"He Didn't..." "He Did."

3

"One cream bagel please, low fat, and one coffee." I give my order to the unsmiling waitress as I settle into the chair at the counter and shrug my coat off. So, I'm at this coffee shop Nadine suggested (I had no other option). I look around for any single cute guys I could potentially get to pretend to be my boyfriend for the next five days my mom's in town.

This is actually harder than I expected. (There are officially no single men in new York, I can testify to that).

With a sigh, I bite into my bagel. Someone interrupts my thoughts. "Did you get stood up?" The gravelly sexy voice causes me to choke up on my bite and I take a sip of the hot (scalding, really) coffee before i look to my right and respond.

Beside me sits an understatedly attractive man, his brown eyes amused. He leans into the short backrest, ill at ease, sipping in his own coffee like that was what he was created to do (sip coffee and look handsome, I mean)

I shrug. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," he replies, taking another sip of coffee, "you've looked around almost fifty times as though you're waiting for someone."

"You sure are observant," I raise my eyebrow (eyebrows, actually, I've never mastered the raising one brow thing) (I'm so lame) at him and take another bite of my bagel.

"So? Were you? Stood up, I mean."

"No, actually, if you must know, my mother's in town, and I sort of told her this teensy lie." (There's something so liberating about telling strangers our personal problems!)

He laughs. "Let me guess, it was only to protect her."

I gasp. "How did you know?"

"The thing about lying to parents, you see, is that you only do it to protect them."

I laugh along with him (not gonna lie, it sounds beautiful) (the sound of our laughs, I mean).

"So what did you tell your mom?"

I shrug and take a sip of coffee. "That I have a boyfriend. And now she wants to meet him, and I can't find a guy to play the role of my boyfriend and," I throw my arms out at my sides for effect, "this is such a disaster!" (Ok, I need to chill. Like, for real) (just because a really hot guy is talking to you doesn't mean you need to blow a coronary, Leslie, geez).

"I think you've found yourself the perfect guy." He tells me.

"Really?" (Don't blame me, okay? I inherited this cluelesness from my dad) (my mom's a human dragon) "where is he?"

"You're staring right at him."

This time I do stare, bagel halfway to my mouth, genuinely shocked. This gorgeous man, he was volunteering to get into my mess? "I...i...thanks!" Is all I can manage (way to go, Leslie, way to go).

"I'm Jeff, by the way. Jeff Bernard." He extends his hand.

"Oh, uh I'm Leslie Brogden. You're literally saving my life, you good Samaritan, you!" (Oh my God, just do us all a favour and shut up, Leslie. What the hell are you even saying?!) (I know, I know, lame doesn't even begin to describe me, I get it).

He laughs. "The pleasure's all mine."

"Why don't we have dinner tonight?" I suggest, finally getting my brain under control, and in normal working order. "We need to get to know each other a little."

"Dinner would be great. Linguini's, 7 p.m?"

I finish the last of my bagel and coffee, pay, and smile at him. "It's a date." I pick up my coat and put it on. "See you tonight, Jeff."

"Bye Leslie," he responds with a wink (and I almost melt into a puddle on the floor).

***