Chapter 7 : Inspiration Station

There was a skip in my step as I entered my apartment. I locked the door and threw my things on the couch before I grabbed a throw pillow and squealed into it.

I had a date for the first time in years and nothing went wrong!

Hell yeah!

I didn’t expect to be this giddy afterwards. I don’t know if it was the success of it all or my negative thoughts being proven wrong, but I felt like I was on a high. My mood was fantastic, so I grabbed my computer, which was still on the counter, and poured all that good feeling into my work.

When I broke up with Rob, things were hard, but I pulled myself together and got myself to where I was now. The thing was that after him, I hadn’t really found another long-time partner.

After a few fails and a very disappointing date, I decided to stop trying to find someone else and focus on my career. For the next few years, that was fine. I made a name for myself in the writing industry, paid off all my college debt, and signed on with a publishing company that paid me very good money.

Thenm I just…never got back into dating.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want a partner or someone to be with. It was more so that I didn’t want to put myself out there or feel the need to. Before the Lush Experience, I was procrastinating on it, just like I was with my book. It was already becoming a bad habit.

But after tonight’s date, I realized, maybe this could more than a book opportunity. Maybe it could really be a chance to find true love, or something of the sorts. I now knew that I would like a partner, someone to date and talk with. Maybe not marry but someone who’d put some thought and effort into a relationship.

I really owed my friends a big thanks. As hesitant as I was, the Lush experience was turning out to be a good one.

And Luke…

Well, Luke was a dream.

It was the perfect first date. Normally, they were so awkward, but he was so sweet, and we talked for hours. He was charming, not to mention everything he said was so interesting. I felt like I could talk to him forever.

That second date couldn’t come soon enough. But for now, I needed to work. I owed Andre proof that I was doing my job and I was going to wring this emotional high for all it was worth. I finally had something substantial to work with for my book and by God, I wasn’t going to lose this train of thought.

This book was actually a sequel to ‘Weathering Storm’, the novel that had launched my career.

It’s supposed to be ‘Worn Down Stones’, but nothing was coming to me lately. It wasn’t a lack of motivation to write. I wanted to, desperately, but I felt like I had no ideas left in me. Nomatter how much I wanted to write it the words just wouldn’t come, until today.

‘Weathering Storm’ was a book about a woman whose best friend was the stereotypical chosen one while the friend simply had to learn to deal and live with that fact. She had to make hard choices too, along with trying and survive everything that came from being friends with the hero of the story.

It was about surviving and dealing with hardship—the ones you took on, the ones that came your way, and the hard and bad decisions we often make in life.

‘Worn Down Stones’ was going to continue on this idea, and be about the aftereffects of it all.

The hero won, the friend survived…but what now? What happened when happily ever after wasn’t so simple? It was supposed to be a story about grief and healing—but there was always that element that was missing which I struggled to add and ultimately, made it impossible for me to continue writing.

Love.

It was funny, thinking about it. It shouldn’t have been so hard. I’d written plenty of love stories, long before I was ever in love. But this one was different because it wasn’t a romantic love, it was a friendship that bloomed after everything between the friend and a stranger. The main themes were kindness and understanding, and THOSE were the scenes I struggled with the most.

Of course, people wanted to be understood, to be cared for, but I could never imagine how they’d meet, what would be said, and how their fame wouldn’t get in the way.

I knew now, though, or better to say, I experienced it and could finally understand.

The stranger wasn’t a nobody but someone who was also on the sidelines. Maybe someone the friend helped long ago, but didn’t remember…and…and they wanted to thank her, so they found her! But it was after everything happened, that they met up again!

Yes! Yes, yes, yes! That’s exactly what it needed to be!

It wasn’t a metaphor for anything in my life, not truly, but things usually slipped through without me realizing it—like how the stranger was a girl with blond hair and bright blue eyes.

I was in the zone, churning out chapters like they were the butter to my bread. Then someone called me and when I didn’t answer, they called again.

I pulled my eyes from the document, seeing that it was River.

Well, I owed her all the details that I legally wasn’t supposed to tell her, but I think things were a bit looser in our case since she was a part of the Lush Experience before and even got me my ticket.

On the other hand, I was finally getting work done and making progress, something that was plaguing me for months and I didn’t want to lose the groove. Not yet.

