Page 24 of Fumbled Beginning

We were in a quiet area, but plenty of cars were still driving by. JP stayed close to me, keeping his body near the road. I grabbed my purse and made sure I wasn’t leaving anything behind.

I hopped inside his truck and pulled my phone out of my purse when we merged onto the pavement. I was just about to call my brother when my phone buzzed in my hand with a new text.

“Speak of the devil,” I said as JP side-eyed me.

Maverick

Any update on the car?

JP called his mechanic; he’s having it towed to his garage and bringing me home now.

Maverick

Glad to hear it. You’re safe with JP. Tell him I owe him. I’ll call you in the morning to figure out your car situation.

Sounds good. Now go back to bed.

Maverick:

Call me when you wake up. Night!

“Where were you coming back from?” JP asked, glancing in his side mirror.

“I had a date tonight?”

His jaw tightened. “I thought you said you were done with those stupid dating apps.”

“Relax, it was set up by a mutual friend.”

He pressed his hand firmly on the steering wheel. “You said you were done, I assumed you meant with dates in general.”

“My friend Stephanie thought it would be a good idea to set me up with her neighbor.”

“How did it go?” His temple pulsed, and I had to unroll my window to let some of the tension out of the car.

“I’ve had better,” I said, trying to make light of the situation. The date was terrible, and JP was clearly agitated about it. Just thinking about it made me realize how hungry I was, so I wasn’t surprised when my stomach protested by making an embarrassing noise.

“Please tell me you didn’t hear that.”

“I didn’t need to hear it. I could feel the vibration all the way over here.” I playfully smacked his shoulder. “Hey, why are you taking your frustration out on me? Did your date not feed you?”

“We went to a sushi house.”

He made a look of disgust. “You hate sushi.”

I loved that he remembered that. “I don’t hate all sushi. I just don’t care for raw seafood. I’ll eat cooked sushi.”

“Wait a hot fucking second. Did your date sit across the table from you and not notice that you weren’t eating?” He shifted in his seat. “Where the hell do you find these guys?”

“The appetizer was cooked,” I said a little defensively, but I wasn’t sure why. “He ordered the love boat for two special, which came with assorted uncooked sushi and sashimi.”

JP broke out in laughter. “The love boat for two, huh?”

“Yeah, I sat through dinner, sipping my martini while he talked about his kids.”

“Sounds like the guy was a real winner. Maybe that’s another sign that you need to stop going on these dumb dates with people you don’t know.”

I turned in my seat and folded my arms. “How am I supposed to meet anyone, genius?”

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