Page 3 of Hooked On Him
“Is there a reason you're out here?” Austin eventually breaks the silence.
“Huh?”
“The ceremony is going to start in like ten minutes.”
“Shit.” My eyes snap over to the front door of the church before I take a few steps forward, looking around the place to see if I can spot my date.
Yup. My date. My date, whom I’ve never met before, whom I let my best friend, Cole, set me up with.
I knew it was a stupid idea the moment he mentioned it, but I was desperate.
The idea of showing up here alone made me depressed. My mom has been bugging me for a while now, asking me why I haven’t found myself a nice man to settle down with. My sister was getting married, my brother has been seeing his girlfriend, Claire, since high school, so I guess that meant it was my turn to find someone.
It’s not that easy, something she never seems to understand. I know she means well, but the constant pressure to start dating someone is one of the many reasons why I don’t even go home for the holidays. That and also I’m always working.
That, and I don’t really have any free time. Between school and work, I’m lucky enough to have time to breathe, let alone date someone.
So, when I vented to my best friend, and he suggested he would hook me up with one of his friends from the team, I stupidly said yes. Like I said, I was desperate.
He promised me his teammate was a good guy and wasn’t a fuckboy like the majority of the people on the team.
That was something I had a hard time believing, though.
But I said yes, because this was a date for the wedding, not someone to have a relationship with, so I didn’t really care if he slept around or not.
The only thing I cared about was if my brother was going to kill me when I showed up here with one of his teammates.
Yup. My best friend is on the Freemount University rugby team as well. Although he is nothing like the typical jocks. He might be built like one, but that man is more nerdy than I am. And trust me, I have plenty of my own nerdy moments.
Anyways, I agreed to his harebrained scheme of a blind date because it was either show up at the wedding with this mystery guy, or come alone.
If my brother has a problem with it, I’ll tell him exactly that. He knows how Mom can be, he’ll understand. I hope.
God, I really hope.
“Are you okay?” Austin asks after I search for this mystery person, that I just now realize... I have no idea what they look like.
“Yeah.” I let out a breath of frustration because even though I don’t know what he looks like, there’s no one here anyway.
He was supposed to be outside waiting for me. Maybe he went into the church already. “Just waiting for someone.”
“Ahh.” Austin chuckles, and damn it, it's a nice sound. “Hot date or something?” he asks, wiggling his brows.
“Or something,” I mutter, grabbing my phone out of my pocket. “Excuse me. I have to make a call.”
“Sure.” Austin nods, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I’ll leave you be.”
He turns around and walks back up the steps, heading towards the door. Part of me is disappointed. This was the first time we've talked in years. While it was awkward as hell, I don’t like the idea of it being over.
I forgot I was calling Cole until I hear him answer. “What’s up, my bestie? Having fun at the wedding?” he asks in a playful tone.
“No, I am not. Because I’m standing outside waiting for this mystery date you set me up on, and he’s nowhere to be seen. What the hell, Cole? If this guy is standing me up, let me know now.”
“What?” he asks. “Cade should be there. He texted me that he arrived, like, a half hour ago.”
“Well, this Cade dude isn’t here. I’m waiting out front like you told me to.”
“You sure he’s not there? Maybe he’s inside.”
