Nikki Worrell - The Enforcer (NHL Scorpions)

“You are NOT going to a speed dating party. Listen to me, Lace. That’s not going to happen.” More silence. Then Lacey could hear him cursing. He knew he had no right to say that, but dammit, Lacey was his. “Okay look, I know you’re your own person, and I have no right … no, fuck that. You can’t go.” When he stopped talking, Lacey heard him mumble something about her being his.

Lacey’s voice went up an octave. “Yours?” Zoe had the nerve to laugh at Lacey as she listened in on the conversation. “You can’t forbid me to go, Jody. I’m sorry you feel so strongly about this, but you’re right about one thing. I am my own person. If you still want to go out with me on Tuesday, let me know, but you might want to think about a change in attitude.” Lacey closed her phone and looked at Zoe. “Do you believe that? I knew it. I knew he wasn’t Mr. Perfect, but damn! Yeah, I’d say ‘possessive or overly protective’ is an understatement.”

“Well, I wouldn’t throw him away just yet. Every one of us has a weakness. His is his need to stake a claim. Don’t get me wrong, I think you need to address it, but you may find that he’s worth the extra work.”

“Maybe. I’ll sleep on it. But in the mean time, let’s go home, find a speed dating thingy and get going. Maybe there’s one tonight, and I suddenly feel anxious to go now.” They packed up their beach chairs and headed back to the house. Take that Mr. LaGrange!

There was only one speed dating club in the whole San Diego area, and they met on Sunday and Wednesday nights. With only two hours to spare, the girls registered online. Lacey decided to wear her new sundress, and Zoe decided to slut it up. Okay, not really, but she wore low-riding, hip-hugging jeans with a wide belt, black boots with three-inch heels and a black t-shirt that said, “I’ll be using these to my advantage.”

“Really Zoe?” Lacey couldn’t believe how comfortable Zoe was with making statements like that. She got away with it because everyone loved her. How did she do it? Confidence must be the answer. Zoe always said people will perceive you by the way you act. She swore that a woman dressed in a string bikini, with the right attitude, could command respect in a brothel. Lacey didn’t have that kind of confidence but Zoe sure did. She didn’t look easy; she looked cute. Men thought she was adorable and treated her that way … for the most part. There were always one or two assholes in every crowd.

Zoe looked at herself in the mirror and said, “What? I look adorable. Besides, I’m not looking for Mr. Right, just Mr. Tonight.” Then she blew herself a kiss and turned to look at Lacey. “And don’t you look sexy. Really Lacey, I think between the two of us, you look hotter than I do. You’re the perfect combination of sex and girl next door.” Lacey’s dress was a bit shorter than she remembered it, and the neckline a tad lower but it had tiny flowers on it for God’s sake!

“Oh come on. My dress has daisies on it.”

“Yup, it does. And what’s the length on that skirt? Two inches above the knee?” When Lacey looked back down and tried tugging the skirt lower, Zoe laughed. “I’m just yanking your chain. You look nice and demure. I’m sure Jody would approve … or not.” Zoe walked over to Lacey and linked their arms together. “Let’s go get me a date.”

Zoe drove to the club, and they got there with just minutes to spare. There were sixteen men and fifteen women looking for dates (well, fourteen women – Lacey didn’t want a date). The men came in all shapes and sizes. There were buff white guys, skinny black guys, a few Hispanics and possibly a Russian. It was nice to have a variety to pick from. Zoe had no particular preference, although there was that Ukrainian man she couldn’t have.

Rubbing her hands together, Zoe said, “Okay, where do I start – white, black or that cute Spanish looking guy? Yum, so many choices!” Well, no one could ever call Zoe prejudiced. She did seem to be leaning (literally) toward the Spanish looking guy.

“I think you have to wait for the moderator to set us up, Zoe. It’s not a big party, dear. As the website states, it’s an ‘organized dating opportunity.’ Just relax, be patient and stop undressing that guy with your eyes!” Lacey had to laugh at her. Zoe just wanted to get started. She didn’t like to wait.

Everyone was about to take a seat when the door opened and two more men walked in. “You have got to be kidding me.” Lacey shook Zoe’s arm and pointed to the door. Standing there looking pissed off at the world were Jody and Vlad. They signed in with the moderator and took seats at the end of the row. “Are they for real? We should walk out right now.”

“Screw that.” Zoe was visibly agitated. “They have no right. Vlad has got to let this go. Goddammit …” With a vast amount of effort, Zoe put on a smile and got ready to meet her first potential date. When the bell rang, Zoe stuck out her hand and introduced herself.

Gesturing to her shirt, her first guy started off with, “So what exactly would you like to use them to get? You can use them on me anytime.” Zoe thought maybe she had that coming for wearing the shirt in the first place so she gave him another chance at conversation. “What do you do for a living?” she asked.

“Oh, this and that. Tell me, what kind of relationship are you looking for? And if I pick you, what will you do for me?” If he picks me ? Well, she was done with guy #1. Giving him her insincere smile, she answered, “Let’s just forget it. We’re not going to mesh well. We’ll just sit here and wait for the bell to ring, k?” He mumbled something about her being a tease and then sat there quietly. Zoe felt bad for the girl he’d eventually trick into a date.

Lacey didn’t fare much better with her first guy. It was easy to see why these guys were still single. Speed dating may not have been the best idea she’d ever had. To top it off, Jody was making her uncomfortable. She could feel him staring at her, but she refused to look his way. Instead, she smiled and spoke to the guy in front of her as she kept trying to keep his eyes on her face and not her boobs or legs. Of course, she was the idiot who picked that dress to wear. But it had daisies on it! What says ‘I’m a nice girl’ more than daisies?

Lacey’s next couple of men were actually pretty nice. Zoe seemed to hit it off with the Spanish guy whose name was Sebastian. He laughed at Zoe’s shirt and told her he loved a girl with a sense of humor. It was the right approach. Zoe was a smitten kitten. Lacey knew they’d make a date.

When Lacey was two spots away from Jody, the shit hit the fan. The guy she was talking to, Alex, was a hulking Swede. Nice looking if you were into that pretty boy look, but he was a real ass. It was obvious that he considered himself a true ladies man. Where did these guys come from? Lacey could handle his inappropriate comments, but when he leaned over and put his hand on her leg, just above her knee, Jody lost it.

There was a loud crash as Jody’s chair hit the floor, and he shot up out of his seat. “That’s it! You’re done here.” He walked over to Lacey, picked her up out of her chair (picked her up!) and left the room. Gently putting her down just outside the door, he turned around talking about killing Alex for touching her. Vlad caught him just in the nick of time. “Stand down man. You don’t want to do this.”

Alex was still sitting in his chair watching Jody bear down on him. “Wait a minute. You’re Jody LaGrange, right? Hey man, nice to meet you.” He stuck his hand out like Jody wasn’t seconds away from making his face a punching bag. Jody looked at Alex’s hand and slapped it away.