Jenna

jenna

T he band’s drummer struck a chime as the female lead singer counted down to midnight. Ten . . . Nine . . . Eight . . . A new year. A fresh start. Would this be the year found true love?

Streamers shot through the air and gold balloons floated down around the couples kissing on the dance floor. ’s date hooked an arm around her waist, pulling her body tightly against his and planting a sloppy kiss on her. She resisted the urge to gag as his hot, slimy tongue slithered between her lips.

Yuck! thought as she pushed him away.

“What’s wrong, Jenny? You’ve been sending me signals all night. I thought you were into me.”

“First, my name is , not Jenny. And this date has been a disaster from the moment you showed up wearing jeans and a sport coat to a black-tie event.”

His expression crumpled like a child being scolded by his mom. “I told you the cleaners were closed when I tried to pick up my tuxedo this afternoon.”

She stared at him, mouth agape. “Why didn’t you pick it up yesterday?” Her hand shot up. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter now.”

felt the onset of a panic attack as the couples dancing to “Auld Lang Syne” surrounded her like walls closing in. “I need to use the restroom. Why don’t you grab us some champagne?”

“Okay!” he said with an eager nod. “I’ll meet you by the bar.”

grabbed her purse from their table and pushed her way through the crowded club, past the restrooms to the elevators. Sandwiched in the packed elevator, she closed her eyes and focused on counting her breaths, steadying herself during the twenty-floor descent. She waited less than five minutes for an Uber and climbed into the safety of the backseat. She was still standing on the curb in front of her apartment building when another Uber pulled up and Jake climbed out.

rushed to him, throwing her arms around his neck. “Happy New Year!”

Lifting her off the ground, Jake spun her around a few times before setting her back down on the sidewalk. “Happy New Year to you! I’m surprised to see you home so early. What happened with your date?”

“He turned out to be a disgusting pig,” said.

Jake chuckled. “Please tell me you didn’t use the restroom escape excuse.”

“Yep! Works like a charm every time.”

“Ouch. That’s heartless, . Especially on New Year’s Eve. The poor guy is probably still looking for you in the crowd.”

She shrugged. “Serves him right. He shouldn’t have tried to kiss me without asking. This is the last straw, Jake. I’m done with blind dates.”

“Ha! You’ve said that before.”

pulled her faux fur wrap tighter against the frigid night air. “Well, this time I mean it.”

“What you need is a different approach to dating. Why don’t I buy you a nightcap, and we can discuss your options?”

“No more alcohol for me tonight. I have to work an early shift tomorrow.” ’s gaze drifted to the all-night diner across the street. “But I wouldn’t turn down a veggie omelet.”

“You’re on. My treat.”

Jake offered her an arm and escorted her across the street to the Starlight Cafe. They snagged a booth by the window and placed their orders with the waitress.

As she sipped her decaf coffee, scanned the stream of texts from Irwin. “You were right. My date thinks I’m still in the bathroom. What an idiot?”

“I feel sorry for the guy,” Jake said.

“Don’t. He doesn’t deserve your sympathy.” She responded to his text.

I went home. Duh. Have a nice life.

She clicked send, and immediately wished she could take it back. She was being unnecessarily cruel. “Whatever. I’m giving up dating apps for New Year’s,” she muttered, deleting the SoulSync app and tossing her phone on the table.

Jake raised an eyebrow as he glanced at her phone. “SoulSync is your lifeline. I can’t believe you’re deleting it—and just when I was thinking of signing up.”

grunted. “Do it! I’m sure you’ll have better luck than me. Everyone has better luck than me. How was your night, by the way?”

“Lonely. I was the only single person there. I should’ve stayed home and watched the ball drop in Times Square on TV.”

She tilted her head as she studied him. “I can take some photos of you for the app, but I think you should clean yourself up first.”

He furrowed his brow. “What do you mean by clean myself up ?”

“In order to attract the right type of girl, you need to get rid of the man bun and shave the beard.” She reached across the table and palmed his fuzzy cheek. “I can’t remember when I last saw your face.”

Jake scoffed. “You’re one to talk, zebra head.”

“Ouch. That’s not very nice. I was offering you constructive criticism. You’re just being mean.” To test the theory about blondes having more fun, had bleached her hair last spring. Not only had she looked terrible as a blonde, but the change had done nothing to improve her love life. Instead of dyeing it back to her natural color, she let it grow out, keeping it in a ponytail to minimize the effect of five inches of mahogany roots showing.

“Why don’t you cut off the blonde part?” Jake said.

“No!” she exclaimed, placing her hands protectively over her hair. “It would be too short.”

“So? I liked it when you wore your hair short in high school.”

“Forget it. Short hair is too much trouble. I rather wear it in a ponytail,” she said, smoothing back errant strands into the elastic band.

