The Doll Collector

Chapter 5: Maria

My stomach had churned and twisted so many times, that it was probably an origami swan by this point. I'd tried my best to be open to the guys on the Still Fishing app. Some were very good looking and seemed sweet, but they wanted to end the first date in my pants. I barely fit in my pants, there was no room for anyone else.

There had been one guy that had treated me to a nice dinner and was sweet enough to suggest we do this again. We had only communicated through the app, so he asked me for my number, but I had a rule that I always followed. If a guy you're not sure about asks you for your number, you ask for his. That way, you're in control and he can't randomly contact you. So, I asked for his and he insisted on taking mine, but I made up the excuse that I'd just gotten a new number. He took my phone to put his number in and tried texting himself. I casually took my phone back, assuring him that I would text him. With that simple phrase, it was as if I had opened the floodgates to his insecurity. His face contorted into panic, followed by the string of sentences, "Oh god, you're not gonna text me are you? Oh my god, you're not gonna text me. You're not, are you? You know what, it was nice meeting you. Goodbye."

He shot that horse in the face, so no, I definitely wasn't going to text him.

After that guy, a new guy had popped up as a match. His name was Dylan, and Jenny had spent the last two hours convincing me to give this guy a chance to wine and dine me and hopefully dazzle me. I just wanted to curl up on the sofa and catch up on the Family Guy episodes I'd already seen a billion times. However, Jenny being Jenny, had nagged and whined until I threw my hands up in the air and finally started getting ready.

She'd made sure that my skirt was short enough to tease, but long enough to let him know that he wasn't getting these legs tonight. Or you know, ever. She sat in my room, while I got ready, not caring that I was naked at certain points.

"You don't have anything I don't have." she would argue, while casually flipping through a magazine.

"You have a thigh gap, I don't." I pointed out.

"That's because you chose a pizza over a thigh gap."

"Best decision I ever made."

I curled my hair, sweeping it up into a ponytail then finished off by applying a couple of layers of mascara. Jenny closed her magazine, asking me to give myself a turn. She examined the outfit as it pulled together and nodded approvingly.

We walked out to the tiny living room that my apartment held, and I grabbed my purse and sweater.

"Alright young lady, you go have fun. I'll just hang around here until you get home." Jenny said, plopping down on the couch and stretching out her legs.

That thigh gap, though. The amount of times I'd seen her phone fall through her legs were too many to count, but so funny every time.

"You don't have to do that; I can handle it if things go badly." I told her.

"It's fine, plus your apartment is clean and mine isn't. I can't be Zen in a filthy apartment."

"So, clean your apartment."

"Pretty girls don't have to clean their own apartment."

"They don't, so go clean your apartment."

Jenny threw a pillow at me only releasing the laugh I was trying to hold back. I locked up tightly so no one would break in on her. The police still hadn't found anything that connected the three possible victims, so it was best to just be extra careful about locks and security.

I climbed into the car preparing for the hour-long drive to Santa Monica. That was the city he lived in and insisted that we go to his favorite restaurant there. So as was usual in this state, I was stuck in traffic on the 405 for a good hour-and-a-half, managing to get to the restaurant a few minutes before I was deemed late. My hands were aching in nerves as I entered the establishment. He was twenty-two and a recent graduate. He was five years younger, which meant he was most likely going to have immature tendencies.