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NATHAN ELLISON RAYMOND Dunkle couldn't catch a break

He raced out of his lab, late again, hissession in the pursuit of a groundbreaking physics formula to transforh crowds of city traffic and tried not to panic This event could be the turning point in his life, and he refused tosoain

Ned clamped down on his impatience and moved another few inches He was tired of his social life revolving around his lab partner, Wayne, and his brother, Connor Ever since he left NASA to dedicate his ti the private sector into space travel, his days hadline of forolf trips with his friends fell apart His dating life, slow to begin with, ground to a big fat zero Three o, he had celebrated his thirty-second birthday and realized he had no one to invite over A small cake appeared in the lab and after Wayne huot back to work

Pathetic

That's when he e

Ned pulled into the city li visitors to Verily and perused the street for a space The brightly lit shops lining the sidewalk overlooked the Hudson River and gave off a quaint char thehed when he told hidoith one wo his brother date endlessly with no coht depressed him The whole catch-and-release repetition just seemedempty

Ned craved a real connection with a woman, someone he could share his life with He had no interest in bar hopping or bed hopping Marriage equaled all the things he lacked: comfort, sex, and companionship Once Ned y into the steps needed to reach his goal, and this newest idea was no exception After six weeks of intense research, he was ready

He pulled into a space and turned off the ignition Grabbing a pack of breath love compartment, he popped one in his mouth, and wiped his hands down his khaki pants Crap He'd forgotten to change out of his white coat, and the coffee stain fro was proer and tried to scrub the fabric, but the brown splotch only worsened Could he take the coat off entirely? He yanked one shoulder down and spotted the wrinkled cotton shirt crushed underneath Nah, leave it on The hell with it He didn't want a woman who only cared about clothes or appearances anyway

He pushed his glasses up his nose and peered into the driver's side one horribly wrong Damn bronzer Golf season hadn't started yet, and his white skin had thrown hi He kneoht the self-tanner at lunch and applied it at work He'd followed the instructions perfectly, but instead of a sun-kissed glow, he got carrot orange Ned rubbed at his face frantically and tried to lanced over at Nate after lunch, and when pressed, said he looked fine Of course, he'd been wrapped up in the velocity testing, so maybe he hadn't really studied him

Holding back a groan, he got out of the car and headed toward the restaurant called Cosmos At least the mixer wasn't in a bar He hurried his pace, tripped over the uneven sidewalk, and finally found his destination The wararlic, tomato, and fresh bread The restaurant was decorated in tasteful Tuscan colors, and soft lighting dimly illuminated various tables in the led with drinks and appetizers in hand

Ned froze

He fought the urge to turn around and walk back out, but he wasn't a failure, and he didn't intend to start now He'd studied for this It was his moment

"May I help you?"

He looked down, and a young girl holding a clipboard sned up"

"Of course" She crossed his na et a drink at the bar Here's your nu with table nine Five minutes maximum at each table, and here's a sheet with all the participants If you like someone, note down the name, and at the end of the mixer, we'll introduce the people who are interested in each other"

"Great" He took the ticket into his sweaty hand and fought his way to the bar Laughter and easy conversation drifted around hier Was that him? He ducked his head and did a quick sniff Oh yeah, way too ne He'd liked the scent at home, but now he felt lost in the piney, woodsy tones it promised on the label Oh, well No one would notice

He scanned his surroundings and got into game mode That's when he saw her

Perfection

The woy and poise Stopping now and then to chat with different people, she claimed the attention of old eyes dominated her face, and thick, wavy hair tumbled past her shoulders in a deep caramel color Her hot pink suit ed to her shoes Four-inch heels, open toe, pink with silver rhinestones The silver-cuffed toe ring only eum-colored toenails

She clearly was the type of woot any man she desired, owned her sexuality, and called the shots Her husky laugh vibrated in his ears, dove into his gut, and squeezed It was a sound full of life and the potential for fun A wave of longing hit hiht Not in this lifeti event, he'd be able to meet and talk to her for fivehile

Not that he wanted a woman as just beautiful He learned that lesson well and didn't need a repeat Not in this lifetime

A buzzer sounded, and everyone ran to their tables

Showtime

He headed toward nulass of house wine he didn't like but was easy for the bartender to make His normal drink usually took too lanced up, and did a tiny recoil He tried not to rub his face and e more noticeable

The timer chirped

"Hi, I'm Naomi"

He took a deep breath "Hi, Naomi My name is Ned"

"Hi, Ned So, what do you do?"

"Uineer"

"Oh, like planes? Do you own a plane?"

He shook his head "No, rockets"

Her eyes widened in excitement "You own a real rocket ship?"

"No, no I work on rocket ships Well, I work on prototypes Research stuff I don't own one"

"Oh" She looked disappointed "I like to fly places How about a jet? Do you own one of those?"

He tried to focus, but the conversation was heading into twilight zone territory and a full one by "Uh, I'm sorry, I don't I have a car"

She lit up "I love hot cars Lahinis, Ferraris, Hummers Did you see that mov

ie The Fast and the Furious? They had some really hot cars"

"No, I missed out on that film"

"Do you slanced around "Is that cologne?"

"I guess souy put on too much"

"Ick, I hate when that happens"

"Me, too"

Unfortunately, she refocused on the original bizarre conversation "A man's car tells a lot about him People cite that horoscope junk all the time, but they don't realize that the choice of vehicle really defines a person"

"I don't think I realized how important it was"

"What type of car do you drive, Ned?"

"A Tesla It won the award for the safest car in Ae of efficiency and cost savings"

She sighed "I drive a Mitsubishi convertible Eclipse in cherry red I don't think I can date or respect a man who drives an econoy needed in a relationship, especially in the bedrooh"

Ding

Already a little shaken, Ned rose and lasses studied hiin "I'm Sandra I'm an elementary school teacher, divorced, no children, and live by myself"

Ned relaxed when she paused This, he could handle An intelligent, direct conversation to discover if there was any cheineer and I've never been married"

"Do you have issues?"

He laughed, enjoying her sense of hu at him and dead serious "Oh Probably Doesn't everyone have issues?"

"I don't You have a stain on your shirt"

He swiped at it and blocked it with his ar late"

She pointed a finger at him "You're a workaholic"