Page 9 of Lucky
Penn shakes his head, a smile playing at his lips.He rises from the bench and claps my shoulder.“I love your optimism.”
“Here to serve,” I assure him.
Penn moves to his cubby to change and I pull out my phone.Notifications.Mentions.Texts from some girl I don’t remember giving my number to.
I open TikTok.Scroll past a dance trend.A failed prank.A cooking hack I’ll never use.
Then I see her.
Pretty girl with hazel eyes that glimmer from the ring light she most assuredly has on before her.No makeup, a fluffy sweater on her shoulders.
“Hey, Pittsburgh besties… grab a cup of tea, pet something soft, and mentally prepare yourselves, because I’ve got another dating disaster for the archives.”
She leans to the side, not out of frame, and when she comes back, she’s got… a rabbit?Long fur and floppy ears, she places it on her lap and it looks to be sleeping.Or maybe it’s dead?
I’m intrigued.The fact she’s instructing her followers to lower their expectations has me hooked.
“Tonight’s date?Buckle up.He spent thirty minutes explaining the microbiology of public restrooms.Thirty.Minutes.I now know more about hand dryers than a Dyson engineer.”
She stares into the camera… and yeah, wow… those eyes.
“He also called me ‘refreshingly average’—which I’m pretty sure was meant as a compliment?—and referenced his ex seven times.I counted.It was like she was on the date with us.But invisible.And judging me.”
“Refreshingly average is a compliment?”I mutter, wondering just how stupid a guy has to be to say something like that.
She rubs her rabbit’s ears and I’m still not sure if it’s real.
“And the kicker?This all happened before dessert.I didn’t even get to eat my crème brûlée.Which feels criminal.”
I snort, because yeah… gearing up for crème brûlée and then being denied is just fucking wrong.
She leans closer to the camera.Her voice isn’t syrupy or fake.It’s a little breathless, but honest.Worn in.Like she’s been carrying hope for longer than she wants to admit.
“Here’s what I’m thinking… maybe I’ve been aiming too high.Looking for a unicorn when I should be out here searching for, like… one decent man who knows how to shut up about bacteria and doesn’t use the phrase ‘my ex and I’ like it’s punctuation.”
I can’t help but laugh and I can see it in my mind’s eye.Some dipshit dude who thinks he’s God’s gift to women and the universe.Totally not the way to get laid, my man.I watch the woman as she continues, wondering where this is going.
“I’ve dated lawyers, doctors and bankers.I’m talking men who are successful and seem to be what a woman wants.But… it’s not panning out for me.Maybe it’s time for an experiment.”
Her expression issues a challenge to anyone watching.
“Thirty days of dating to find a normal guy.Someone… refreshingly average like me, apparently.He doesn’t have to be perfect.He just has to not make me want to crawl out a restaurant’s bathroom window.And I’m guessing that this platform is big enough to open my dating pool.So, I’m appealing to all you, besties… help a girl out.Let’s see if he exists.”
I stop breathing for a second.She’s not flashy.Not filtered.Not pretending to be anything other than who she is.
And somehow, I’m wondering what it would be like to have a conversation with her.Admittedly, she’s also thrown down a challenge, which intrigues me even more.
Atlas nudges me.“You look like you’re trying to telepathically will your phone into bed with you.”
I ignore him.Scroll back.Watch the video again.Atlas watches over my shoulder and I check out her profile.
@WinnieTheNotWild.Interesting name.
Interesting woman.
Before I can even think what I’m doing, I hit “stitch.”Her video opens with her face, soft and sincere, right before her line,Thirty days of dating to find a normal guy.
My part cuts in.I lean into the frame, hair damp, grin half-cocked.“Lucky here—actual name, not just wishful thinking.Challenge accepted.I’m not perfect, but you won’t be sneaking out bathroom windows.I also bring snacks.”Then I lean in a little closer, pop my dimples.“Challenge accepted, Winnie.”
