A Regrettably Honest Mistake
Eric had been steadfast on discussing a few things with Lila prior to their accursed double-date. Despite the uncomfortable altercation at the park, she gave him her phone number so that Jane could get her date and she could get on with her day.
After that, she and Jane went to have breakfast together while Aisha successfully trapped her bird and went to put her energy drink to good use. After breakfast Jane fell off because she had a date with some young guy named Sebastian Rojas. With Chloe already enjoying domestic bliss, admittedly, Lila felt lonely and in need of company.
She entered her one story home dropping herself on the sofa so full of self-pity.
Welcome to eternity, she thought sadly feeling as though the three-bedroom home mocked her. When she initially purchased her home she bought it with extra bedrooms so that she could convert one into an art studio and have a guest bedroom in case Jane ever found herself unexpectedly in need of a space to crash, but ultimately she figured one of the rooms would eventually become a nursery.
She sighed looking at the expansive house with sadness.
This house would never become a home; it would never be littered with toys. Her walls would forever remain pristine without crayon scribbles or food stains after a toddler tantrum due to not wanting to eat what is served and her garden would never need to host a swing set.
This would likely be the norm for her because she doubted any man would want her after knowing she was reproductively hollow. After all, men were the more nurturing of the sexes, it was in their DNA to want children.
Not liking the looks of her future and on the verge of imploding, Lila covered her eyes with her hands and released a guttural frustrated sound to try and clear the negative feelings dispersing throughout her body. Renewed vigor storming through her body, she grabbed her phone for her purse. Just because she was going to be alone in her later years didn't mean she had to be alone right now, she said in a desperate attempt to comfort herself.
She opened one of the multiple dating apps she was signed up with and began looking at the options.
First guy had crazy eyes. Left swipe.
Second guy had a mullet. Left swipe.
Third guy looked like he had more muscles than her blow-up doll. Left swipe.
Left swipe. Left swipe. Left swipe.
"Aaaaargh!" Lila yelled. * Why was this suddenly so hard*? Swiping right had never been so difficult. Maybe her psyche was telling her it was time for her to start being a better all-around human being, but damn it all to hell, being told she was reproductively hollow would not cause her to change overnight.
Would it?
"Be more open minded, Lila!" Shesaid as she sighed. "Fuck it!" She said deciding to swipe right until she found a date for the night regardless of what the specimen looked like.
She was furiously swiping right on the SINgle dating app until she saw a message pop up from one of the randos she had just selected.
She clicked on his profile reading over what made him tick; romantic dinners, long walks on the beach at dusk, sensual massages and being surprised with sweet deliveries at the office.
She groaned. This guy was looking for something serious.
She considered ignoring his message but her mental state couldn't afford to wait any longer for someone to take her mind off of her thoughts.
She DM’d him her number along with a promise of a sweet offering in exchange for his number.
No sooner she sent the message, she got a text from a new number.
Unknown Number: Hey. Do you want to meet tonight?
Lila was relieved he wasn't a shrinking flower that feigned modesty like the rest of them. She went into her phone’s picture gallery and sent a sexy boudoir picture of herself that Chloe helped stage a few months back.
It was her random sex calling card. Even the most virtuous of males couldn't resist this. The picture was black and white. She wore a black-lace teddy that left very little to the imagination. Her back was arched, making it clear her full breasts were the focal point, the bare skin of the swells spilled out of the top of the lace barely covering the nipples. Despite this, it still made for an elegant visual.
For the sake of professional integrity, she had cropped the top of her head from the picture, leaving her slightly parted mouth to make the picture less macabre and more artistic. It was cropped at the upper thighs.
This was one of Lila’s favorite pictures, which was why it was her favorite bait.
She attached the picture to the message and typed:
Lila: My offering to you
She clicked to send. Although she hoped for an immediate reply, she knew the recipient would need a few minutes to himself after seeing that picture.
Twenty minutes later she looked at her phone screen to see if she had missed a call or a text from that number. She still hadn’t heard from the guy; which in truth, was promising. That picture was sexy enough to arouse the most sexually inhibited male.
Thirty minutes later, a message finally came through.
SINful Guy: Do you have time to meet later? Let’s say 6 PM?
Lila: Let’s do it. Blue Moon Café?
SINful Guy: I’m familiar. See you there.
Lila was disappointed that the guy didn’t comment on her picture. Nevertheless, she went to ready her bedroom for a little action. He may be dropping signs of being a little difficult to wrangle, but Lila had no doubt in her ability to bring him back to her lair.
At six on the dot, Lila walked into the coffee shop wearing a short, strapless black dress that had a tie-around bow on the left side of her slim waist. She wore wedge sandals hoping to look casualenough; in case she was stood-up, she didn’t want to make it obvious she was hoping for a date.
She looked around the shop and didn’t see her brown-haired date. She proceeded to place an order for a lavender-vanilla latte. With the Nested Wonder from earlier already off the clock, she got the drink relatively quickly despite the slight crowd.
Lila sat herself down, crossing her long legs. She pulled out her phone and continued reading the story she started at the park. Three chapters later, she sensed she wasn’t alone.
“Hey,” she heard a male voice right next to her. She saw blue jeans standing next to her. “Thanks for meeting," a very serious male voice spoke.
Lila looked up with a readied-smile on her face only when she did so, she realized the face she was looking at was not the same face that was on the dating app.
She wondered if there was a reason she was being catfished? Not that it made a difference, this guy was definitely an upgrade. She looked at his perfectly muscular torso in the black fitted sweater.
She stood, “Hey,” she stretched her neck to peck his cheek which caused him to flinch for a moment before awkwardly leaning down for the kiss on the cheek.
Lila looked at him with a frown. Maybe he was chaste? She didn't know if she felt up for a challenge of that magnitude tonight. Besides, popping a guys cherry wasn't her thing- that was more up Jane's alley.
“Do you want to order something first?” she motioned towards the counter.
“Um, sure. I’ll be right back.” He stiffly walked away from her.
Lila was beginning to regret not asking to meet at a bar instead. This guy needed to loosen up big time! As she stared at his retreating body, a ding came from her phone signaling she had a text message.
Unknown: Wondering what my sweet reward could be?
She frowned.
Lila: I’m sorry, I don’t recognize this number. Who is this?
Unknown: Colin. You DM’d me your number this afternoon through SINgle.
Lila’s eyes shot to the handsome blond guy making his way to he. She was wondering who the hell this guy was.
The mystery was short-lived.
“So, I was thinking that maybe we can present Alex and Jane with all the negative possibilities of hooking-up before their date.” He grabbed his phone and typed away. "Maybe together we can talk them out of going out and each can go their own way," he put the phone on the table when he finished typing and looked at her. "No harm, no foul."
Lila’s phone dinged again. She quickly looked at the message. It was an address... and it was in the thread from this afternoon just a few messages under her sexy picture.
“I sent you my address. You and your friend can meet us for brunch. I know I’m being neurotic, but I want Alex to enjoy his life. I really don’t want an accidental nesting to derail his future.”
Lila felt her body begin to blush all over.