The Wedding Date

If Zack had had things his way, no one he personally knew would have ever known about the craigslist ad. But much to his dismay the next day Zack went into work only to see his co-worker Jack smiling at him in that weird way he did whenever he either had some great gossip or had come up with one of his very many bad ideas. The second he saw that smile he was instantly on edge, worried that somehow Jack found his ad and was thinking of a way to set him up with every gay man he could think of.

“So what did you do last night?” Jack asked, the smile growing as he walked over to Zack’s desk and sat on the edge of it.

“Nothing. Just a boring night in,” he said slightly on edge. He wasn’t really lying to Jack, he just wasn’t telling him everything. He wasn’t planning on ever telling anyone what he did last night.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Pretty sure. Why?” Zack asked with a huff knowing that Jack would never let this go. That’s the kind of guy Jack was. But why he was so interested in Zack’s night was still a mystery.

“Because I was on craigslist trying to find a new couch, weird I know,” Jack said as he reached over and grabbed the rubber band ball off Zack’s desk and started peeling off the rubber bands slowly. “And I ran into this ad about a gay man looking for a date to his best friend’s wedding. I was just going to blow it off until I saw the location. Bora Bora, same as your friend Rian’s wedding you’re going to.”

“What a coincidence,” Zack cut in as he reached over and turned on his computer.

“A coincidence?” Jack said leaning over into Zack’s face and raising an eyebrow. “I’m thinking that someone, aka you, is so desperate to not be alone at your friend’s wedding that you’re willing to hire a random stranger. What made you think that was a good idea?”

“I found out that Dax is going,” he said quietly hoping that was enough of a reason for Jack to drop it.

“Dax as in ‘I took up seven years of your life only to stomp on your heart two weeks before the wedding’?”

“One in the same.”

“Zack, you should have told me. I could have helped.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I could have gone with you.”

“How would that have helped? Dax will think I’m still hung up on him if I don’t have a date. Plus I don’t think your girlfriend would like that one.”

“But you are still hung up on Dax,” Jack said as though it was no big deal.

“So, doesn’t mean I want him to know and of I brought you, you wouldn’t think twice about telling him after he bought you two drinks. In case you forget we used to go out with him all the time; he knows how to get you to talk even when you’re not supposed too.”

“Okay, so maybe I couldn’t go with you, but I could have helped you find a date.”

“How?”

“Remember that wine tasting thing Tay asked me to do with her? Well the instructor’s gay and kind of cute I guess if you’re into that sort of thing, which you are. I could have introduced you to him. Tay kept going on about how cute you two would be together.”

“Thanks, but I think I’ll do this on my own.”

Jack may have been a good friend of Zack’s, but Zack wasn’t sure he trusted Jack’s judgement. Jack’s girlfriend, Tay was as sweet as they come, but that’s where Jack peaked in his acquaintances. Most of his other friends were rarely sober or were too annoying for Zack to handle for more than two minutes. As for Tay, last time she set him up with someone, the guy slept with his cousin, so he wasn’t going to take her advice either.

“Fine, but I’m going with you when you meet up with these guys. Do you know how dangerous doing this on your own can be?” Jack asked with a shake of his head as he jumped off of Zack’s desk and made his way over to his own desk.

With a shake of his own head Zack went on with his work, trying his best to not think about what other people would come across his ad in the next few days. He really hoped he wouldn’t get a call from his mom tonight asking him what the hell he was thinking.



It took Zack a whole two days after posting his ad before he had the guts to open up his computer. Once he pulled up the email account he made just for this ad he was surprised to see there were fifteen responses waiting for him. He honestly couldn’t believe that he had that many people who were willing to do this; but then again he did offer them a free trip, so that definitely helped him get most of those applicants.

After opening the first two emails he knew that there was no way he could just read their emails and properly decide who would be the best candidate. If he did go off their emails the first two would have both been the perfect date, but even Zack knows, you can say anything you want when you’re behind a computer. He quickly realized he would have to meet them one by one so he could get a proper feel for each guy.

With a sigh he reached over and grabbed his phone to make the one call he really wasn’t in the mood to make, but he had no choice. He needed help and only had one person to call.

“Hello?”

“Are you and Tay free this Saturday?”

“We can be. Why? What’s wrong?” Jack asked quickly, quietly telling Tay to pipe down in the background. Zack was definitely on speaker phone again.

“I got some responses, so I’m taking you up on your offer to come with me and meet them,” he said with a displeased sigh. “And because I’m not always sure about your judgement, I want Tay to be there to help you.”

“Seriously? I’m your best friend. How can you not trust my judgement?” Jack said sounding seriously offended as Tay laughed in the background.

“Need I remind you about Adam?”

“One time,” Jack cried while Tay continued laughing in the background.

“And Tom. And Danny.”

“Okay, you can shut up now,” Jack said, clearly embarrassed that every blind date he tried setting Zack up with had been a dud. It wasn’t for lack of trying, it’s just that Zack couldn’t seem to get along with Jack’s drinking buddies.

“Only if you two agree to come with me on Saturday.”

“I’ll be there,” Tay yelled excitedly as Jack grumbled his agreement.

“Great. I will let you guys know the time and place tomorrow,” he said before quickly disconnecting the call and facing his computer once more.

He quickly pulled up all the emails and worked on responding to them one at a time. His meetings were set for Saturday. Hopefully he would meet someone who could accompany him and help him prove to Dak he wasn’t still hung up on him, even though he totally was.