Swing and miss

“Damnit, Mara.” Teressa cursed under her breath as she spotted her blind date for the first time. The date in question was tall, slender and had the most gorgeous baby face she’d ever seen. Drew would have been perfect in every way in Teressa's eyes, but he was a man. 

Teressa didn’t even consider him when she looked around the room. Mara had told her that “Drew would be wearing an orange top. You can’t miss it.” and left the rest a surprise. The coffee shop was mostly full of women and Teressa would have beeline towards any of them that wore the vaguest semblance of orange but Drew stuck out like a human traffic cone, bobbing in a sea of wasted possibility.

Mara knew that guys were not Teressa’s thing. She absolutely knew it. 

Drew looked up from his phone and waived. Teressa cursed again. She had considered turning around and discreetly returning to the exit but now the only options were to run out of the coffee shop or sit down and say hi. 

Teressa considered her choices. Was this really her favorite coffee shop or was she still exploring other options?

Drew waved again. 

‘I guess I’m committed now.’ then she thought wickedly, ‘Maybe I can convince him to pay for a few lattes before I drop the L-bomb on him.’

With a deep sigh, Teressa walked over to Drew and held out her hand.

“Hi, Drew?” She offered, hoping to God that he said no.

“Andrew, actually. Mara only calls me Drew.” Drew responded, delicately grabbing her hand “But it’s alright, you call me that too.”

His smile was warm and genuine. She hated it. 

“And you are Miss... Terry?”

“Actually... Everyone calls me Teressa.”

She sat down at the table and gingerly returned his smile.

“So.” She said, hoping to find a conversation to latch onto.

“So.” Drew echoed, crossing his legs. “Mara never told me where you two met.”

“Oh that! We met at a bar. I can’t say we didn’t hit it off right away.” Teressa said with a laugh, inwardly chuckling at the half truth. She had tried flirting a little too aggressively with Mara and ended up with a drink in her face. “I still don’t know how we managed to be friends after that.” 

“I know! I met her at...” Drew looked like he lost in thought before finding the words. “A meetup a few years back. Mara is rough around the edges but otherwise she’s good people.”

Teressa was taken back by how non-threatening Drew was, how could he be friends with someone like Mara?

Something wasn’t right here.

Should she play her hand now and find out what’s going on or does she play it straight for a little longer?

“Excuse me.” A voice said from behind. “I have your drinks right here.” 

Teressa whipped round in her chair to see the barista in his usual excitable state holding a pair of drinks. 

She turned back towards Drew, failing to hide her annoyance. “Did you order my drink for me?” 

“Nope.” The barista said, cutting in with a cherslish smile. “It was placed in advance. The order was for ‘the orange twins’ and I naturally assumed that was you two.”

Andrew looked down at his shirt and made the connection that Teressa and they were both wearing orange. Mara had told Andrew that “Terry” would be a good fit and he groaned inwardly at the realization that this was some sort of prank. 

“Of course it was,” He thought as he took a sip of his drink. This was just the sort of practical joke she’d pull. Mara knew that women weren’t Andrew's thing. She absolutely knew it. 

There was no way he could hurt this girl's feelings by letting her know that. He’ll have to play it cool, pay for her drink and say he isn’t interested when they leave.

The Barista flew off, leaving them alone again. This was going to be a long date.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what do you do for work?” Andrew asked.

The look of annoyance fading from her face returned for a split second before she resumed her usual neutral expression. 

“I don’t really talk about my work much.” Teressa said simply. “Let’s just say I’m in sales.”

Andrew tried hard not to cock an eyebrow, ‘what is with this woman?’ he thought.

“Well... I’m in administration. Kinda.” Andrew replied, hoping to get some sort of response from her.“I work for a company that helps put on parties. Birthday parties, Bar Mitzvahs, the usual. We even do wedding receptions on occasion.” He could see the lack of interest in her posture.

Andrew tried a few more times to engage the conversation, Asking about favorite foods or where she’s from before trying more fantastical conversation topics like preferred super powers or what was on her bucket list. Teressa responded with simple, honest and boring answers. Her favorite food was pasta (exactly what kind she wouldn’t say) and she was from Cleveland. She said she’d choose flight as a super power and balked at the idea of a bucket list.

After nearly an hour, his coffee was as cold as this conversation.

“Alright. Let me ask you something weird.” He said irritably. She was splitting her focus between him and the window. “Do you shoulders hurt right now?”

She stirred at the question and finally looked towards him. “What do you mean?”

“Because my shoulders hurt from carrying this conversation.”

Teressa rocked back in her chair, accidentally knocking her empty cup off the table. 

“Excuse me?” She snapped.

“You definitely should be excusing yourself! I’ve been trying hard to make the most of this evening and you're sitting here, ordering extra drinks and watching the window like you’re waiting for your ride to show.”

He growled, then added. “And I was going to pay for your extra drinks but now I’m not.”

Andrew had heard of the term ‘bristling’ and always assumed it was figurative but he could swear the hair on this woman's head was nearly standing up by itself. 

He was never one to shy away from a needed confrontation but right now Teressa looked absolutely terrifying. He was starting to regret a few things. 

Teressa’s expression cooled off but her irritation was still palpable. “Fine. I guess we’re done here.” She reached down for her purse. “I am far too fabulous for this place anyways.”

Teressa pulled out her wallet and grabbed one of the bills inside, angrily tossing it at the table. Andrew was surprised to see it was $100. He looked up and saw she was surprised too.

“That’s right, I’m just that fabulous.” She said with a head bobble.

Teressa stood up, shouldering her purse and walking out the door.

The barista walked up behind Andrew. “Rough night?” he asked and offered the drink meant for Teressa.

“You have no idea.” He gladly accepted the cup and took a sip. He puckered and spit it back out. “This is mostly espresso!” He said, still tasting the bitterness.

“That was her third cup too.” The barista said with an eyebrow raise.

Andrew handed it back and took out his phone. He gave a half scroll through his contacts before selecting ‘Amara Natt’ and typed out a text message. “Can’t say the date went well.” and hit send.