once more before he leaned forward the slightest bit and asked, “Is there any way I can get a second chance?”

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