“Go get ‘em, sugar. You got this.”
And with those parting words, Reid had planted a quick kiss to the tip of Ellie’s nose and slipped away, over to the next table. The girl across from him now was much prettier than Ellie, though she supposed it didn’t matter all that much to her best friend. He’d only agreed to participate today because she’d been so scared. He had told her that speed dating would be fun, and that it give her an opportunity to meet some sweet, well-meaning guys and put herself out there again.
Only, there was no again where Ellie was concerned. She’d never been ‘out there’ in the first place, not really. She’d married her high-school sweetheart after he’d gotten her pregnant and had since left him after it had been made clear to her that he was no sweetheart at all. Ellie hadn’t dated before him, nor had she dated after. She had Dylan to worry about, for one, and she didn’t need to date when she had Reid by her side. Her baby boy and her best friend were enough to make her happy. She was already fulfilled.
Still, she’d promised she’d give it a shot. And after the first three men she’d been posted opposite, the young mother’s hopes were slowly dwindling. One man hadn’t even introduced himself, but had simply referred to her as a bit of a sort – whatever that meant – in a British accent that she couldn’t quite place. Another had asked her what she planned to do to help dismantle wokeism in schools, to which she’d immediately ended the date by refusing to speak to him until their time was up. It was a bratty move she’d picked up from Dylan, and it worked a charm. The third, who’d preceded Reid, wasn’t awful at all, but he was simply too handsome. Ellie had stared at him with wide eyes and a slacked jaw before finding her manners, at which point he’d grown bored and had leaned across and started flirting with Reid on the next table over. It seemed she wasn’t his type.
Wistfully, she stared across at the table to her left, where her beautiful best friend was shooting her reassuring smiles, before turning the full force of his attention to the pretty girl opposite him. She was blonde, like Ellie, but far more glamorous. Her lips were plumper, and her boobs were definitely perkier. Ellie wasn’t old by any means, but breastfeeding when you were barely out of your teens meant your chest didn’t quite look the same as other girls your age.
Distracted, Ellie found her attention being dragged back to the table that she was actually seated at as someone cleared their throat. It wasn’t rude or obnoxious, but a simple, polite sound to bring her back down to earth. She hoped he wouldn’t think she was judging the other woman! How awful. Blushing, she let her gaze wander to the man sitting across from her. Oh. He was handsome. Very handsome, actually. Her eyes widened just a fraction before she remembered herself.
“Sorry, I was in my own little world,” she giggled, feeling embarrassed. “Maybe we should disappear from all the noise and go there instead?”
Immediately, she cringed at her own joke as it dawned on her what a horrible line that was. It wasn’t intentional. She wasn’t trying to flirt or make a move. Sometimes Ellie just said the first thing that came to her mind, which as a mother sometimes involved saying the dumbest, most nonsensical thing her imagination could conjure up.