I realized my mistake just a half second too late. I ran straight through the stop sign. Whoops. Thankfully, the driver coming into the intersection from my right anticipated my mistake and slammed on his brakes – not without laying on his horn first.

I shouldn’t have been rushing. I wasn’t running late. I was actually pretty early. But I was nervous. This was my first date since the breakup. After a seven-year relationship, I was newly single. It took a while to get to this point… but I was ready. This girl – Molly – seemed really cool. She liked penguins, skiing, and puzzles. She seemed fun. Much more laid back than the other women on the app. A lot of matches went nowhere, with none I’d actually wanted to meet. But Molly stood out.

I was lost in my own head, trying to brainstorm some conversation topics for the night. That was when I heard the siren behind me. Crap.

I pulled to the side of the road, shaking my head. I waited a few minutes, and eventually I saw the officer exit the squad car and slowly make his way toward my open window. He leaned forward slightly, asking for my license and insurance card. I already had both handy, and handed them over. He read them, then asked if I knew why he pulled me over.

I admitted that I ran through the stop sign… and nearly caused an accident. I tried explaining that I was on my way to a date, but he couldn’t care less.

He walked back to this car while I waited anxiously, afraid I’d be late for the date. I must have checked my messages in the app a dozen times. Luna’s. Seven o’clock. It was 6:43 now.

Eventually he returned, handing me a ticket. As he gruffly walked off, he muttered, “good luck on your big date.”

—

Kate: so who u meeting up w tonite?

Molly: some guy from the app. Derek.

Molly set her phone down so she could finish her makeup. It was already 6:30, and she was probably going to be late.

They were meeting up at Luna’s at seven. It wasn’t far… but she still had some things to get done beforehand. First up, makeup.

Kate: so who is this dude? What’s he do?

Molly: he’s a computer programmer. I don’t know much more about that tbh

Finished with her makeup, she walked into the kitchen. Charlie, her tabby, brushed against her leg. Damn, forgot to feed the poor guy.

She emptied the can of wet food into his bowl and topped off his water. She recalled that Derek was a cat person too. He’d had one, but his little guy passed away after 13 years. That was just one thing they connected on – both were cat people, neither loved dogs, and he was even allergic to canines.

She returned to her bedroom and glanced at her texts.

Kate: aside from computers, what’s he into?

Molly: He likes hiking. Books. Plays guitar too… HOT

Her Lyft was there. She gathered up her keys and wallet, and sent one last text.

Molly: well, I’m heading out, wish me luck!

Kate: Good luck girl! And text me if u need an out!

—

I arrived at the restaurant at 6:57. Technically early. I glanced around, but didn’t see anyone that looked like Molly anywhere.

I’d never been to Luna’s. It had a homey vibe to it, lots of dark wood and a fireplace. Like being inside a log cabin.

The hostess sat me at a table near the window, and I glanced at the menu. Of course, I’d already thoroughly reviewed it online and knew exactly what I wanted to order. Grilled salmon with sweet potato risotto. I was eager to try it, to try a new restaurant. Eager to meet a new person.

The server made his way over and I asked for a water. It was after seven now, no sign of Molly yet. That’s okay. It gave me a chance to let my nerves cool a bit. I sipped my water. And waited.

—

There was a small fender bender blocking the road, so Molly was even later than expected. She rushed into Luna’s, asking if there was a guy waiting at one of the tables. There was not, so she made her way over to the bar. Maybe he was having a drink and waiting there?

No… I don’t think he’s here?

She gave the bar area another pass. There was one guy, sitting alone sipping a whiskey… he sort of looked like Derek. Maybe the profile pics were old? This guy looks a little bit older.

With some trepidation, she approached the man.

“Derek? Is that you?”

The man looked her over, appraising her. He seemed to be considering the question. Then he smiled, somewhat of a mischievous grin.

“Yeah, of course I’m Derek!” he responded enthusiastically. “Great to finally meet you!”

“Yeah, you too. So sorry I’m late, there was an accident that blocked the road.”

“Strike one,” he said, then grinned slyly. “Just kidding. No worries.”

Oh-kay… “Well, let’s grab a table, huh?”

The two ended up at a table near the back. Molly had been to Luna’s before, and liked the place. It was fairly small, kind of an industrial look, with open ceilings and metal tables.

The server took their drink order. Derek ordered another whiskey tall, and she found herself wondering how many he’d already had. Maybe he was nervous? He didn’t seem nervous though. Unlike the guy she’d been chatting with the past week or so, who seemed quiet and sensitive, in person Derek seemed loud and cocky.

