Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Several days passed in a similar way. Too young, too macho, too difficult to avoid if the relationship went south. Marie could sympathize with Goldilocks.
"Why is this so hard?" she whined. "At least with kinky dating profiles, it's all out in the open. Sometimes the app will match you based on kinks alone. This is just… so many variables."
Piper giggled. "Keep trying. It can't all be about what goes on in the bedroom."
"Maybe it's too soon. Maybe I need more time to-" Marie's phone pinged a notification. Not just a match, a message.
"Hi. I see you like horror movies. Have you seen the most recent Hallowed Headsman? None of my friends are into horror, so I don't have anyone to talk about it with.
Let me know! Leo
P.S. your cat is cute."
"Well, he's talking to you like you're a real person. That's a good sign!" Piper said, reading over Marie's shoulder. "Go to his profile. What's he look like?"
Marie tapped the profile icon and a picture of a man in his late twenties. His eyes and hair were dark brown, his skin a light olive. He was reading a paper through his dark rimmed glasses as he took a sip from a mug with a cartoon fish on it. The picture was endearingly nerdy and this Leonard was definitely not Marie's usual type. Given her recent track record, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.
"I know him!" Piper squealed.
Marie deflated. "Please don't tell me he's a coworker."
"So what if he is? You've never met him, right? That means he can't be in our department, so he's pretty much fair game."
"True."
"Are you gonna… message him back?"
The pair spent the rest of their lunch break composing a reply.
"Hi. I have actually! I wasn't sure about the whole gothic horror vibe I was getting in the trailers, but it worked for the story. I wish the whole thing weren't so blue filtered, though. It made the blood look really fake. Did you like it?
Marie"
The rest of the day was peppered with messages back and forth. They debated the merits of their favorite films and talked trash about the ones they agreed were awful. Marie could feel herself grin every time her phone buzzed.
"Would you like to meet for lunch sometime?" Leo's most recent message read. "I hate to sound like a creep but I recognize where your profile pic was taken. Carris and Sons, right? I work IT support."
Marie surprised herself when she actually considered the proposition.
"Lunch would be nice. It's not like we have to go very far if we're in the same building!"
When lunchtime came the next day, Marie had to admit she was nervous. She had spent the night before pretending she wasn't agonizing over what to wear for this lunch date. Was it a date? They were just meeting after all. But it had potential if their conversation the day before was any indicator. She settled on a white blouse and blush skirt – innocent enough and a nice compliment to her darker complexion. She arrived a few minutes early and took a seat close to the door.
When Leo arrived (two minutes early, she noted), he smiled at her. He was average in so many ways - average height, average build, average clothes – but that smile made the restaurant melt away. She stood.
"You must be Marie," he said. His voice was light and friendly as he extended his hand.
"That's me. It's good to meet you, Leo."
His eyes flicked over her quickly when she shook his hand, bouncing right back to her face as though it were the most fascinating thing about her.
"Have you been here before?" he asked, sitting. "The reviews were good."
"I haven't. Meant to come here for a while, but never got around to it."
"New experience for us both then!"
There was a slightly awkward pause as they looked over the menu. A couple of false starts later, Marie spoke up.
"I'm going to tell you right off that I'm terrible at learning about new people. I don't really do small talk."
Leo laughed. It wasn't a malicious sound, just a release of tension. "Me neither. Alright. Let's make getting to know each other a game then. How about twenty questions?"
The mention of a game had Marie's mind floating to scene land, but she pulled herself away from that train of thought. Vanilla dating. A game was just a game. "Okay. What are your rules?"
"I ask a question, you answer truthfully. You do the same for me."
"And if I don't want to answer the question?"
"Then I get to ask another and the game goes on longer." No penalties. That's good, Marie thought. "I don't mind set up or follow up questions if you don't."
"Not at all. Do you want to go first?"
"I'll let you go first." The server came by, interrupting them for a moment to take their orders. "How many siblings do you have?"
That wasn't the kind of question Marie was expecting. "None. My mom decided that one rough pregnancy was enough. What about you?"
"Two brothers – one older, one younger. Technically, my younger brother is a half-brother, but we don't call him that. Question two: why were you on Net 'Em?"
A nervous giggle worked its way out of her mouth. "I broke up with my boyfriend about a week ago and my friend told me to try it. Normally, I'm not a dating app kind of girl. Anyway, what are your hobbies?"
"Mostly fishing. And watching movies, but you already knew that."
"So that's why you have the fish mug."
"That's it. It's nice to get out of the cubicle farm. Plus, smoked fish is really good."
"I'll take your word for it."
Leo gaped. "You've never had smoked fish?" Marie shook her head. "Well, that's decided, then. I'm bringing lunch tomorrow."
Marie's heart thumped at that. They were less than ten minutes into this meeting/date and he was already talking about another? She hoped her cheeks weren't too pink.
Their food arrived in short order and the rest of their lunch was spent out of game. They chatted about fishing and family and the food (which turned out to be quite good). Marie caught herself leaning in, crossing and un-crossing her ankles under the table. She jumped when her phone buzzed, signaling that it was time to get back to her desk.
"Lunch breaks are always too short," Leo commented, looking genuinely disappointed.
"Well, you already mentioned some smoked fish, so we have that to look forward to."
Pulling the check away before she could grab it, Leo smiled, "There's that. My desk or yours?"
"Hey! Don't pay for my food!" Marie made a dive for it, only to have Leo hold it just out of her five foot reach.
"Oh no. My card is… jumping out of my wallet… and paying for your lunch!" He handed the payment to the giggling cashier.
Marie tried to voice a retort, but found her mouth wouldn't speak. She opted for a pout instead. "Fine. Next time is on me though."
"So there will be a next time?"
Marie's cheeks went hot. "Well… we'll see how tomorrow goes."
There was a moment of slightly embarrassed silence as they walked back to the office.
"Question three: did you have a good time?"
Could her face get any warmer? "I did. Did you?"
"Very much." He opened the office door for her. "Same time tomorrow?"
Marie caught him looking at her mouth as she pressed the elevator button. "Same time tomorrow. I'm on the seventh floor, so we can eat in the break room."
"See you then." With a last smile, he headed to the stairs down to the basement.
"How'd it go?" Piper decided to sit at Marie's desk during her own lunch break.
"It went well, actually. He's nice."
"Nice? Is that it? You honestly don't have anything to say other than "he's nice"?"
Marie laughed. "What am I supposed to say? We went to lunch, Piper. We talked. He's nice and funny. He likes to fish."
"Okay, that's a little better." Piper shoved a giant forkful of salad in her mouth.
"You gonna see him again?"
"Well… he's bringing smoked fish for lunch tomorrow."
Michael picked that moment to pop in with his lunch. "He's bringing fish? I hope he doesn't think he's going to use our microwave. That'll stink up the entire floor!"
"You have so much aromatherapy at your desk, you won't even smell it," Piper said.
"True. I need lavender to get me through these calls. Anyway, I'm excited to meet this IT boy. He sounds like a charmer."
"He might be more your type than mine," Marie commented.
He waved her off. "Miss Lausier, your *type* has been nothing but bad news. I think it's high time you took a page out of my book."
Marie rolled her eyes at his use of her last name. "I guess you'll just have to tell me tomorrow."
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