Speed Dating--Ch.2

I was too busy indulging in my own thoughts that I hadn't even noticed the circulation was about to start. I looked up from my nails, noticing the rustle of the ladies, who all suddenly erupted into a rush in mending their clothes, smoothing their salon-sleek hair and sitting straight. The guys were coming out of the VIP room where they listened to their set of instructions and therefore they were “hidden” from us before the circulation, which means we would all have “pleasant surprises”. I wondered what the other host had said to the guys. Maybe the guys were all confederates? Or perhaps the girls were confederates too? And it would turn out to be a joke from Mel just to push my lazy ass off my couch and make me start a brave new man-hunting mission, in the hope of getting over Ned.

Ok. No more Ned. Audrey’s going to hit it off with a new decent man tonight. Yuppie!

No. Wait! Wait a minute!

I COULDN’T BELIEVE THIS!

Among the 6 guys who were coming through the door, one of them took the shape of Ned. I rubbed my eyes and then my face, completely forgetting the fact that I had my make-up on. After messing up my face, the Ned-looking guy approached the tables. He shot a glance at me and turned away and turned again.

He was Ned. Definitely Ned. My Ned. I couldn’t have mistaken his 6-foot-3 frame, his brown short just-got-out-of-bed hair (and it’s highly possible that he had actually forgotten to brush it in the morning), his white linen shirt, his old faded blue jeans, his big hands, his round baby eyes, his thin soft lips.

Ned stared at me with wide eyes. I stared back at him, hands trembling under the table. I looked at the tag on his shirt, he’s number 2 and I looked at mine, I was number 6, which means I had to talk to 4 other guys before going face-to-face with Ned.

I wanted to burst into tears. I held it and looked away.

Suddenly, all the Cosmo-Elle-Marie Claire articles I’ve read about ex-boyfriends flashed in my mind.


Tip no. 1--
If you want to get back with your ex, make him realize how important you are in his heart by having fun with other men. And yes, we mean "MAKE HIM JEALOUS".


Yes! Bingo! Make Ned jealous! Laugh with other men! Have fun! Act like I don’t care!

I could do that. Suddenly a gleam of hope lighted up inside me. Maybe Ned did care about me. Maybe he wanted to get back together too. My lips curled up and I felt the first genuine smile ever since I broke up with Ned.

I peeped at Ned, who’s now approaching Girl No.2. He was not looking at me anymore. He must be pretending to be calm too.

And as soon as I collected myself and focused on the situation again, Guy No. 6 has already seated opposite to me.

The first round 3-minute-chat has started. Guy No.6 looked at me curiously. He was a rather short guy with small features. Tiny eyes. Tiny nose. Tiny mouth. If you took them all off his face, I could hold them all in one hand. He was wrapped in a formal black suit, paying his respect to the Mighty Circulation. Hair obediently sticking on his skull, which means too much hair gel.

"Hi, I'm Larry."
"Hi, I'm Audrey."
"Our names rhyme!" Larry grinned excitedly, waiting for me to laugh at his joke.
"Haha, yea."
We were silent for a few seconds. I realized that the 3 minutes were wasting on too much hesitation and awkwardness. I needed to show Ned that I was enjoying myself.
"So, Larry," I cleared my throat, "what do you do?"
Larry looked a little startled. I immediately realized the excessive formality of my tone but I could only come up with the job question, staring at Larry’s formal suit.
"I'm a financial analyst."
"And how do you like it?"
"Um…it’s…very….um…financial."
Being a financial analyst is very financial. Interesting. I peeped at Ned again, he seemed to be engaged in an animated chat with Girl No. 2. Oh no. Please don’t let Ned find his new soul mate.
"Um, actually what exactly do you analyze?" I forced my attention back to Larry.
"Like…a company’s investment potential."
"And?"
"Lending risks."
"Yea?"
"Managerial effectiveness."
"Right."
"Actually it’s very complicated."
"I can see that. And what else do you do besides analyzing…um…finance, like, in your spare time?"
"I play golf."
"Is it fun?"
"Yes, it helps to release the pressure from work."
"How?"
"The environment, the greeneries around, the slow pace of the game…" Larry suddenly leaned a little forward, looked into my eyes and said, "Audrey."
"Yes?" I was scared and leaned backward in response. A wild thought floated in my head. He was not going to propose, was he?
"I feel like being in a job interview..." Larry said with an apologetic smile.
And the 3 minutes was up.

(To be continued)


Written in June 2008