Molly wasn’t sure what to think. She didn’t want to give up quite yet, but Derek didn’t seem to be exactly what she’d expected.

—

In the words of Tom Petty, the waiting is the hardest part.

It was past 7:30 and no sign of Molly. I was on my second glass of water. I considered ordering a glass of wine, but held off. I didn’t drink too much, and didn’t want to be tipsy when she arrived.

But where was she? I hoped she was okay.

I decided to give her another half hour. In the meantime, I pulled up the Kindle app on my phone and tried to read to kill time. But reading was almost impossible. I began to worry. Was there an accident? Was she hurt? Or… did she change her mind? Did she stand me up?

I put my phone away, and eyed the door. And waited.

—

Derek was telling her some story about his job. Selling some shoddy product to some unsuspecting customer.

“Wait… I thought you were a computer programmer?” she asked, perplexed.

“No… uh, well, I used to be. Now I sell electrical equipment. I made a career change recently. I wanted to interact with more people. Plus… the commission! Babe, I’m raking it in! You should see my car!”

This guy wasn’t at all what she expected. She’d really enjoyed their chats on the app. He was so nice and caring and really showed an interest in her life. But in person… he was not like that at all.

She found herself lost in her thoughts, and pushed herself to re-engage in their conversation.

“…. and then this guy got all mad at me because my bulldog growled at him! Can you believe that?”

Huh? Derek was a cat person. He didn’t have a dog. He was allergic. This made no sense.

“Wait… I thought you were allergic to dogs?”

“No… did I say that? I meant cats. I’m allergic to cats.”

Suddenly, it hit Molly. Something’s up. Either Derek was lying to me on the chat… or this guy isn’t Derek. She felt sick to her stomach.

“Hey… Derek? Weird question, but an important one… what’s my name?”

He froze. “Your name? Babe…”

“Yes. My name. What’s my name? You said you were Derek, my date. What’s my name?”

He paused, scrambling to come up with something. After a moment, he threw his arms into the air.

“Okay, you got me! I’m not Derek. I saw you come in and you didn’t seem to know who you were looking for, and you were so hot, so I fibbed a little. I thought it would be romantic! That guy stood you up, and I thought this would be a funny little meet-cute. Hey, what’s the harm, huh?”

Molly stood up and quickly walked out of the restaurant. She had no idea what happened to the real Derek, but this date was DEFINITELY over.

—

I gave her till 8, but she never showed. Damn, this sucks. I really liked her, too. I’d checked my messages on the app, and she never sent anything letting me know she couldn’t make it. My first date since the breakup, and I was definitely disappointed.

On my way home I passed a bar called the Annex. On a whim, I pulled into the lot and walked into the bar. I found a seat at the bar and ordered a glass of white. I again pulled up the Kindle app on my phone. I was probably the only person in the bar reading a book, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to lose myself in the story and in my drink.

After a little while, I came to the end of the chapter. Just curious, I looked around the room. There was a couple at the bar talking softly. There were three guys playing pool. A few random people sitting at tables, scrolling through their phones. And in the back of the room in the dark there was this brunette in a purple shirt, sort of looking at her phone, but looking just as miserable as I was. She looked so sad… and oddly familiar. But I couldn’t place her. Again, it was a pretty dark bar.

I wondered what her story is?

—

Molly found a seat in a dark corner of the Annex, this hole-in-the-wall place near her apartment. She ordered a beer and took a big swig. What a night. She sent a text to Kate.

Molly: YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE TONIGHT

A mere couple seconds passed.

Kate: do tell

Molly: I got stood up. Then spent nearly an hour with some dbag who claimed to be him

Kate: WTH

Molly: Yeah. He was a huge jerk too. I should’ve asked for ID!

Kate: I’m sorry hon. Wanna hang out?

Molly: No… getting a drink at that place down the street, the annex. Complete dump but cheap beer

The two friends texted back and forth for a bit, and Molly found herself scanning the room. Mostly people just on their phones. That’s all people seemed to do nowadays, even out in public. There was one guy, kind of cute, sitting at the bar. He was on his phone, but kept glancing up and looking around, as if not sure what to do with himself. There was something about him – he looked familiar. But the bar was dark, and she couldn’t place him.

If she wasn’t in such a bad mood, she’d consider talking to him. But not tonight. Tonight she hated ALL men.

—

That girl in the corner seemed to be looking at me. Why does she look so familiar?

If it was another night… hell, if I were someone else completely… I’d try to talk to her.

But not tonight. Tonight I just wanted to be alone. I paid my tab, got up, and left.

