Missed Connections

Piper had been nervous the entire day. It was Friday and she’d finished taking her criminology exam a little over an hour ago. She was nervous during the drive to the college and of course she was the last person to finish the test. There was no doubt about it that it was hard, but she felt somewhat good about her score. She felt like she passed the test, even if she wouldn’t find out her grade until Monday. Now, that the exam was over, life was supposed to be easy and stress-free.

It wasn’t. Her stomach did flips as she pulled her silver Ford Focus into the parking lot of the diner. This was where she was meeting Matt. As she unfortunately predicted, he replied to her email the next morning after she sent it. Unsurprisingly, Piper was the girl Matt was looking for and asked if they could meet again. As much as Piper didn’t want to, she felt obligated to since she’d gotten herself involved and replied to his ad first.

Piper took a deep breath, glancing around the parking lot full of other cars. It was just about lunch time for most people. Piper had given her roommate and best friend, Kim, Matt’s email address, phone number, what he looked like, and where she was meeting him at. It was all for safety precautions. She didn’t meet strangers over the internet often and things happen. Serial killers could be charming dudes, Piper knew from studying crime.

Digging into the glove box, Piper pulled out a handful of napkins and reached under her shirt. She patted her sweaty underarms, checking to make sure there weren’t any sweat stains on her shirt. She tried to shake off the nerves, wiping her clammy hands onto a napkin. When she was sure she looked okay, she took another deep breath and grabbed her phone. The last text message from Matt said that he was at the diner waiting for her to arrive.

Piper stepped from her car, her legs feeling like they weren’t going to hold her up anymore. She locked her car doors and put on a facade of confidence. She pulled open the door to the diner, the bell chiming over her head. She glanced around, looking for Matt.

She found him in a matter of seconds, recognizing him from the back by his long hair. She took short strides over to him, not wanting to startle him. When she reached him, his cologne filled her nostrils just as she was about to tap his shoulder. His cologne was strong and smelled manly, and God, Piper considered buying a bottle for herself just to sniff.

“Hey,” She said, putting on a smile.

“Piper, hi,” Matt said, a warm smile on his face as he stood up. They shook hands formally before Piper sat down on her side of the booth. “I’m glad you came.”

“I- yeah, me too,” Piper nodded. Was she supposed to tell him that she felt like she had to come?

“I honestly wasn’t expecting a reply,” Matt admitted. “Most people think Craigslist is weird, you know. I doubt many people actually go to the missed connection section, anyway.”

“Yeah.” Piper didn’t have much to say. Should she tell him that she only came across his ad because her cat stepped across the keyboard and mouse? Without the “help” of her cat, he would have never found her.

“Are you hungry? Order whatever you want, it’s on me,” Matt said. “I figured meeting in a public place would be less weird and would make you feel more comfortable.”

“Uh, thanks,” Piper said. She picked up the menu and used it to partially hide her expression. Was this technically a date?



Maybe it wasn’t a date, but what else was she supposed to call it? Piper listened to Matt talk for the most part. She’d rather hear him talk than her own boring, stuttering self. The more he told her about himself, the better of a feeling she got about him. He seemed genuine and gave off good vibes. She would still have to look him up on the internet later.

She listened as he talked about his band and how they travel the world. It surprised her that he was the singer. He just didn’t look like the type of person that had a passion for singing. She guessed that’s why you should never judge a book by its tattooed cover. He went on about how they were taking a break from touring and he would be home for a few months, giving her a subtle hint that he was single and free.

Piper wasn’t ready for any relationship offers yet. She told him a little about herself and how she was in school and working two jobs. She worked as a lifeguard at the community pool on the weekends and worked as a part-time secretary at a vet’s office during the week. She answered his question about college before he got a chance to ask. People always wondered why she’d waited so long to go to college.

The answer was simple- after graduating high school, she simply wasn’t interested in going through more school and even if she was, she didn’t have the money to go. She did, however, scramble up enough money between her and Kim to move from their home state of Arizona to California. It all took a turn when she was twenty-four years old and finally ready to further her education. With good enough credit, she was able to take out a decent loan paired with financial aid and had been spending her time paying it back little by little.

“You sound like a hard worker,” Matt commented.

“I am,” Piper nodded and then teased, “And you sound like this awesome rockstar with an amazing life.”

Matt chuckled, “Life’s not too amazing without an awesome woman to go with it, you know.”

Piper blushed, looking down at her plate of a picked caesar salad. When she asked him what honestly made him put up an ad earlier, he flat-out told her that she was beautiful. There wasn’t any beating around the bush about why he posted the ad. It was obvious that he was attracted to her and wanted to see if they would click together.

Piper couldn’t lie. She was never a boy crazy girl, but she was attracted to Matt. Maybe she hadn’t been at first because of his intimidating looks and the embarrassing moment, but now she was. She especially wanted to melt at the sight of his dimples every time he laughed or smiled.

“Damn, it’s been two hours already?” Matt checked the time on his watch.

“It has?” Piper checked the time on her phone. It was a quarter after four. “It has.”

“You probably have other things to do, so I’ll let you go,” Matt told her, pulling out his wallet.

She couldn’t see how much he had in it, but he tossed a fifty onto the table without a problem. “Thanks for lunch, Matt.”

“It’s no problem,” He shrugged. “Are you ready to go?”

Piper nodded, grabbing her purse and cell phone. She stood up from the booth, Matt ushering her to go first and then following her. He held the door open for her as they stepped out into the warm California sun.

“So, I’m glad you came, seriously,” Matt said as he placed his shades over his eyes.

“Me too. It was nice to meet you again, Matt,” Piper said, internally wondering if that sounded too formal.

Matt sighed, looking down at her. “Would it be too much to ask for a second outing? I think we could really get on well, Piper. Maybe next time we can do something a bit more active instead of sitting and talking.”

Piper’s heart raced at his words. He wanted to see her again and they were using the term “outing”, and not “date”. She tried to externally compose herself. “Yeah, we should. That’d be great.”

“Great,” Matt said. “So I’ll uh, call you. Whatever day and time fits your schedule.”

“Sounds good,” Piper nodded. “Thanks again, Matt.”

There was a moment of awkwardness. Piper wondered if this was her cue to walk away. Does she shake his hand again as a goodbye? Her questioned was answered when Matt embraced her in a friendly, non-perverted hug. She wrapped her hands around his back and leaned into his chest. She nearly squealed as she felt his solid chest and muscled back. When he pulled away, she composed herself once again.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, feeling a blush coming on. “Bye, Matt.”