Baby on Board

Quadruple Date

Before Charlotte Delaney came into my life, I used to date a lot. At least four times a week, I would go out and have some fun with women that I'd met only to never go back for a second date. In all those years where I played the field, I had never been on a double date. Something about it seemed intimate like you were more than just a one night kind of deal; to go on a double date, you needed to commit to either introducing the woman to one of your friends or to be introduced to one of their friends. My commitment issues wouldn't allow those scenarios to ever play out in real life, so tonight, sitting around a restaurant table with not one but two other couples, this was an entirely new experience. 

Elias and Jenna Marshall were celebrating their first wedding anniversary this week and they had decided to share it with their closest friends. They had invited me and Lottie to dinner, as well as Daniel and Sophie Whittaker and Mick Taylor who brought along some random woman that works with him and knew the score- this was not a date, it was merely two friends hanging out and that would be the end of it. 

The restaurant they chose was rather fancy which instantly brought me to the conclusion that it had been Jenna's idea to come here. Us men were simple creatures and we much preferred a burger joint over a place that had three different sets of knives and forks on the table. Candles were also a foreign concept to us; in my experience, candles were either something you bought your favourite nurse at the hospital or it was where women got the wax to pour over my chest when things got really weird in the bedroom. Or the living room, actually. 

You can imagine, then, our discomfort at being in this restaurant. There were middle-aged couples everywhere, all dressed in their fanciest clothes with the women dripping in diamonds while the men sipped whiskey, aged to perfection and cost a pretty penny. I was constantly shifting in my chair, mindful not to drop the f-bomb as I swallowed another laugh when Elias told us about another mishap he'd had with the family pet, Snuggles. It seemed outrageous to laugh freely here because I constantly felt like we were being watched by the establishment. The way the maître d' watched us was unnerving, to say the least. 

"Anyway, after all that," Elias dramatically brought to a close his story. Don't ask me what it was about. I have no idea, mainly because I have zero interest in hearing about Elias' dog issues. "Nola turns to me and asks if we can get another dog. I told her that she'd have a better chance of being allowed out before the age of a hundred. Did you know that she came home from school on Thursday last week, announcing that she had a boyfriend?"

Sophie was seemingly in the loop because she was nodding with a knowing look on her face. "I heard about that, actually."

"Oh, how?" Jenna arched an eyebrow at the brunette to her left. 

I had yet to suss out their friendship but it often felt like the women were in a constant state of rivalry for one reason or another. It was like Jenna and Sophie were friends but not because they really wanted to be; I think they were polite to each other because Dan is Jenna's best friend and Sophie is his wife but really, given half the choice, these two alpha females wouldn't seek each other out voluntarily. Their froideur was more noticeable tonight than ever before. So much for them being super close this time last year.