More Flirts! 5 Romantic Short Stories - By Lisa Scott Page 0,15
her boyfriend.”
“Tell her you met someone,” Diana said.
“She can see right through my lies. It’s like a super power or something. But even if I do find someone, I know how it’ll end. I’ve been thinking about it, and every single guy I’ve dated has dumped me. Isn’t that strange? There’s gotta be a reason I end up with guys who leave me.” Aubrey shook her head. “I’m sure you remember them all—Dane and Simon, and that whole debacle with Quinton and my missing shoes.” Aubrey threw up her hands. “I don’t get it—I can cook killer Italian, change my own tire, and do an hour on the elliptical, but I can’t do romance right—and I try so hard.” She pressed her fingers against the corners of her eyes. “I will not cry over this.”
“Aubrey, most people can’t get it right. What do you think keeps me in business?” Diana said.
“Me. I keep you in business. You’ll probably have to change careers if I ever get engaged.”
“It’s a tempting idea.” Diana took set down her notebook and looped her hands around her knees. “Listen. I think we should try something different. Instead of sitting here wondering why things didn’t work out with your exes, why not ask them?”
“Ask them what?”
“Ask them what went wrong,” Diana said with a shrug.
Aubrey’s eyes widened. “Like, with a survey?”
“Or just a conversation,” Diana said quickly.
“A conversation and a questionnaire. Kyla and I talked about creating a pre-dating survey before she hooked up with her new guy.”
Diana leaned forward. “You could just talk to them. On the phone.”
Aubrey snapped her fingers “I could meet them and bring pictures to prompt memories, along with the questionnaire and maybe video tape it, too?”
Diana shook her head. “Your skills are underused as a receptionist.”
“I don’t want a job that’s going to stress me out, or leave me working sixty hours a week. It gives me a reason to get up, and I get to socialize. Plus, I have so many friends who can’t find a job, I’d hate to take one of the good ones when I don’t even need it.”
“You’ve handled the shock of your mother’s inheritance well, especially since you were still in high school when you found out you’d be a millionaire at eighteen. I just think you could strive for more.”
“Hey, I do a weekly poll on which candies I should have on my desk—I like to shake it up—and I rotate decorations monthly. They love me at the office. Debbie, the other receptionist just answers the phone. She adds nothing to the mix. My talents are appreciated.”
“Let’s save that for another session.” Diana made a note on her legal pad.
Aubrey waved her off. “So, do I approach everyone I’ve ever gone out with for this survey?”
Diana twirled her pencil between her fingers. “How about anyone who lasted more than three dates.”
“Going back how far?”
“High school?”
Aubrey was counting on her fingers. “Six guys.” Her smile fell. “I’m twenty-three years old and I’ve only dated six men.”
“That’s because you’re incredibly selective and only accept dates from men you think you could marry—once they match up to 80% of the requirements on your checklist. Over the years, you’ve turned down plenty of dates which could’ve led to more boyfriends.”
“True.” Aubrey sat thinking for a minute, and then jumped up from the couch. “This is brilliant! They’ll tell me everything I did wrong! I’m going to get started today.”
“We’ve still got fifteen minutes left,” Diana called out, tapping her watch, as Aubrey dashed out the door.
“Take a break! Go get a cup of coffee!” Aubrey hollered back.
Aubrey went straight home and started composing a fifty-part relationship-in-review questionnaire. Some were yes-no questions, others had a few lines for essay style answers, and others had a points-ranking system from one to ten. She was pretty confident she’d score high on the “Was I a good kisser?” question. She changed “Was I too dramatic?” from a yes/no question to an essay question, and added a 1-10 scale. A few of her exes may have mentioned the word drama from time to time.
After a bit of research on the Internet, she was excited to find all but one of the guys still lived in the Boston area. Surprisingly, Simon had moved to rural Vermont, but a road trip never hurt anyone. With a smile, she curled up in bed, excited to find out where she’d gone wrong—so she could start getting things right.
***
The following morning at work, Aubrey announced that she’d