coming Saturday, but there was no compulsion to sign up for it. With any luck, he would meet someone during this introductory evening. In fact, several women had already approached him in the pre-presentation drinks session; one of them, Penelope, now sitting right beside him. Definitely a turn-up for the books.
Yvette’s husky cadences returned him to the matter in hand. ‘Now, I want to tell you something about our fabulous range of chocolates, and how to choose the one that best expresses your personality. These chocolates are as unique and special as you are, and those of you who decide to come on Saturday will have your chocolates made for you by hand. They’ll also be hand-decorated, with any kind of motif you choose, including your initials, if you want. And those chocolates will embody your individual nature; your very soul and essence; the sort of person you are – or maybe want to be.’
Eric fought a twinge of doubt – more than a twinge, a veritable tidal wave. How could a chocolate sum up one’s soul and essence? He was determined to be positive, however, if only in the spirit of a new dating book he’d downloaded from the Internet, which had promised to rid him of ‘negative inner demons’, and to make females positively salivate the moment he showed up. Indeed, some of the chapter-headings bordered on the miraculous: ‘ How to make a woman believe you’re rich, famous and hunky, even if you’re poor, unknown and plain.’ ‘Nine short words that will make a female feel totally at ease coming back to your place, even on your very first date .’
OK, he could discount the hype, but he did undoubtedly feel more hopeful than of late. And if an elegant type like Penelope had chosen to sit next to him, something must be working. He turned to smile at her with what he hoped was genuine allure, and not only did she return the smile, she even leaned across to touch his arm a moment. A definite advance. Once the presentation was over, he would suggest they went for a drink in the stylish hotel bar and, if he played his cards right, who knew what might happen?
Yvette’s voice was mesmerizing – indeed, fantasy-inducing. Yes, he thought, he and Penelope might even book a room here; spend the night together and …
‘All of you who decide to sign up will have eight of your own personal chocolates waiting for you on Saturday, and these are the ones you’ll swap. You’ll get three or four minutes with each member of the opposite sex, to give you the taste of each other – if you’ll forgive the pun! And you’ll be issued with score-cards, so you can rate your approval, or otherwise .’
Eric suppressed a groan. This was simply speed-dating under another guise, and he’d avoided speed-dating on principle, so far. Stella had tried it, of course, only to suffer the humiliation of gaining only six ticks out of a roomful of thirty possibles. But since he didn’t intend to sign up, why get into a state? His own particular goal was to gain Penelope’s approval without the palaver of score-cards. He glanced in her direction again, keeping eye-contact for a provocative four seconds and, much to his delight, she didn’t look away.
‘I’m sorry,’ said a woman in the audience, echoing his own former thoughts. ‘I just don’t see how you can judge someone by one small mouthful of chocolate.’
‘Ah, but that chocolate will reveal a huge amount! You see, our preferences in chocolate go much deeper than you think. If you’ve chosen our champagne range, for example, you’ll probably be a thoroughbred, someone with sophisticated tastes. Or if you’ve gone for Filipino Ylang Ylang, you may well be highly sensual, with just a hint of Eastern mystery to your character.’
As Yvette spoke, gigantic versions of the chocolates she was mentioning flashed up on the screen in almost pornographic detail. ‘Or suppose you’ve selected our wild-strawberry-and-pink-pepper, then you’re clearly a one-off, a
Yvette’s husky cadences returned him to the matter in hand. ‘Now, I want to tell you something about our fabulous range of chocolates, and how to choose the one that best expresses your personality. These chocolates are as unique and special as you are, and those of you who decide to come on Saturday will have your chocolates made for you by hand. They’ll also be hand-decorated, with any kind of motif you choose, including your initials, if you want. And those chocolates will embody your individual nature; your very soul and essence; the sort of person you are – or maybe want to be.’
Eric fought a twinge of doubt – more than a twinge, a veritable tidal wave. How could a chocolate sum up one’s soul and essence? He was determined to be positive, however, if only in the spirit of a new dating book he’d downloaded from the Internet, which had promised to rid him of ‘negative inner demons’, and to make females positively salivate the moment he showed up. Indeed, some of the chapter-headings bordered on the miraculous: ‘ How to make a woman believe you’re rich, famous and hunky, even if you’re poor, unknown and plain.’ ‘Nine short words that will make a female feel totally at ease coming back to your place, even on your very first date .’
OK, he could discount the hype, but he did undoubtedly feel more hopeful than of late. And if an elegant type like Penelope had chosen to sit next to him, something must be working. He turned to smile at her with what he hoped was genuine allure, and not only did she return the smile, she even leaned across to touch his arm a moment. A definite advance. Once the presentation was over, he would suggest they went for a drink in the stylish hotel bar and, if he played his cards right, who knew what might happen?
Yvette’s voice was mesmerizing – indeed, fantasy-inducing. Yes, he thought, he and Penelope might even book a room here; spend the night together and …
‘All of you who decide to sign up will have eight of your own personal chocolates waiting for you on Saturday, and these are the ones you’ll swap. You’ll get three or four minutes with each member of the opposite sex, to give you the taste of each other – if you’ll forgive the pun! And you’ll be issued with score-cards, so you can rate your approval, or otherwise .’
Eric suppressed a groan. This was simply speed-dating under another guise, and he’d avoided speed-dating on principle, so far. Stella had tried it, of course, only to suffer the humiliation of gaining only six ticks out of a roomful of thirty possibles. But since he didn’t intend to sign up, why get into a state? His own particular goal was to gain Penelope’s approval without the palaver of score-cards. He glanced in her direction again, keeping eye-contact for a provocative four seconds and, much to his delight, she didn’t look away.
‘I’m sorry,’ said a woman in the audience, echoing his own former thoughts. ‘I just don’t see how you can judge someone by one small mouthful of chocolate.’
‘Ah, but that chocolate will reveal a huge amount! You see, our preferences in chocolate go much deeper than you think. If you’ve chosen our champagne range, for example, you’ll probably be a thoroughbred, someone with sophisticated tastes. Or if you’ve gone for Filipino Ylang Ylang, you may well be highly sensual, with just a hint of Eastern mystery to your character.’
As Yvette spoke, gigantic versions of the chocolates she was mentioning flashed up on the screen in almost pornographic detail. ‘Or suppose you’ve selected our wild-strawberry-and-pink-pepper, then you’re clearly a one-off, a
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