Prologue
me about yourself?” Jared Coleman tries not to roll his eyes at his own statement. If there isn’t a cornier question to ask during a first date…
But there’s a reason that statement has stood the test of time – it’s effective. It’s the best way to get to know a person and in much less time.
Jared tips his head forward just a little bit and meets Maya’s eyes. He has to admit he can stare at her all day. With tanned skin, a pointed noise, and large doe-like eyes, she seems to be a mix of both Eastern and Western nationalities. He reminds himself to ask her about her parents after she gives her answer to the age old statement – ‘so tell me about yourself’.
“Well, I’m Marina Eloise Lauren Harrington,” she starts, and Jared has to give her a double take. That name is a mouthful. “But you can just call me Maya. My mother is Thai and my Father is American, but I was born and raised here…” She pauses for a moment, and just when Jared is about to say something, she speaks again and says, “I took up Education in university, and now, I’m a teacher. I teach pre-school, and I just have to say I love kids,” she gushes, her hazel brown eyes lighting up. “And you? What’s your story?”
Jared ponders on his answer for a few seconds. He’s been on numerous blind dates, and it’s always been the same answer. Growing up in the country, he joined the Navy once he graduated from college in-state. He felt limited and suffocated in his small town. It’s always the same routine, the same people, the same restaurants, the same everything. It’s the kind of place where everyone knows everyone, and everyone was expected to follow the same path – graduate from school, work, get married, start a family, and live happy ever after. Or not. Jared knew he couldn’t last in that kind of environment, so joining the Navy was the most obvious decision for him. What better way to get out of a small town than serve the country and go on dangerous deployments?
During his years of service, he climbed up the ranks, and then became a Navy SEAL. It was five years ago, when he turned thirty-five years old, that he decided to hang up his hat. Of course, he wasn’t going to go back to the small town where he grew up. No. And that’s when he made the move and called Black Creek his home. With his payout from the military, he became a venture capitalist. He invests in start-ups and provides direction and training on how to grow these companies
Jared ponders on the idea of relaying the exact same story to Maya. He’s already lost count of how many times he’s narrated his life story what with all the blind dates he’s had. And to no avail. He’s still meeting a different girl every other night in the hopes he’d meet his match.
Before Jared can narrate a different version of his life story to Maya, she opens her mouth to speak, and Jared is left glancing at the woman’s full-glass of water and wondering if she ever gets tired of talking.
“So how do you know Grant?” Maya then asks, her fingers grasping the handle of her fork as she twirls her salad in circles.
Grant is a mutual friend who is part of Jared’s tight-knit circle of friends. In that group, it seems like the men never run out of women. With good looks, a mysterious charm, and of course a bulky wallet, the group gets to collect and select their women; however, being in their late thirties and early forties, a few of them are in exclusive relationships and have settled down.
“I met him in the gym,” Maya then continues. “He looked like he knew what he was doing, so I asked him for help with the weights. Do you also work out a lot?” she asks, and then, “I try to go to the gym every morning, right before class. It’s impossible to go in the evenings since I usually have to go through the lesson plan for the next day and make worksheets. How about you? What do you do?”
Finally. Jared thinks when Maya keeps her lips closed for longer than three seconds. With all the questions she asked, he decides to just answer the last one. He hates to admit it, but he kind of dozed off in the middle of her speech.
“I’m a venture capitalist,” he starts, and then, “I-”
“You invest in companies, start-ups mostly, don’t you?” Maya asks instead. “I know Black Creek is becoming the next Silicon Valley with all the start-ups popping up in recent months.”
Jared tips his head into a nod.
“I dated someone like you before, an investor,” she starts. “He took me to a rooftop bar on our first date. Men do that to try and impress us…”
“Did I impress you then?” Jared asks, tipping his lips up into a cunning smirk. They aren’t in a penthouse or a pool deck overlooking the city, but the steak and wine dinner is sure to leave an impression just as positive as a rooftop date.
“Of course,” Maya says, leaning her torso forward across the table. Jared tries not to bite his bottom lip at the sight of her cleavage. The woman sure knows how to use her gifts to her advantage. “Even though I can’t tell the difference between the wines…the steak is still amazing.”
A couple of hours pass before they finish the steak and then desert – crème brulee. After Jared covers the bill, they walk down a flight of stairs and out of the door with the cool, night wind brushing against their skin.
“Let me take you home…” Jared says, when his car pulls up in front of them.
“What?” Maya then asks. “No drinks? This bar has a promo...it’s just down the block…”
Jared lets out a light chuckle and shakes his head as his arm goes around her waist. Then, he rests a hand on Maya’s hip to steady her. “I think you’ve had enough.” She stumbles a bit as she enters the car, before Jared scoots inside and sits beside her. After Maya gives the chauffeur her address, the car starts moving, and their date officially ends with a quick peck on the lips.
“Call me,” Maya says with a small grin. They’re standing by the front door of her apartment building with Jared standing on the step below.
He gives her a small nod, almost invisible, before he gives her a salute. “Goodnight, Maya. I had fun tonight.”
Then, he turns around and walks back to his car. Once inside, he fishes his phone out from the pocket of his dark jeans and gets to answering a few unread messages and emails.
‘So are you going to thank me or what?’ reads a message from Grant. Jared pulls the edges of his lips into a smirk before he types up a reply, his fingers flying over the screen.
‘Dude, very hot but talks too much.’
A few seconds later, and there’s a beep coming from his phone.
‘Then you should’ve put that mouth of hers to better use. Instead of replying to me.’
At that, Jared can’t help but shake his head and bark out a laugh. He knows what Grant’s insinuating. He thought about it a while ago – bringing her home to his place or inviting himself into hers – but then decided against it. He’d rather not take the risk of a talker in the bedroom…no matter how great her mouth is.
There may not be a second date, but Jared, during the ride home, can’t help the grin threatening to surface on his face.