Jake settled back in the booth, arms folded over his chest. “How will you ever meet anyone if you give up the dating app?”

“I’m taking my chance on destiny. When the time is right, my plus-one for life will magically appear, and we’ll ride off into the sunset together.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “Right. I’ve heard this before. Your knight in shining armor doctor will gallop through the emergency room on his white stallion and whisk you off to his palace.”

A dreamy expression filled ’s face. “Exactly. I want sparks to fly, the ground to shake beneath my feet, the earth to tilt on its axis.”

Jake covered his ears. “Stop! I get it. You want your cute meet or whatever that thing is you call it.”

“For the millionth time, it’s a meet-cute,” she said, tossing a wadded napkin at him. “That’s part of your problem, Jake Morgan. You don’t have a romantic bone in your body.”

“That’s what you think,” Jake mumbled.

The waitress delivered their order, and picked at her omelet. She was still full from the five-course dinner included in the $200-per-head tickets she’d bought for tonight’s party. But Jake devoured his pancakes with a vengeance, as though something was on his mind.

“Earth to Jake,” she said, waving a hand in front of his face. “I can see the wheels spinning in your brain. What’re you thinking about?”

“A wager. Are you game?” Jake asked, dragging a sausage link through the syrup puddle and popping it into his mouth.

“Do you have to ask? You know I’m always up for a challenge.” planted her elbows on the table, leaning in closer. “Tell me more.”

He pushed his empty plate away. “The object is simple. The first one who falls in love wins.”

let out a huff. “That’s a contest, not a bet.”

“Call it whatever you want. It’ll be epic.” Jake pulled an iron arrowhead out of his pocket and slapped it on the table between them. “The winner gets to keep the arrowhead forever.”

and Jake bet on everything from sporting events to which of their friends would be the next to get engaged. The prize was always the same—possession of the arrowhead they’d found while hiking one summer in the mountains of Wyoming. Most recently, Jake had won the arrowhead back from her when they bet on who could guess the number of lights on her Christmas tree.

She gave him a doubtful look. “I don’t know, Jake. Neither of us is having luck finding true love. At this rate, the contest could go on for years.”

He flashed her a boyish grin. “Unless we set parameters. The contest will end on Valentine’s Day, at which time we’ll meet at Golden Orchid for dinner and introduce our new sweethearts.”

raised an eyebrow. “What if one of us doesn’t find true love by then?”

“Then they’ll only be three for dinner. If neither of us finds someone, we’ll reset the clock and start over. But there’s one more condition. You and I can’t see or talk to each other until Valentine’s Day.”

’s back went ramrod straight. “What? Why are you putting me in timeout? And how is that even possible when we work at the same hospital and live in the same building?”

His face grew serious. “Our friendship is part of the problem. Part of my problem, anyway. I rely on you too much. Without each other to fall back on, we’ll be forced to try harder to find our special someone.”

thought it over. “So maybe you’re right. But why such drastic measures? Giving you up will be like cutting off my right arm.”

“Gee, thanks. You make me sound like a nicotine addiction.”

“You know what I mean. And what happens if I run into you? Am I supposed to just ignore you?”

Jake laughed. “I certainly hope not. We can exchange pleasantries, but we can’t discuss anything more serious than the weather.”

stared out the window at the now deserted city street. “I don’t know, Jake. It’s late, and it’s been a long night. This seems so extreme. Maybe we should talk about this again tomorrow.”

“It is tomorrow. This is the perfect New Year’s resolution.” Jake reached for her hand. “Come on, . We need this challenge to get us through these gloomy weeks of January.”

Shifting her gaze back to his face, she found an eagerness, an excitement, that had been missing for some time. “All right. If it means that much to you. I’ll do it.” She glanced at her watch. “Good grief. It’s almost two o’clock. I have to be at the hospital at seven.”

“Let’s get you home then,” Jake said, signaling the waitress for their check.

They walked hand in hand back across the street to their apartment building. When the elevator stopped on the third floor, she gave him a hug. “I’m going to miss you. Can we at least agree that if something really bad happens, if one of us desperately needs the other, we’ll call off this communication ban?”

“Of course!” He kissed the top of her head. “This is just for fun. I will always be here for you, no matter what.”

“Good night, Jake. And Happy New Year. I’ll make the reservation for Valentine’s Day.”

An empty feeling washed over as she exited the elevator and let herself into her apartment. Several times, while getting ready for bed, she reached for her phone to text Jake. They talked every night before falling asleep—sometimes for a few minutes, other times for hours. always counted on Jake’s companionship to get her through the miserable weeks of January. But she couldn’t argue with his logic. Their friendship was her safe zone, the place she retreated to when things didn’t go her way. But Jake relied on more than she relied on him. She was at least trying to find romance. If Jake needed this friendship timeout, then, for his sake, she would go along with it.