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slowly nodded his head with his lips tucked between his teeth. “Okay,” he answered, “One more. If this one doesn’t work, not only am I canceling my membership, but I will publicly call you out as a peddler of insanity.” Markus left the gym with another number in his hand. Maritess said she would set up dinner reservations for him again, and the number was just in case she was a little late. Markus was thankful to have a big case at work to distract him  from all these crazy females. He got to work, and dove in. The rest of the week went by almost without Markus noticing.
     
    …
     
     
     

CHAPTER 9
     
                Maritess had arranged for him to meet her friend, Renee, at a small bistro in town on Saturday. From the moment he woke up, all he could think about was calling it off. Every time he began thinking of ways to phrase his cancellation, one of Maritess' insults would come flying through his mind. He thought that she had a good point about him procrastinating. He had never really looked at it that way before, but it kind of made sense. It's not like he actually expected to meet a woman who had every quality he wanted, but he definitely didn't want to settle down with someone who had qualities he hated. He scanned his living room, looking for something to occupy his mind. His journal was tossed, forgotten, under a pile of mail on his counter. He grabbed a pen from his desk and sat down on a stool. He fished the journal out from the stack of ads and bills, then opened it up to a new page.
     
                “ Dear Self, ” he wrote, “ Here's a list of the women I've met so far: Christina - perfect, but an angry lush. Melissa - perfect, but a controlling nut job. Renee - remains to be seen... tonight at our date... ” he paused for a moment then wrote down one more name. “ Maritess - the one I just can't figure out, but really, really don't like... ”
     
                Markus tossed the pen and the journal on top of the stack of mail, and decided to go grab lunch. He went out to the mall and shopped around for a while. He grabbed a few tacos at the food court, and ate them on the way back to the bus stop. By the time he arrived home, he had barely enough time to get ready and leave to meet Renee at the bistro down town.
     
                She arrived late, but only by about ten minutes. Markus was sitting at the bar when she walked in and looked around. She was taller than Melissa, but not as tall as Christina. Her hair was dark brown, almost black, and she had small tattoos around her wrists. She looked as if she could have been one of Maritess' clients as well as friends because her toned muscles showed beneath the shirt and capris she wore. When she looked over towards the bar, Markus waved at her. He stood to greet her as she approached. Her smile was as warm as her handshake, and Markus actually felt his stomach do a flip. They were seated at a table and were deep in conversation by the time their meals arrived.
     
                Renee was pleasant, friendly and laughed at the jokes Markus tried to make. He felt extremely comfortable with her, and nearly allowed himself to feel optimistic about this choice Maritess had made for him. They shared a lot of the same opinions, and were almost about to come to an agreement on the absolute best flavor of ice cream when disaster came in the form of a freezing cold shower. Markus was barely aware that the server was coming up the aisle when he threw his arms out as an expressive gesture. His hand tipped the server's tray. She tilted back and saved the pitcher of water, but lost it when its momentum rocked back the other way. The entire half gallon of ice water went all over Markus. He jumped up from the shock. The cold was breath-taking.
     
                Before what had just happened registered in his head, Renee was hollering at the server, who was mortified and in agony with guilt. Markus