For our online date I'd chosen a crimson cami with lace trim underneath a white open blouse and a black skirt. No makeup. Thanks to blessings bestowed upon me from the Almighty God of Frizz, I opted for a tight bun at the base of my skull. Rockin' my mighty librarian vibe once more.

At least the cami makes my boobs look good.

An evil cackle slipped from my lips when I brought my shoulders back and they lifted slightly.

Neil and I coordinated our dinner choices so that it would feel like a real dinner date. We both chose Gastro pub fish with chunky chips. But I'd learned Neil hated salad. With a passion. So he opted for a couple of slices of bread while I made a green salad instead.

Dude, I must really like him. I never plan Jack crap in a handbasket.

Our BB-8 timer went off with his happy beeps five minutes before my date with Neil.

Emily and I took turns making dinner for each other. Fair's fair after all. Whoever cooked didn't need to do dishes. It made housework more bearable for two women who hated chores.

Despite it being my turn, Emily volunteered to help so that I could concentrate on cleaning my office bedroom and getting dressed.

"You ready, Vee?" Emily asked me from the kitchen as she took the trays out of the oven. "Want everything on one plate or separate dishes?"

"One plate and a bowl for the salad if that's cool," I replied. 

"No worries."

"I feel bad leaving you all alone tonight."

"Nah, don't be silly," she said. "I've got a mountain of correcting to catch up on, and I'm desperate to rewatch Joker."

"Good choice."

"Don't worry about dishes tonight either." Emily grinned. "I've got ya covered."

"But--"

"No buts. Focus on your date with Neil." 

"I feel bad."

"Nah, you can do both next time," she suggested. "And then we can go back to our regularly scheduled program."

"Sounds like a plan." I gave her a friendly hug. "Thanks Em."

"No worries." She gave me a sly smile when she pulled away. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, but do everything I would do."

"Em!"

She cackled.

Closing the door to the living room, Emily made sure the movie didn't carry into my room. I laid out my dinner on my desk as though it were an actual place setting. And logged into Skype.

Neil rang me. My heart thudded as I clicked 'accept'. 

"Hello!" he said in his friendly baritone.

"Hello!"

All my words failed me. 

He wore a short sleeve Fjallraven button-down collar shirt and had cut his hair to a neat and tidy buzzcut. Freshly shaven. No sign of the nerd shirt or the scruff, but Neil did decide to wear his glasses. This version of Neil appeared like an amalgam of professional Neil and nerdy Neil.

Squeeeee!

"It's nice to see you again," he said, a faint blush trailing across his cheeks.

"You too." Like a total nut, I covered my eyes and laughed nervously. "Sorry, I'm not used to doing this."

"Me either." He gave me a bashful smile. "We'll figure it out together."

Those words made me sigh in relief. It's Neil. You like each other. It's all good. Relax.

"Do you have your food?" I asked.

"It's in the kitchen," he replied. "Let me go and get it."

"I'll wait."

When Neil stood up, a pair of beige chinos covering legs as long and slender as his arms. Almost gangly limbs. But my heart swelled anyway. I'd never admired huge muscles apart from the hard work and discipline involved in cultivating such a physique. But it was never really my type.

Neil returned with a lap tray and a plate of dinner. 

"This is nice." My heart thudded with happy nerves. "It's almost like eating in the same room."

"Yes, I set up the camera so that it looks like we're sitting across from each other," he said. "Hope that's all right?"

"It's perfect!"

Neil regaled me of some funny stories from work while I told him of my diminishing class sizes. He listened with a thoughtful expression while he made a chip sandwich. Something I never would have dreamed of before I'd moved to the UK.

"How many of your classes have been canceled?" he asked.

"About a third so far across the board," I replied. "Others have about half attendance or less. It's only a matter of time before some of the others get axed as well."

"Will you get paid?"

"Only for time taught." I shrugged. "Freelance and all."

Neil hummed in sympathy. "That can't be easy."

