corner table. They seemed to be scrutinizing him, and one turned away the minute he saw her. Wonderful, he thought, the makeover he had agreed to had the exact opposite effect he wanted. He sighed and ordered his coffee. He didn’t even turn when he heard the door jingle again and heard his sister call his name.
***
Jane tried not to turn back around when she saw a very cute woman dart in from the door calling out, “Michael!” The woman rushed in and grabbed the man by his sweatered arm and began to talk so animatedly she sounded like a cartoon mouse. Jane immediately felt the disappointed sense of attraction that she always had when a guy she had mentally rejected proved himself to be relationship worthy by being in another relationship. She turned her head and gave him another look.
He was handsome, if over styled. His hair looked like it would be soft and carefree if it wasn’t restrained into submission by hair product. His narrow pants showed off his lean frame and narrow hips. She wondered what he did for a living. It was hard to tell by his outfit. The girl appeared younger than him. This was disappointing; it seemed that all attractive men preferred the younger women. Jane sighed loudly, catching the attention of all of her friends. That was a tactical error; she couldn’t explain why she sighed; now they were discussing possible dating options for her.
***
Michael had barely begun to drink his coffee when his sister began to chatter at him about testing his new look at a trendy club opening. She was so bubbly and exuberant that she splashed her own coffee on him. He sprang up, bumping into the table behind him. The cups on the table rattled and spilled their contents on the ladies sitting there. The woman closest to him jumped up, bumping his chin.
They both burbled forth apologies and Michael noticed that she had beautiful dark brown eyes. She had a slightly confused expression which he assumed was caused by the shower of cups and cold coffee. Her companions were friendlier, refusing to accept his offer of dry cleaning and replacement coffee. He gestured to his sister that they needed to leave before anything else untoward happened.
***
“Now, Janie, you need to go out with us tonight. No arguments. After that experience, you deserve a treat.” Jane didn’t have the energy to argue. Dressing up and getting shoved around at an overcrowded club didn’t sound like much of a treat, but she didn’t have anything better to do, and her friends knew that. There was no escaping, besides, it couldn’t be worse than the coffee horror.
Jane wasn’t the club type, but she was tired of slogging around alone. She suspected that her attitude played a huge part in her loneliness, but she couldn’t help it. She wondered if she was depressed or maybe she was just incredibly bored. It was probably some combination of the two. She reluctantly agreed, silently wishing that they wouldn’t call her Janie.
Michael didn’t see what good it would do to spend an evening at a club with his bubbly sister, but he also couldn’t think of a good reason not to. She rarely came to visit him and he didn’t want to disappoint her. He agreed to go, but only if she allowed him to wear normal clothes; he didn’t see how he would be able to move, much less dance, in the clothes she had forced him into. Besides, how bad could it be?
Jane felt like an impostor as one of her well connected friends got them all past the velvet rope into a very crowded club. She could feel the envious looks on a lot of faces and she tried not to question her good fortune. She needed something to snap her out of this slump. She shouldn’t let her past romantic challenges keep her from finding something new. She wasn’t entirely inexperienced, but it seemed that she had been taken advantage of so many times; she couldn’t quite relax around anyone. This tense demeanor combined with her natural cynicism
***
Jane tried not to turn back around when she saw a very cute woman dart in from the door calling out, “Michael!” The woman rushed in and grabbed the man by his sweatered arm and began to talk so animatedly she sounded like a cartoon mouse. Jane immediately felt the disappointed sense of attraction that she always had when a guy she had mentally rejected proved himself to be relationship worthy by being in another relationship. She turned her head and gave him another look.
He was handsome, if over styled. His hair looked like it would be soft and carefree if it wasn’t restrained into submission by hair product. His narrow pants showed off his lean frame and narrow hips. She wondered what he did for a living. It was hard to tell by his outfit. The girl appeared younger than him. This was disappointing; it seemed that all attractive men preferred the younger women. Jane sighed loudly, catching the attention of all of her friends. That was a tactical error; she couldn’t explain why she sighed; now they were discussing possible dating options for her.
***
Michael had barely begun to drink his coffee when his sister began to chatter at him about testing his new look at a trendy club opening. She was so bubbly and exuberant that she splashed her own coffee on him. He sprang up, bumping into the table behind him. The cups on the table rattled and spilled their contents on the ladies sitting there. The woman closest to him jumped up, bumping his chin.
They both burbled forth apologies and Michael noticed that she had beautiful dark brown eyes. She had a slightly confused expression which he assumed was caused by the shower of cups and cold coffee. Her companions were friendlier, refusing to accept his offer of dry cleaning and replacement coffee. He gestured to his sister that they needed to leave before anything else untoward happened.
***
“Now, Janie, you need to go out with us tonight. No arguments. After that experience, you deserve a treat.” Jane didn’t have the energy to argue. Dressing up and getting shoved around at an overcrowded club didn’t sound like much of a treat, but she didn’t have anything better to do, and her friends knew that. There was no escaping, besides, it couldn’t be worse than the coffee horror.
Jane wasn’t the club type, but she was tired of slogging around alone. She suspected that her attitude played a huge part in her loneliness, but she couldn’t help it. She wondered if she was depressed or maybe she was just incredibly bored. It was probably some combination of the two. She reluctantly agreed, silently wishing that they wouldn’t call her Janie.
Michael didn’t see what good it would do to spend an evening at a club with his bubbly sister, but he also couldn’t think of a good reason not to. She rarely came to visit him and he didn’t want to disappoint her. He agreed to go, but only if she allowed him to wear normal clothes; he didn’t see how he would be able to move, much less dance, in the clothes she had forced him into. Besides, how bad could it be?
Jane felt like an impostor as one of her well connected friends got them all past the velvet rope into a very crowded club. She could feel the envious looks on a lot of faces and she tried not to question her good fortune. She needed something to snap her out of this slump. She shouldn’t let her past romantic challenges keep her from finding something new. She wasn’t entirely inexperienced, but it seemed that she had been taken advantage of so many times; she couldn’t quite relax around anyone. This tense demeanor combined with her natural cynicism
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