Dwayne sighed to himself as he looked over at Roman and slapped on the name tag the overly eager blonde standing at the door to the restaurant had given him. He
"What? You still in a pissy mood because I made you come out? It's been six months since that Kaitlyn left you. You need to get out there again."
"But speed dating?"
"You might meet someone interesting."
"Right."
"Just try to have a good time and get that look of permanent disappointment off your face." Roman said as he turned his attention to the front of the room.
"Welcome everyone, I am Natalya and this is my husband Tyson. We'd like to welcome you to speed dating and set a few ground rules." Nattie said. "First, we will switch partners every five minutes. You have red cards and yellow cards in front of you. A red card is a rejection, a yellow card means you want to talk further with the person you're talking to and you'll both be escorted to the private talking area. Based on the questions you answered when you signed up, we've matched you with you first dates and assigned you to tables. So if you'll proceed to the tables you've been assigned to, we will begin.
Deirdre sighed to herself and looked at the number she'd been given and then looked over at her best friend Ingrid.
"Don't you dare flake out on me now. It's been nearly eight months since John ran away with that skank. I've let you wallow long enough. Go meet a man and don't let that new dress go to waste. Who knows, you might meet someone interesting."
"I might meet a serial killer too."
"Don't be ridiculous. Men who look this fine wouldn't kill anyone. But I bet that at least one of them is killer in bed." Ingrid said as she eyed a talk, dark handsome man with long dark hair. "Oh I hope I get to talk to him before the night is over."
"Just keep your clothes on when you go back to the private talking area." Deidre said as she walked to the table she'd been assigned to.
Thirty minutes later, Dwayne was in hell. He'd been across from a variety of girls and none of them had been a match. The latest one just kind of sat there and stared off into space while she twirled her hair. He sighed to himself as another one sat down at the table. She seemed different than the rest of them and she looked just as dejected as he did.
"You don't seem real excited to be here." He said.
"My friend Ingrid decided to drag me along. I came off a bad break up with my last boyfriend. Guess that makes me sound really desperate."
"Seems we have something in common. I'm coming off a bad breakup myself and my cousin Roman wouldn't leave me alone until I came here. I'm Dwayne."
"Deirdre." She said smiling. She had a great smile, he thought to himself. "So Dwayne, what is it that you do?"
"I'm an entertainment manager." He said. "You?"
"I'm in marketing."
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"Dwayne and Deirdre talked for the full five minutes and today, a little over a year later, we're here to celebrate their marriage. I am proud to stand beside my cousin, my brother and his beautiful wife. And Dwayne, you're welcome." Roman said causing everyone to laugh. "Congratulations and I hope you have a long, happy life together."
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Dwayne held Deirdre close as they danced. She looked over at her friend Ingrid as she sat at the table with Roman. She and Dwayne weren't the only ones to make a connection that day and she knew that soon, Roman would give Ingrid a ring of her own. She looked up at her husband as he kissed her on the forehead and smiled.
"What are you thinking about?"
"How handsome you look in that suit and how I can't wait for us to start the rest of our lives together." He smiled.
"We should probably go now." He said. She nodded and smiled and they said goodbye to their guests and headed up to their room. Once they got there, he wasted no time helping her out of her dress and laying back on the bed. "Why Mr. Johnson, what is it you had in mind?"
"Well, it is our wedding night and we do have to leave in the morning for two glorious weeks in Hawaii. But I planned on making love to my wife right now." She smiled.
"Say it again." He smiled and leaned in and kissed her.
"I'm going to make love to my wife." They spent the rest of the night locked away, anticipation for the rest of their lives together.