Let’s try again tomorrow.

—

She saw the guy at the bar pay up and leave the bar. Oh well. Nothing was gonna happen anyway.

Molly sent another text to Kate.

Molly: Wanna have a nightcap at my place? We can binge some Office?

Kate: be there in 20

Her tab was already closed, so she got up and walked out of the bar herself.

What a crappy night.

—

I’m not proud of this, but I opened up a bottle of wine when I got back from the Annex last night. I drank most of it, too. That, in addition to the glass at the bar, got me a bit drunk.

Hence my morning. I overslept, and felt like complete crap. Pounding headache. And vomiting was a strong possibility.

I had half an English muffin and a quick cup of coffee before running out the door.

I was rushing to the office, already nearly ten minutes late, when I ran another stop sign.

Dammit, this was becoming a problem. Thankfully, there were no other cars in the intersection, no close calls.

But then I heard a siren again. Crap.

I pulled to the side of the road, and prepared my license and insurance card. I was getting used to this drill. Again I saw the officer sitting in the patrol car, taking in my plate number.

Eventually, she exited the car and walked up to my window.

This was becoming a trend, but this woman looked very familiar to me. Again I couldn’t place her though. I was never really good at faces I guess.

I handed over my ID, and she took a close look at it. Then she slowly looked up, and intensely eyed me.

First there was a look of confusion. Then recognition. Then anger.

—

Molly couldn’t believe it. She’d pulled HIM over. Derek. The real Derek.

Or at least she was pretty sure it was him. He looked a heck of a lot like the guy from the profile pic. And the name matched up.

But how could she be sure?

She was angry, and wanted to yell at this guy. How dare he stand her up last night? But she knew she needed to stay calm. She didn’t want to be THAT COP that lost her cool and freaked out on some dude. Nope. So she took the ID and walked back to her squad car, giving herself a moment to collect herself.

It was him. It had to be.

A few minutes later, she returned to his car.

“Hey, this is random… but are you on the CuteDate app?” she asked, as casually as she could sound.

“Umm… yeah? Why?”

“I thought so. Were you supposed to have a date last night?”

“Yes… but she didn’t show.”

She laughed. The nerve of this dude.

“No. NO. YOU didn’t show.”

Then it hit him.

“Molly?”

—

Wait… the cop? She’s… Molly from the app? Molly who stood me up last night?

But why’s she upset? Why’s SHE confronting ME? She’s the one who didn’t show.

“Yes. Officer Molly Carpenter. The woman you’ve been chatting with the past week and a half. The woman you stood up.”

“I think there’s some misunderstanding here… I went to Luna’s Cafe at seven last night. I waited an hour.”

“Luna’s Cafe? No. No, no, no. It was Luna’s Bistro. That’s where we were meeting.”

It dawned on me that in our messages we just said Luna’s. Were there TWO Luna’s in town?

“I don’t think we specified. I assumed it was the Cafe. I didn’t even know Luna’s Bistro existed. Honestly!”

“You’re being serious right now?”

“Yes. I swear. I waited at Luna’s Cafe for an hour, then drowned my sorrows in a glass of wine at the Annex after.”

The look on her face. Pure astonishment. Then a knowing smile.

“That’s really funny,” she admitted.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Derek… I went to Luna’s Bistro, and… okay, that’s a long story for another time. But I thought you stood me up. So then I ALSO went to drown my sorrows in a drink at the Annex.”

“What?” Wait, could she be… “Were you the girl in the corner drinking a beer? I think you were wearing a purple shirt?”

“Yep. That was me. And let me guess, you were the guy at the bar on his phone?”

“Yeah… wow. WOW.”

This was too weird. What were the odds?

“So… you didn’t stand me up then?” I asked. “We just went to separate restaurants?”

She laughed a little. “Sure sounds like it.”

“This is crazy…”

“So… last night sucked. But I have to admit, I really did enjoy chatting with you this past week or so. And I WAS excited to meet you.”

“Same. Definitely.”

“I’m not normally a big believer in fate, but this is just too crazy… would you want to try again?”

That was music to my ears. Despite the hangover, it was turning into a great morning.

“Yes, absolutely.”

“Okay.” She gave me a smile, and pulled out a pen and pad of paper. She handed me a piece of paper with her number jotted down on it… but there was more.

“Here’s my number. AND a ticket. Watch out for those stop signs, Romeo.”

With that, she walked back to her squad car. I sat there for a minute, and then drove off. I got my second ticket in the past day… and now I’ll have my second try with Molly.

I’ll call that an even trade.