She giggled. “Fine, but please text me and let me know you weren’t killed.”

“I’ve got my pepper spray.”

“And your Taser?”

“And my Taser,” she said, rolling her eyes. She wasn’t sure why Mekena was even asking; she was the one who had stuffed it into her purse the day before. If nothing else, Mekena Preston was practical and smart, very smart.

“Good, text me when you leave.”

“Will do.”

“Have fun. Find your forever!”

Brie’s face scrunched up. “That is dumb, don’t ever say that again.”

“Hey, everyone says that when they fall in love.”

“God, I hope I don’t.”

“You will.”

“I won’t.”

“Stop stalling. Go find your forever.”

“That’s disgusting. Bye,” Brie complained before hanging up and then tucking her phone into her pocket and taking in a deep breath. Looking around the room, she noticed there was a decent men-to-women ratio, which was good. She didn’t want to be the only chick in the middle of a sausage fest. While she wanted some sausage, she only needed one. A large one, thick, some girth, mmm… Great, now she was hungry. Pressing her hand to her belly, she rolled her eyes. She needed help.

Or, again, to get laid.

Maybe she should just go home with the first able-bodied man.

When a large, round man stopped in front of her, her eyes widened. He was easily twenty years older than her thirty-one years and he was losing his hair, but he was trying to cover it with a toupee. People still wore those? Pointing at her, he smiled with bright yellow teeth. “Hey, sugar, make sure to stop at my table.”

“Ugh, sure,” she blurted out before hightailing it to the left.

She would not be going home with that guy. No matter how desperate she was.

Standing in the back, she looked over the sea of people as the announcer explained what they were to do. The sad thing was, this wasn’t her first time, so she knew what to do. Last time, she hated it and met no one, but maybe this time would be different. Letting out a long groan, she shook her head. If she could be normal and meet someone in a coffee shop or at her job, that would be awesome. But she hadn’t had luck with guys her whole life.

She wasn’t one of those serial daters or even a casual one. She dated for a reason, and because of that, she had only been in two serious relationships. Both were ended by the guy, which did nothing for her confidence. Both times she didn’t see it coming, and that alone was depressing as hell. Especially Martin. She’d loved Martin—a lot. But when her mom died, he said it was too much and left her high and dry. Not only did she have to pick up the pieces of her heart and Rod’s from her mother’s death, but then she had to pick up the extra pieces of her heart from Martin’s departure. It was horrible, and because of that experience, she was a little scarred by relationships.

Okay, a whole lot scarred. But she was coming up on a new year, and it was time to turn over a new leaf. She wanted the romantic happiness that being with a guy could provide. It had taken her a long time to love herself again. After the grief was no longer overwhelming, after the pain of Martin was gone, she was ready to love once more. It was time, time for her to venture out and find that guy. The… There was no way she was saying the forever guy, but something along those lines.

“So let’s get started!” the announcer said, and then she rang a really annoying cowbell. Taking the cue, Brie went to the first table and sat down as a guy with hair longer than hers did. He was decent-looking, but no spark whatsoever. Maybe it would come?

“Hey, I’m Brian.”

Brie smiled. “Hi, I’m Brie.”

“Ha, like the cheese.”

She blinked. “Excuse me?”

“The cheese. I love Brie, it’s my favorite. I wonder if you taste like Brie? Wanna get out of here?”

She blinked once more and then let out a hard laugh. “So let me get this straight,” she said, leaning on the table. “First, you compare me to cheese, and not even the most exclusive cheese, kind of midrange. And then you want me to go home with you?”

He shrugged like that was a normal exchange. “Yeah.”

“Yeah, no. And fuck-you-very-much,” she said, standing up just as the bell rang. Thankfully. Moving down the chair, she skipped the guy from earlier, the balding dude, and sat down as a very attractive, clean-cut guy sat down. And wowza, was he gorgeous. Big blue eyes, wonderful angles to his face, and thick, yummy shoulders. He reminded her of someone…but… Whoa, not now, Soledad.

With a bright smile, she said, “Hey, I’m Brie.”

“Tim, nice to meet you,” he said, matching her grin as he looked her up and down. “Let me guess, a doctor?”

She laughed. “Reporter for the Nashville Assassins.”

His eyes lit up. “Go Assassins!”

She smiled as she nodded. “Greatest team in the league.”

“Agreed, but I’m sad. I could have sworn you were a doctor. That would have worked for me since I’m a lawyer, and I need someone to deal with my crazy hours.”

“Well, I need that too because I leave a lot.”

“Oh, well then, hi,” he said, leaning on the table, and she did the same.

“Hi.”

“Family?”

She nodded. “A little brother.”

“What’s his name?”

“Rodney.”

“Is he in town?”

“Yup, over at Riverdale.”

His brows pulled together. “Riverdale? Isn’t that the old folks’ home?”

“They also have a facility for people with Down syndrome.”

“I didn’t know they kept retards too. That place stinks, I had an aunt die there.”

Oh, look, there went all the attraction she even thought she had for this piece of junk. Swallowing hard, she stood slowly and then tucked her chair in. “Actually, not all people with Down syndrome have mental challenges. My brother is highly intelligent. You wouldn’t even know he had Down syndrome if he didn’t have the physical characteristics.”

He shrugged, waving her off. “Same thing.”

She could only blink. “You know what isn’t the same? A dick-fuck and a cuntasaurus.”