Lonely Together | Tim Bergling

1. martijn

"Martijn. What's the point of me coming into the studio today? If you want to throw ideas off me, just come over" I say over the phone, sorting through my bills.

"Why can't I just see an old friend?" Martijn asks. Martijn, being the who he is, never just wants to do something just because it would be fun. There is always an ulterior motive.

"Because Martijn, if you wanted to see me so bad, you could just come over. I'm not in the mood to leave the house this morning'"

I hear Martian sigh over the phone, "Fiiiine".

"Martijn. I'm hanging up now, I don't have time for this"

"OKAY. Okay. Fine. I'll tell you"

Bingo.

"Okay. Soo..." Martijn pauses, "I have someone I want you to meet.".

"Oh God, who?" If he's going to hook me up with one of his friends, he could at least let me know who it is. Maybe I could get some stalking in before the date.

"You'll see, you'll like him. I promise" 

"Martijn Gerard Garritsen," I grit through my teeth "If you set me up with some lame Swedish douchebag again, you're take me to Nobu and I'm ordering the whole menu. And you're paying."

"Anna Elizabeth Pace. Will you please just trust me on this one"

One thing about Martijn, is that no matter how stupid the idea is, he always ends up convincing me to go along with it. "Fine."

"And this, my beautiful friend, is why you are God's favorite"

"Alright, alright. I've got bills to pay. I'll call you later."

"You're going to love this"

I put down the phone and let Martijn hang up.
I get up from my bed and walk to the music studio. For 9.5 million dollars, Hell yeah I'm going to build a house with my own decked out studio. And in the heart of Calabasas? Honestly, that's a steal compared to some places.

-

It's 4:24pm when I finish. I had some last minute changes I wanted to make to a song I've had in production. The song sounded too dance, I wanted the song to have a house feel.

As I walk downstairs to the kitchen, Martijn texts me.

"Can't wait for you to meet my friend tomorrow" At this point I would love to reply to him with a simple "Fuck you". But I know that would be rude l, and hurt his feelings, so I refrain.

I text back "Martijn, just tell me who it is"

"I told you it's a surprise. Don't fuck it up"

I literally cannot believe him sometimes.

"That's what makes it fun"

I leave him on read.

-

The next morning I wake up at 6:00 am. I felt great, until I remembered my date today.

As I'm putting my makeup on, Martijn calls me.

"Why on earth are you up this early?" I ask, applying my eyeliner.

"I could ask you the same question, m'lady"

I roll my eyes. I contemplate hanging up, It's too early for his sass.

"I'm picking you up from your house" Martijn answered, matter-of-factly

"Uh what. When?" I ask, really annoyed now. I was planning on driving myself in case I needed to escape.

"In... around 2 hours. Give him time to wake up and get ready. You really need to stop asking questions at this point"

"I really cannot believe you sometimes. This poor dude, he's probably going to hate me y'know". Im not wrong, most of the people he sets me up with never ask for a second date.

"C'mon Anna..."

"I'm driving myself" I insist

"Fine."

-

Before I walk into the garage, I check my outfit in the mirror. Some mascara had made its way to my cheek. Maybe that's a sign I should just stay home...

No. I'm not making excuses for myself. I'm promised Martijn I would go. So I'm going. Plus, if all goes wrong, free Nobu doesn't sound too bad.

I start my Jeep, and say a quick prayer.

"Let's go"