It was a dumb idea. A friend told me about it and I guess I thought it might be good for a few laughs. And maybe I would meet somebody nice. It was a speed dating service that matched rich guys and hot girls. Silly, I know. Since I hadn't met anyone nice in a while I thought I would try it. I knew that I was going to meet a lot of jerks but I thought there might be a chance of meeting someone nice who could squire me around town and spoil me for a change. My last boyfriend was always broke (a starving artist type) and wound up owing me a lot of money that he still hasn't paid back.
So I called the place. It was located in midtown, not far from where I worked, so went in for an "interview." It was obvious from the stares I received as I walked through the door that I was going to have no problem. I'm 5'9', 120 pounds, with long shoulder-length brown hair. I'm in terrific shape. To put myself through law school I was a personal trainer, which allowed me to meet a lot of interesting people, some of whom became friends and one my lover. But I was now 29 and alone in the city and lonely, which most people couldn't understand. So I thought I would try something a little different. Boy, was I naΓ―ve!
The event was held in a very swank hotel downtown. The women were very beautiful, but some of them seemed desperate. They wanted to meet a man who would spoil them. A lot of the men were my height or shorter, which was a big turn-off. Wearing the highest heels in my closet was probably a mistake. And I had spent most of the day at the beauty salon, so I was feeling a little out of it. I wanted to go home the minute I got there, but I knew that I needed to just do this thing, just go through the motions and then I could say that I gave it a try at least. And I was wearing a very expensive cocktail dress. I couldn't let it go to waste. I guess I was still optimistic enough to think that I might meet someone nice, but as the evening wore on it was obvious that this wasn't the case. Even the nice ones were pretty lame, even the good-looking ones. They liked to talk about themselves and rarely asked me any questions other that the obvious ones. They seemed put off when I told them that I was a lawyer.
As I went around the room, I noticed this beautiful woman staring at me. She had big brown eyes and a gorgeous smile. I stared back and she turned away. Later in the evening we sat at adjoining tables and watched as she put this really obnoxious guy in his place. I laughed and smiled at her, she smiled back. I wanted to introduce myself, but then we had to switch tables and I lost track of her. At the end of the night I was exhausted. My purse was full of business cards that I was going to put in my recycling bin in my apartment. The service handling the event thanked me and asked me to fill out a questionnaire, but I was too exhausted to fill it out and left. And that's how I met her. She was already outside trying to hail a cab. I looked over at her and smiled and she smiled back. She stepped back and turned away from the street and approached me. She was tall, maybe an inch taller than me, with long black hair and a gorgeous tan. Her heels were even higher than mine and she was wearing a raincoat over her little black dress, which was smart, since it was a little chilly out. I was freezing. She offered me her hand. "Angela," she said.
"Alex."
She smiled. "I wanted to meet you in there, but you disappeared on me."
"I know."
"Did you fill out that silly questionnaire?"
"No, did you?"
"Nope, what's the point?"
"A bunch of jerks."
"I know."
We stood in front of the hotel for a moment looking at each other and then I turned away. I think I was blushing. "It's still early," she said. "Want to get a drink?"
"Sure."
"I know a good place, it's only a few blocks. Do you mind walking?"
"In these heels?
She laughed. "Tell me about it."
We took a short cab ride across town to a bar near her apartment, which was only a few blocks away from mine. Inside, we took a booth in a corner and ordered drinks. Angela got up to use the bathroom and on her way back a couple of guys at the bar stopped her. She talked with them for only a few seconds and then returned to our table.
"What did they want?" I asked.
"To buy us drinks, I said no thanks."
"They seemed really persistent. They're staring at us right now."
"They won't bother us again. I told them that we were on a date."
I blushed. "You did?"
"No."
She looked over at the bar. One of the guys waved.
"What did you say?"
"That we were lovers."
"Angela!"
She smiled mischievously.
"I'm kidding."
I blushed again and she tapped me on the knee. "Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
I took another sip from my drink and looked over at the guys. "They're nicer than the guys at the hotel," I said.
"I guess."
"Did you get any phone numbers."
"A handful. I tried to let them down easy. And you?"
"A bunch. I was too nice."
"Nothing wrong with being nice. Are you going to call any of them?"
"I doubt it."
"I already threw mine away."
"So how old are you anyway, twenty-seven?
"Twenty-nine."
"I'm thirty."
We got another drink and Angela let me vent about my relationships. She was a good listener. "So I guess the night was a waste of time?" She asked.