The Dating Experiment (The Experiment, #2)(21)

All right, so that was my dream, but did it matter? For all we knew, all yoga pants everywhere wanted was to be in the same clothing group as jeans.

I snorted to myself as I unlocked the door.

Right. Like yoga pants would ever be equal to jeans.

We all knew they would be far superior.

I put my pizza on a clear corner of my desk and dumped my purse on floor. I bent to pull my phone out of it and brought up my messages. Going to the thread I kept with the guy who owned the cocktail place on the corner, I hit “new message.”



Me: I found you three more dates.



His response came as quick as lightning.



Luca: On my way.



I laughed and kicked off my sneakers, shoving them underneath the desk. Wriggling my toes, the glitter that adorned my Harry Potter socks winked at me thanks to the light right above my desk.

I crossed my legs on my spinny chair, tucking my feet beneath my thighs. The rich scent of the pizza slammed into me right as the office door opened. I looked up just in time to see Luca swan in. His blue hair was unmissable as it swept across his forehead into green tips.

“I see you dyed your hair again,” I said by way of greeting.

“I got bored of the red,” he said nonchalantly. “I brought you a little something.” He waved a large Styrofoam cup.

“Sangria?” I grinned.

“Of course. That’s your working potion. But first…” He held his hand out, palm up, and waved his fingers in a “gimme” motion.

I held up one finger and opened the bottom drawer of my desk. A quick rifle through the files gave me the one I was after, and I grabbed the neon yellow paperclip to pull it out.

“Oooh!” He put down my drink to clap his hands together. “Tell me about them!”

“Off the top of my head…” I clicked my tongue. “The first guy, Robbie, works downtown at that new gay bar. I can’t remember the name—”

“Robbie’s.”

“All right, so he owns it. I knew he worked there. He’s been single for two years, has a pet cat called Rudi, and is looking for something serious.”

“Good.”

Another click of my tongue. “Number two… I’m not entirely sure about him, but I think it might work for you. He’s in his late thirties, so a little older than you usually go for, but he owns one of the most popular ghost tour companies in the city.”

“I can go for that.” Luca nodded. “What about the last guy?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, he’s the cherry on top of everything.”

Luca clasped a hand to his chest. “Tell me!”

“Okay.” I paused, watching my friend bounce on the spot. “Leo is thirty-two, been single for five years, lives close to downtown, and… Moonlights as Cleo four times a week.”

He gasped. He didn’t breathe out for the longest minute, and I was actually a little afraid he might choke.

“You found me a drag queen?” he finally wheezed. “Oh, honey. You are never paying for another drink ever again.”

See? This was a relationship I could get behind.

“Be still my heart,” Luca swooned. “Where did you find him?”

“He actually emailed me late last night after his best friend got proposed to on stage at the drag club. I think he’d had a little tequila, but I assured him I had the perfect person for him.”

He swayed a little. Actually swayed.

Lord help me if he fainted…

I wasn’t equipped to deal with fainting people.

“Screw the others. Email him. I’m gonna date the fuck out of him.”

I licked my lips as I tried to come up with a response to that.

Thankfully, his phone rang, saving me the need to carry on down that line that didn’t seem to have a light at the end of it.

Luca sighed. “I have to go. Bachelorette parties are out in force, and we found the first of the night.”

“First what? Street urinator? Nipple shower? Skirt-tucked-into-panties flasher?”

“Nope. The first should-have-eaten-before-drinking idiot.” He rolled his eyes so hard they were millimeters from popping out of his head. “Set me up a date with Leo and text me, okay?”

I picked up my sangria and held it up in agreement that I’d do just that. He left the door to swing shut on its own, and after a sip of the best sangria in the city, I pulled a slice of pizza out of the box.

The door clicked open.

“Was that Luca?” Peyton asked, staring at the cup on my desk.

I nodded, mouth full of pizza.

“And he didn’t bring me a drink?”

“D’int know ‘oo were ‘ere,” I said around my dinner.

“Man. I never would have understood that before Briony, but now… Got every word.” She shook her head in disbelief. “He only ever hand-delivers drinks for a date. What did you pull out of your bag of tricks this time?”

“I didn’t even have to pay for it. And the date is so good, I get free drinks forever,” I told her, resting my slice back in the box.

Peyton paused. “You didn’t.”

I nodded, a solemn look on my face. “I found him a drag queen.”

“Oh my God. That’s only taken, what? Two years?”