River would understand. She wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was I.

I’m sure she would forgive me, especially after I told her what a great time I had. She’d get a kick about me being horribly wrong about what to expect from this.

After sending her an automatic text about being busy, I managed three cups of tea, two pieces of toast, three little cookies, and five chapters along with the basis of an outline, all before dinner time. There was caffeine in my bloodstream, and I felt like I could take on God.

The day was just getting better and better with every little thing. I was contemplating getting takeout from my favorite little Thai restaurant, when my phone rang again.

At first I thought it was River, but then I realized the Lush app was open and the person calling me wasn’t Luke, but Luna.

I glanced at my work, saving my document and closing my computer before answering the call. This was a good place to stop. Sooner or later, the need for real food and rest would come for me so I should quit while I was ahead before I drifted off and accidentally spelled orange with a j and a p like last time.

“Hello, Anais Crawford speaking,” I answered.

“Ms. Crawford, it’s Luna. I’m calling to tell you that I’ve found you two more matches.”

“I—excuse me?”

I was a bit startled by this. I mean, things were going well with Luke, and we’d even set up a second date. I thought this was it. When I informed Luna of this, she just chuckled.

“Yes, and I’m glad things are working out, but the Lush Experience means that we offer you other options. Usually, this helps ensure that who you chose when you end your experience with us, that you have found the right partner for you, not just the first person you got along with.”

I thought about it for a moment and then nodded. “That does make sense, but is it really alright?” I couldn’t help but ask worriedly.

We weren’t dating but we weren’t not dating. There was a sort of commitment involved here, so I wasn’t so sure suddenly dating someone else was the right thing to do. However, Luna was quick to reassure me about everything.

“Yes, it’s very standard actually! I apologize, I should’ve explained it better but when we had a set amount of matches for the oak and silver tickets, there’s a reason for that. We match them with at least two people because it allows people to figure things out about their relationships and themselves. More importantly, it allows them to find out what they might want out of a relationship.”

“But the Golden Ticket is unlimited matches, correct?” I prompted.

“Yes,” Luna confirmed. “But that’s only if you can’t find a partner after the fifth match. Either we get more selective or broaden our search parameters to help you find someone. But for now, things are progressing smoothly. If you’d like to hold off on meeting them, however, I can delay the match or even rescind it.”

I drummed my fingers against my kitchen counter.

If I had other matches, then Luke did too. The purpose of this whole thing was for me to get out and meet people, and I couldn’t do that if I just latched onto the first person I had a good time with.

Besides, didn’t I say that I was here for the experience? I hadn’t gone in thinking I’d find a partner but who knows now? Maybe I would. I shouldn’t stifle my options and, well, I did promise to try it out, didn’t I?

“No, there’s no need,” I began, politely turning down her offer. “I’ll accept the matches. And will I be meeting them at the Lush House or somewhere else?”

“They both requested dinner dates, if that was possible. How is your schedule? Any changes?”

I looked at my calendar in the app and pulled up my work one, grimacing.

“Wednesday and Thursday I should be free, but I’ll be busy with meetings for the rest of the week with nothing else until Tuesday.”

“Alright then, I’ll have those dates set up for them and send over their profiles for you! Have a wonderful week, Ms. Crawford.”

With that, Luna hung up, barely letting me give my own well wishes.

She was a bit quirky, but I was starting to like that about her. A few minutes later, I received the profiles of my two new matches.

Profile 1: Extrovert, outgoing, funny.

Profile 2: Smart, kind, humanitarian.

Those were two very different profiles, and I didn’t know what to expect. After having Luke Owens as a match, there was no way I’d be able to guess who my next date would be.

Two dinner dates, though…right after my meetings. 7 o’clock.

I could swing it and make it work. It’d feel a bit strange to date two people so suddenly and go on dates in such quick succession, but the opportunity and experience was what stopped me from backing out.

…I had so much more to tell River that hopefully she’d forgive me for leaving her on read for so long. Either way, after everything else that decided to happen today, I needed someone to talk to.

Maybe I couldn’t name names, but she’d understand just how crazy this whole thing was.

That, or she’d laugh at me and at this point, I’d take it.

Looks like we were gearing up for quite the adventure.