More Flirts! 5 Romantic Short Stories (The Flirts! Short Stories Collections) by Lisa Scott Page A

she was. She had to. “I’m at a disadvantage,” she typed back. “I don’t have your picture to see if you’re my type.”
    She poured herself some cereal and was surprised by Will’s quick response. He must be online , she thought.
    “You won’t be disappointed. I didn’t post my picture because I don’t want a woman who’s just after my looks.”
    She rolled her eyes. He might be worth three chapters. She quickly emailed him back. “Then how will I know it’s you when we meet?”
    It wasn’t long until his promising response landed in her email box. “I’ll have a nice big package waiting for you. Oh, and a gift on the table with a red bow.”
    She gasped, sitting all by herself at the kitchen table. All signs pointed to her being a persnickety old lady some day with a few well-chosen low-heeled shoes. Did she really want to go out with this guy? “Big package. Funny stuff,” she typed back, happy that indecision couldn’t be detected through keystrokes.
    “No one’s laughed at it yet.”
    “Good to know,” she typed.
    They made plans to meet for drinks at The Brownstone Bar on Friday night at eight o’clock. Before contacting the blond hottie, she decided to see how her first blind date went before setting up another.
    Then she panicked. What kind of guys responded to singles’ ads in the middle of the night? She imagined guys in dirty boxers with the glow of a boxy old TV illuminating the room. Undoubtedly, these guys wouldn’t be her type and that was the point, right? The badder the better. She took a deep breath. It’s for the book. It’s for the book .
    The phone rang and she answered without looking—a big mistake.
    “Hi, darling. It’s mother.”
    Diana pressed her lips together to keep a sigh from escaping.
    “Are you there?”
    Diana forced a smile, like her mother could see her. “Yes, how are you, Mother?”
    “I’m wondering how the books are coming?”
    “Oh, it’s…good. I’m making progress.”
    “Diana, are you sure leaving the therapy practice was a good idea? Are these books enough to pay your bills?”
    Diana could feel her blood pressure rising. “For a while, yes.”
    “And after that?”
    Diana’s throat tightened. “I’ve taken care of myself all these years, Mother, I think I’ll be fine.”
    “Because you can’t count on a man to do that for you.”
    “I don’t have a man to count on, so don’t worry!”
    “I just want the best for you,” her mother said. How many times had she said that to her over the years?
    Diana rubbed her temples. “I know. I know. I’m working on the book, and I have a blind date tonight.”
    “Really? That doesn’t sound like you.”
    “Don’t worry. It’s not for me; it’s for the book. Gotta go, Mom.”
     
    ***
     
    On Friday, Diana wasn’t loving any of her new clothes, so she went on another shopping trip and while she was out, she decided to schedule a waxing appointment, too. It had been a while, and maybe if she were lucky, she could turn her first ever blind date into her first one-night-stand and have plenty to write about.
    She got home and tried on the new frilly bra she’d bought and modeled it in front of the mirror. “Cute,” she said. Then she narrowed her eyes. “No, it’s sexy.” Feeling emboldened, she grabbed her phone and snapped a few pictures of her new purchase. She looked at them on the screen. Damn, her chest looked small. She tried a few different angles, and finally was satisfied with a picture of her leaning forward slightly, with the camera tilted just so. Another first , she thought. She’d never taken a racy picture of herself for a guy. She’d never even sexted. “That’s going to change tonight and it’s going in the book.”
    She composed an email to Will with the picture of her in her bra, and a flirty message: “I’ve got my own package for you to unwrap.” She saved it in her draft file to send later, once she was certain Witty Will didn’t have a rap sheet or