The Surprise Date — Elizabeth Reed

This is a sweet romance short story (word count 5,175)

After celebrating her best friend Helen's wedding, Julia is making an effort to improve her love life. Having signed up for online dating months ago, she now thinks she has met someone special â€" a man called Dean, who might just be able to claim her heart. This is more than a relief to Julia, as she is trying to avoid all contact with Helen's brother Mark. Julia has a complicated history with Mark, who has a profound, unnerving effect on her senses.
Putting the issue of Mark behind her, Julia waits at a coffee bar to meet Dean in the flesh at last. To her surprise and horror, Dean is very different from what she had imagined….