"I'm a bit worried what will happen if this doesn't blow over soon," I admitted. "The UK seems to be about a couple of weeks behind the continent, and it keeps getting worse there."

He considered my words for a couple of beats. "Once the cruise ships showed signs of infection and the government refused to shut the border, all bets were off."

"Economy first."

"Indeed."

"Anyway, enough gloom and doom." I finished the last morsel of my fish and took a small break to bring my dirty dishes to the kitchen. "Thanks for recommending that brand. Nice fish."

"Yeah, it's one of my favorites."

"You up for a game of Scrabble?"

Neil smiled. "Lead the way."

After sending him the link to a gaming website that featured Scrabble among others, we set up a private table for two. It became clear that Neil had decent skills but lacked the two- and three-letter words needed to set up epic combos.

"Jesus Murphy," he muttered under his breath, "I didn't even know those were words."

"There's a list of two- and three-letter words you learn to nest into other ones." I sent two links in the chat, leading to a Scrabble dictionary and a list of the words. "Feel free to refer to these."

"Did you play a lot as a kid?"

"Yep, started around age six or seven with my grandmother," I replied. "In my teens I played mostly online with other players. Some timed games. Tourneys. Later I became an administrator."

"Timed games?"

"Yep, you have to finish a whole game in five minutes or less." I chuckled. "Some really hardcore players set the timer to two minutes."

"Wow!" Neil placed a seven-letter word on the board. "Well, that should help my pitiful score."

"Congratulations!"

He grinned. "Thanks."

Once we'd played the last letters, the game revealed the final score. "346 to 382!" I declared. "You play a great game."

"I do?"

"Yeah, decent games run a combined total of six to seven hundred," I said, "and you haven't played in a really long time, right?"

"Not since I was a kid." He blushed. "What about you?"

"Didn't really have time in the last five years or so," I admitted.

"Fair enough. Up for round two?"

"Absolutely."

With each game Neil improved more and more, narrowing the gap between our scores. After the third game, he narrowly lost by five points. 

"Awesome game," I exclaimed. "Look at you getting two bingos."

"Very well played. Do you play other games as well?"

"Yeah." I blushed and looked away from the camera. "Probably not the kind of games you like, though."

"Don't be so sure." He furrowed his brow for an instant. "Try me."

"Stardew Valley."

"Oh, that's a pixel farming RPG sim, right?"

"Wow, you play it?"

"No, but I've heard of it." Neil picked up his tablet. "Overwhelmingly positive reviews on Steam. Not bad. The trailer looks interesting too. I wouldn't mind trying it with you."

"Really?" I beamed.

"Sure! You have Steam, right?"

"Absolutely."

"We can try it out during our next date," he said. 

Next date? 

By some miracle I suppressed the fangirl squee threatening to burst from my lungs. It revealed itself in a goofy grin that made me blush again.

"For now, what would you say to a game of Cribbage?" he asked. "You said you played it with your grandparents, right?"

Impressive! I'd told him that in a throwaway remark during one of our conversations.

"Well remembered," I said. "Sure, I haven't played in ages, though. So go easy on me."

"Did you go easy on me in Scrabble?"

"Noooo..."

"Well then." He cracked his knuckles with a wry smile. "No mercy."

"Hey, that's mean!"

"Besides..." He chuckled. "You don't need it."

Unlike Scrabble, during which I could quite easily chat, I had to really focus on Cribbage. Numbers and all. Despite my full concentration I was barely treading water with him. 

After a one-all result, Neil broke the tie with a close win. 

"Congratulations!" I said. "You're really good at this."

"So are you. Seems we're well matched."

My face flushed and my heart swelled, hoping Neil meant it in more ways than one.

___

Word count: 1,393
Total word count: 17,761/20,000

Because tomorrow is my husband's birthday -- and one of the special ones too! -- I'm taking Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off to celebrate. I'll see you all on Monday! 

Thanks for your support and understanding. ♥