It was dark outside, and Cannon was gone for the evening. As I sat with a glass of wine in one hand and my phone in the other, I scrolled through photos of guys the dating app had matched me with.
Allie had worn me down; I’d finally signed up. She’d been true to her word and had thrown James and all his shit out of her apartment, so I felt like letting her have this small victory was the right thing to do. Spending so much of this week alone, feeling lonely and sorry for myself, had only pushed me harder in that direction.
Taking another sip of chardonnay, I clicked on the envelope icon in the upper right corner of the screen. I had two unread messages—the first was an automated message welcoming me to the site, but the other was from someone named Daniel. His message was brief and playful.
Daniel: You look like trouble. ;)
I smiled and clicked on his photo to enlarge it. The brown-haired, brown-eyed man in the photo was decent-looking, I supposed. Cannon was much hotter with his messy sandy hair and huge biceps and magnetic smile. But Cannon wasn’t here right now, and he was off-limits anyway. I clicked Reply and typed a return message.
After another glass of wine and several messages back and forth, I was actually having a good time talking to Daniel. He lived one town over and worked as a financial analyst. He was thirty-two and had never been married, and his messages made me laugh. But then Daniel asked me out to dinner tomorrow night, and even though I was free, I hesitated. Part of me felt strange going out with someone else when Cannon’s cock had been this close to penetrating me only a handful of days ago. I told Daniel I would think about it and let him know tomorrow, and then went to plug my phone in to charge in the kitchen.
I hadn’t expected to be asked out on a date so quickly. Allie was right about one thing, that dating site certainly worked fast. But seriously, what was I supposed to do when a decent-looking man who seemed nice and normal suggested dinner? Say no thanks, I have a rain check to sleep with my new roommate? That would be crazy. I doubted Cannon would have turned down female attention simply because we might, or might not, be rescheduling our failed fuck session.
After filling a glass with tap water, I stood at the sink, taking small sips. It wasn’t like Cannon would even know about the date. He was working nights, and I’d probably be gone and back before he knew anything. Not that I needed to hide Daniel from him—I was perfectly in my rights to date. Wasn’t I?
I dumped the rest of the glass into the sink, then grabbed my phone and replied to Daniel, letting him know we were on for tomorrow night. Having that settled should have felt good, but instead it only left me feeling more confused.
As I went to get ready for bed, I hoped this weekend would bring me some clarity on what to do about Cannon. I had an unhealthy fascination with him, and didn’t see that ending anytime soon with us living under the same roof.
? ? ?
Daniel was a dud.
Okay, that wasn’t totally fair. Dinner was good and the conversation was fine, but Daniel and I simply didn’t have any chemistry. It was like talking to my cousin or a coworker. There was no spark, no electricity buzzing between us—not like my conversations with Cannon.
I removed my napkin from my lap, wiped my mouth one last time, and set it on the table beside me.
“Are you finished?” Daniel asked.
I nodded and signaled the server to bring our check. I’d been discreetly checking my phone under the table. The more wine I drank at dinner, the better idea it seemed to try to get home in time to see Cannon. And if we left now, I had twenty-three minutes before he left for his night shift at the hospital.
Daniel nabbed the check as soon as the server dropped it off. “I’ve got this. Thank you for joining me for dinner.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind splitting it,” I offered.
He nodded. “It’s my pleasure.”
I smiled at him. He really was a nice guy.
While he settled the bill, I used the restroom, checking my appearance in the mirror. Satisfied that my hair and makeup were still in place and I didn’t have any food stuck in my teeth, I met Daniel at the front of the restaurant.
He drove me home, talking to me yet again about his work as a financial analyst.
I held back a yawn. Surely two people could find more to talk about than spreadsheets and investments. But I didn’t care enough to try, so I nodded along.
“Thank you for tonight,” I said when he stopped at the curb in front of my house.
He put his car into park and hopped out, coming around to open my door. He was a little old-fashioned, insisting on picking me up, paying for dinner, and opening doors. But I kind of liked that in a man.
“I’ll walk you up to your door,” he suggested.
I nodded, following him up the stairs to my small porch, and plastered a polite smile onto my lips while he finished his story about last quarter’s earnings statements.