Free Little Lola by Ellen Dominick Page A

women’s tables’. A man with styled blonde hair sat down across from Lola. He draped his arm over the back of the chair.
    “Hey,” he said. “I’m Jake.”
    “Uh, hi Jake...”
    “You know, I’m not normally the type of guy to speed date...”  
    Almost immediately, Lola’s eyes glazed over. Jake’s voice continued to echo in her mind, but she just couldn’t force herself to pay attention to what he was saying. She was looking at the candy bowl, trying to make her next choice, when he interrupted with a question.
    “You know what I mean?”
    Lola looked at him and panicked. She hadn’t heard a single word he said.
    “Uh, yeah...”
    As soon as she finished speaking, a loud bell rang. The old woman’s voice blared from the crackling speakers.
    “Time to move on!”
    Jake left without even saying goodbye and another man approached Lola’s table. He had glasses as thick as coke bottles and almost fell into the seat in front of her with a thud.
    “I’m Richard,” he said. “You probably don’t know, but I’m kind of a big deal on the Internet.”
    Lola looked at him as he cracked a smile.
    “I know girls don’t know anything about computers, but on Reddit there was this flamewar...”
    Again, Lola’s eyes glazed over. Richard’s voice simply droned in her ears, and she couldn’t even distract herself with candy. His smell had taken away her appetite.
    Lola’s gaze swept the room. Nearly everyone looked the same. She knew maybe some of the guys would be attractive by most standards, but she just wasn’t interested. But then she saw him.
    The girl at the table was blushing so fiercely that her face was bright red. She leaned in towards him, flashing an almost impossibly wide smile and chattering away. Lola could see why. He wasn’t dressed extravagantly. His dark jeans and pressed white shirt didn’t have flashy designer names. His full brown hair wasn’t painstakingly coiffed, but just brushed cleanly away from his face. Still, there was something about how he held his body. Something about the quiet confidence and the muscles peeking out from under his collar.
    “Hello!” Richard yelled. He waved his hand in front of Lola’s face. “Anybody home?”
    Lola snapped back into reality.
    “Oh, uh, sorry...”
    The bell clanged again before Richard could even say anything. He jumped out of his seat and practically threw the seat under the table.
    Lola looked down, fiddling with her fingers. If only she could get someone like that guy. He wouldn’t be like these other jerks. Lola’s heart ached a little, remembering how they didn’t even ask her name.
    Finally, she took a deep breath and looked up. The guy she had spotted was walking in Lola’s direction. She wondered who he was going to sit with. Probably someone luckier than her. Then their eye’s met.
    Lola couldn’t breathe. He was looking at her! His dark eyes were trained on her’s and he was coming right in her direction. Lola almost didn’t believe it when he pulled out the chair and sat in front of her.
    “Hello,” he said.
    He waited for Lola to reply, but she was having a hard time even thinking.
    “My name is Tobias White. What’s your name?”
    “Lola Smith,” she blurted out.
    “Lola.” Tobias said her name slowly, drawing out each letter carefully as if he were examining it.
    “What a beautiful name. And what brings you here?”
    Lola hesitated. What was she supposed to say? That she’s unemployed, lives with her mom, and came just to get some candy? She played with the frayed ends of her hair, looking down so she didn’t have to meet Tobias' gaze. Then she brought her nails to her mouth, but Tobias spoke before she managed to nibble on them.
    “Lola, put your hands down,” he said. His voice was deeper and firmer than before. Lola slammed her hands into her lap, her heart thumping. She looked up and saw he had a stern but kind expression on his face.
    “Lola, I think we should see each other again,” Tobias