The nerves came back on the plane. We switched planes in Kansas City and headed north in a regional jet that made a heck of a lot of noise as it rumbled and bounced through the clouds. Lara could hardly sit still next to me, flipping through her phone to go over the profiles of the men who’d signed up on the dating service and planned to be at the mixers and speed dating and other events. I tried not to look, since part of me just wanted to be pleasantly surprised. If I didn’t get my hopes up, then I couldn’t be disappointed.
The few days between school ending and getting on the plane had been rough. I’d packed up my classroom so a summer-school teacher or day care could use the room, and on my way out I’d seen the numbers for the expected class of students the next year—more than we’d had that year. Which meant I’d get more students crowded into my classroom. More precious babies to worry about and teach and manage and console. More supplies to purchase. More parents to deal with. I pushed away the thought as I peered out the window of the plane and into the afternoon sunlight.
I wanted to leave those worries for later in the summer, but in my heart I wasn’t sure if I could face another year. I’d been questioning whether I wanted to continue teaching for at least a year, though I didn’t want to be a quitter. I didn’t want to walk away. Even if I might have to.
Pretty much everyone on the jet was part of the same group, along with a coordinator from the dating service. Although everyone started out very chatty, the closer we got to landing, the quieter the plane grew. I didn’t blame anyone. Nerves seized my stomach and made my hands tremble. Hopefully we’d have a chance to shower and change before we met anyone, otherwise I’d look like a hot mess in comfortable shoes.
Lara nudged me with her elbow and showed me the picture of one particularly burly gentleman. “He’s a lumberjack. Do they have forests in North Dakota? Or do you think he’s traveling in from somewhere else?”
“My geography and biology backgrounds aren’t solid enough to answer that,” I said. “Would you stop worrying over that stuff? We’ll find out soon enough.”
“I know,” she said. Her voice dropped to a near-whisper. “I’m really excited but I’m also about to toss my cookies. Tell me you’re nervous, too.”
“I’m nervous, too,” I said, laughing. “And this was all your idea!”
“I know,” she muttered. “It’s still a good idea. It’s a great idea. It’s just—a little nerve-racking. But it’s time to get your game face on, girl.”
I smiled and went back to looking out the window. Game face. Of course.
An hour later, as the bus we rode on pulled up outside a motel with two towers of rooms, I wasn’t so sure either of us was ready. The town looked like every sleepy, medium-sized town I’d ever been in, though it had been stirred up a bit with our arrival. There were also quite a few pickup trucks parked on the street and in the motel parking lot, so maybe the guys started arriving early, too.
I tried to claw my hair back into a neater ponytail as we unloaded from the bus and gathered up our luggage, in the off chance some of the eligible bachelors were looking out the window for us. I kept my shoulders back as I hefted my backpack and manhandled my suitcase toward the motel office.
The trip coordinator, Joyce, was a cheerful woman with a flat Midwestern accent that occasionally had some Canadian vowels thrown in for good measure. She started handing out room keys and giving directions, also providing itineraries for everyone, and issued orders like an experienced drill sergeant. Lara grabbed our key and a copy of the activities and headed for the corridor toward one of the small towers of rooms. “We’re this way.”
“Great.” I trudged after her, glancing around the lobby at half a dozen young men wearing jeans and cowboy hats who lingered in the vicinity. My heart rate started to accelerate. It wasn’t precisely like being in a zoo, but there were definitely hints of that—although I couldn’t decide who was the spectator and who was the zoo animal. We were just as curious about these eligible men as they were about us.
Up in our room Lara immediately got to work, jumping in the shower after she unpacked a few things, and left me to unpack and hang up clothes. She left the door open and periodically shouted instructions at me for what we’d do if one of us met someone and wanted privacy in the room. It made me laugh, particularly when she came up with the whole “sock on the door” setup, since I sure as hell didn’t plan on sleeping with anyone on the trip. That wasn’t like me. I couldn’t imagine knowing someone for a day or two and deciding to jump into bed.
When I told her that, Lara stuck her head around the shower curtain and gave me a mocking look. “With enough tequila, babe, everyone is that kind of girl. You’ll see.”
I laughed and concentrated on picking out an outfit to wear to the first event—a speed dating thing—that didn’t look too desperate or too “open for business.” I’d definitely stay away from the tequila.