Chapter 3

"

"He doesn't love you!" I yelled through a mouthful of ice cream at the tv screen. It was Friday night and with nothing better to do I was currently watching Letters To Juliet while stuffing my face with ice cream; despite the cold outside.

It's been exactly a week since I put the ad out and with no one working out I planned on spending the entire night wallowing. And there was no better way to do that than with rom-coms, junk food, and a glass of wine....or two.

I knew from the start this wasn't a smart plan but being the irrational person I am, I did it anyways. I think one of the main reasons I did it was not because of the teasing my family did each year. No, it was the fact that they may be right. I may actually end up being the crazy cat lady but with dogs when I get older.

Every guy I have dated hasn't worked out. They were either too self-centered to even care about my needs, both emotionally and sexually. Or they cheated on me and didn't feel an ounce of remorse. Or better yet...they were secretly gay.

The last guy I dated was secretly gay but didn't want to come out. So instead we dated for 6 months until I finally found him in bed with another guy. I always knew there was something a bit off with Mitchell, like how he didn't want to ever sleep with me or do any sort of public affection. So when I found out it wasn't much of a shock and in a way it helped. He is now happily dating another guy and isn't ashamed of it.

That was well over a year ago and I haven't dated anyone since. After almost every guy I date cheats on me, so I finally put myself into my work and put men on the back burner. And it's been great for me. I've learned to love to be by myself, to actually put me first, and its helped my job.

Working as a graphic designer for a large company wasn't easy. Getting an internship at Fountain Web was a dream come true. They only accepted 10 out of thousands of interns and I was lucky enough to be one that they chose.

And now I was up for a promotion of head designer which means I wouldn't have to report to anyone and would be head of the interns as well. It was something I've been working towards since I graduated college, and now it was within grasp.

Now on top of working my ass off to show I was capable of being head designer, I was throwing in a fake boyfriend to lie to my family with. I probably should have listened to Leah when she said it was the stupidest idea.

Sighing at my thoughts I shoved another spoonful of chocolate fudge brownie ice cream into my mouth. With only five days until I leave to visit my family for Christmas I knew I better give up on finding anyone. We had to leave on December 20.

There just wasn't any time to find someone, get our lie down, learn things about them within five days. It was impossible. So with that in mind I continued on stuffing my face and watching Letters To Juliet trying to get my failure of a plan out of my head.

About thirty minutes later and the movie almost over, the ping of a notification on my phone drew my attention away from the tv screen. Even though I knew the ending of the movie I kept my eyes on the tv while reaching blindly out for my phone somewhere on the couch.

I quickly glanced down at my phone before looking back up at the tv not comprehending what I saw until a full second passed. When it clued in that it was a new email notification I jerked my head back down to my phone.

My fingers moved quickly across the screen clicking on my email icon. When I finally got the email up my eyes scanned the screen.

To: Aubrey Lynn

From: Knox Mikelson

Hello there,

I am interested in the ad you put in the newspaper. I'm a 28 years old and I own my own hardware store. I am available tomorrow around 10 in the morning to meet up somewhere.

-Knox Mikelson.

I stared at the email , re-reading it over and over again. It was kind of vague but knowing the guy owned his own hardware store was kind of nice. Steady job, check. Near my age, check. And he was available to meet tomorrow which could work. At this point I couldn't really be picky on who I choose. With that in mind I sent a reply.

To: Knox Mikelson

From: Aubrey Lynn

Hello,

Thank you to replying to my ad. I am free tomorrow. How about 10 at The Busy Bean?

-Aubrey Lynn

Once I hit sent I sat there staring at my phone screen urging for it to bing with a reply; the movie now completely forgotten. It was only two minutes later I got a reply.

Sounds good. I'll be wearing a black and white plaid shirt, and have light brown hair.

I nodded at the screen feeling a little bit of hope rise into my chest. Maybe tomorrow I will finally find the perfect guy to take home to my family.

Exiting out of my emails I quickly sent a text to Leah telling her to meet me at The Busy Bean at 9:30. Once I hit sent I leaned back into my couch, worrying my bottom lip between my teeth. Normally I would have asked the guy a few questions and gotten a picture of him to know what I was up against but now all I had was a description to go on.

I just hoped the guy was somewhat normal this time, not in the mood for another foot fetish.