Of Tinder dates and Uber drivers (complete)

Chapter 3

"I really didn't think I was going to hear from you again."

Jennie smiled. To be perfectly honest, she hadn't thought it was going to happen either.

Jin was grinning at her. He had a beer in one hand and the other was resting on the table between them, like he was expecting her to reach out and take it. When she didn't reply to his statement, he added with a wink that made her knees go tense, "I guess you couldn't stay away, huh?"

"Sure," she replied tightly. "I've had a nice night, Jin."

She hadn't. If anything, this date had been worse than the previous one. After a week of absolutely zero luck on Tinder or Bumble or any dating app she'd been able to download to her phone, she'd decided that a night out with an unbearable man was probably just that bit preferable to a night in alone. He might at least be better behaved this time, now that they knew each other already, and he could even split the bill. Either way, she'd forced herself to show up and be pleasant company, even though a tiny part of her mind was already fixated on when she'd finally be able to get in her new favorite yellow car and go home.

Going home alone obviously wasn't what Jin had in mind, though. For the past two hours, he'd been fixing her with a look that suggested he had a very different idea.

"Tell me," he said, leaning back in his chair. "Am I finally going to get to see that fancy house of yours?"

"Finally?" Jennie asked, trying to laugh. "It's only date number two."

"Sure, but I've been waiting to be invited back since the first time we messaged."

Ugh.

"I'm not sure," she replied, her hands clasped in her lap. The waiter had taken their plates away a long time ago and she'd been waiting for an excuse to leave ever since. "I'm still taking things slow and seeing what happens. I hope that's alright."

If Jin had been a gentleman, he probably would have smiled and said, "Of course. I understand." But instead, his smile slipped.

"Oh," he said. After a beat, he straightened up. "That's okay. You know, my roommate is usually out on Saturday nights. You could come over then."

"That's in two days."

"Two days longer than I want to wait," he replied, grinning.

Just like that, Jennie snapped. "You know - this has been fun, but I think this will be the last time we see each other."

"What? Why?"

"Because we want very different things, and we're not that well matched in the first place. It's probably best to call it quits now so you can find someone else."

Jin frowned at her. "Look, I can wait if that's what's bothering you. We can have dinner again next week."

"No," Jennie replied firmly. "Thank you, but I think I'm done."

She waited for him to explode or try another tactic, but instead he just sighed. A second later, he got up, picked up his coat, and left.

When the waiter brought over the check, Jennie thought she might cry.

Without pausing, she grabbed her phone and pulled up the number she'd typed in a week earlier. Then, before her server could give her another pitying look, she threw a handful of notes down on the table and walked out the door.

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Lisa's stomach leapt three inches higher the second her phone started ringing. It came up as an unknown caller, but she knew who it was. She'd been waiting for her all evening.