Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31078 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31078 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 155(@200wpm)___ 124(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
“This is my last damned blind date,” he muttered under his breath inwardly cursing himself for allowing his friends to talk him into this. At thirty-two years old, it would be nice to have someone to spend his life with, but the right woman for him didn’t seem to be out there. He’d lost count of all the times he’d been cast in the best friend role or dumped for being too passionate about his love for anything space related. He was simply a big nerd at heart who loved his job.
Matt didn’t always know the right things to say around beautiful women, so he was often quiet and shy. It had been that way since he was a kid which is why he focused on his passion of the universe and space phenomena. He’d buried himself in his studies and eventually focused on becoming an astrophysicist. Only within the last few years he realized he longed for companionship.
He’d had a few sexual encounters throughout his adult life but nothing that had developed into anything long and meaningful. Several of his colleagues were married with children or had partners. And Matt wanted that as well.
On the verge of him signaling to the waiter for the check, Charlene appeared, flopping down with dramatic flair. “Sorry about that, hon, I ran into an old friend when I went to restroom.” She flipped a lock of long auburn hair over her shoulder. Charlene was pretty, but well aware of it. Actually those twenty minutes she’d spent in the ladies’ room had been a relief because it gave Matt a break from listening to Charlene’s favorite subject. Herself.
Not only was she conceited, within the first few minutes of them meeting she’d not so subtlety asked what his net worth was.
“No problem.”
“Mark, can I be honest with you?” she asked leaning over the table and giving him a generous view inside her dress.
“Of course. I’d prefer it.” He smiled, waiting for her to drop the bomb. The least she could have done was get his name right.
“This isn’t going to work out. I mean, you seem like a really nice guy, but you’re just not my type.”
Even though he didn’t really want to further their acquaintance either, her words still stung. Pasting a smile on his face, Matt nodded. If anything, he was still a gentleman. “I understand. Blind dates don’t always work out.”
She snorted. “Tell me about it. Maryanne said you were cute, I mean you are cute, but in a geeky science guy kind of way. I like my men to be a little beefier if you know what I mean. No offense.”
Kind of like how I like my women to have an IQ over 50.
As much as he wanted to say it, his inbred manners wouldn’t allow him. Just because Charlene obviously had no tact didn’t mean that he should follow suit. “None taken. Seeing as this isn’t really going anywhere let me get the waiter and I’ll take you home.”
“Oh, that’s okay, Max. My friend and I are going out after this, but thanks anyway. You don’t mind if I go and sit over there do you?”
“Not at all, and the name is Matt.”
“What?”
“You called me Max. My name is Matt.”
“Oh, did I? Don’t take it personal, hon. I’m not really big on names. It was nice meeting you, Mike.” She stood up with a brief smile and walked over to the table of her friend, who turned out to be a man.
She hadn’t even thanked him for dinner. That’s it. He was finished with dating. His face burned with anger and humiliation. Matt didn’t have to look in a mirror to know his face was bright red. When he got his bill, he threw enough cash on the table to cover the bill and a generous tip and walked out of the restaurant in disgust.
Later that night as he stepped out of the shower, he studied himself in the mirror. He could never be accused of having movie star good looks, but he wasn’t completely hopeless in the looks department either. He had a good job, owned his own home, was drug free and had never been married.
Most women called him cute, a word he detested. Wet and wavy brown locks framed an angular face. Hazel eyes ringed with gold stared back at him. An inch shy of six feet, his body was lanky, but toned from years of cycling and swimming. What was it about him that made women overlook him? Was he really that boring? Or maybe he was simply unlucky in love?
He didn’t think his standards were impossible to meet. He wanted someone who shared some of his interests, could hold an intelligent conversation and attractive. He found beauty in all types of women so he wasn’t picky. Maybe he was destined to be alone. After all, it wasn’t as if gorgeous women who were crazy about him just fell out of the sky.