“Oh, you’re on to me.”
“What if I didn’t want to meet you for a bagel or coffee or whatever it is you’re planning. What if I only go on nighttime dates? What was your plan, then?”
“Hmm, first I’d think you were some sort of vampire if you only went on nighttime dates. But I’d be happy to take you out at night if it meant your vampire skin could stay safe.”
“Oh, my gosh; I’m not a vampire.”
This guy was funnier than I’d thought he was going to be. I found myself smiling from ear-to-ear. I also felt like my face was bright red with embarrassment. It was a good thing we were doing a little date over the phone before actually meeting.
Dating and I hadn’t been a good mix since Spencer had passed away. I felt awkward and weird anytime someone even mentioned taking me out. I wanted to be smooth and cool like I was used to going on dates, but the truth was that I wasn’t used to it, at all.
Spencer had been the only guy I’d r
eally dated as an adult. My ex-mother in-law setting me up had been about as close to a real date as I’d gotten since. I tried to take a few deep breaths to calm my nerves as Brandon and I continued to talk.
“Then, Saturday morning, nine o’clock at Bella’s Bagels. I’ll meet you there.”
“What happened to the days of guys picking girls up from their houses for dates? Am I getting so old that you guys don’t do that anymore?” I teased him.
“You wouldn’t let a strange man you’ve never met pick you up from your house,” he said. “I have confidence you’re smarter than that.”
It was the truth. I absolutely wasn’t going to let this guy pick me up from my house. Even though he seemed like a pretty decent guy, you just never knew who someone was until you met them. I’d watched crazy news stories about things happening to women, and I wasn’t going to let anything like that happen to me. I was a single mom and my son had already lost his father – no way was I going to get myself murdered by some lunatic.
My heart raced at the idea of meeting up with this guy. He seemed like a fun and interesting person. I was relieved that he wanted to do a morning date instead of a nighttime one. Morning dates were casual and easier to get out of quickly if need be. It was near impossible to make a quick escape if I agreed to go to dinner with a guy. At least I could plan to meet up with a friend for lunch so I had someone to talk over all the fun date details with.
“It’s a deal. I’ll meet you on Saturday.”
“By the way, your voice sounds just as sexy as that profile picture of yours,” Brandon said and my whole body froze with excitement. “See you Saturday.”
“Bye,” I managed to mumble before hanging up.
My toes tingled with excitement. It had been a long time since a guy had complimented me so well that it had actually thrown me off.
Brandon was handsome, witty, and apparently rich; he was nothing like the type of guy I normally went out with and everything that I’d dreamt of in a guy. The typical man I went out with lived at home with his mother and wanted to split the check. Of course, I never knew these things when I agreed to the dates, but it did seem to be a running theme in my dating history.
I was convinced Brandon and I weren’t going to hit it off that well in person. A bikini picture can catch a guy’s attention, but the real me was a little more boring in person – and I wore a lot more clothes. There wasn’t much of a chance he and I were going to be able to keep up this witty flirtatious banter, although a small part of me hoped we would hit it off.
***
The week was a blur and before I knew it, I was pulling up to Bella’s Bagels. I had spent entirely too long getting ready this morning. I did my hair with the perfect wave of curls; just enough to look sweet, but not too much to look like I had actually curled my hair. I did my makeup in the “no makeup” look, which actually took much more time than just putting makeup on.
I was ready to meet Brandon, and even ready for him to not be interested in me. It was okay; I was just happy to have a real date with a decent guy, and if it didn’t work out, I knew I had at least tried my best.
“Delilah,” I heard a husky voice say from behind me before I had even walked in the front door of the shop. It startled me, and I visibly jumped as I turned around. “Hey, sorry, don’t mace me,” Brandon laughed as he jokingly put his hands up in front of his face.
“Oh, wow, yeah, you scared the crap out of me. Yeah, I’m Delilah,” I said as I held my hand out to shake his.
What was I doing? I was actually meeting this total stranger to have a bagel date? It seemed so out of this world that I’d agreed to meet him at all. Memories of Spencer flooded my mind, and I thought about how nervous I’d been around him when we first met.
Brandon seemed like a nice enough guy, but he was much more handsome in person than he had been in his profile…and he was pretty damn handsome in his profile. My hands shook and my voice cracked and I just knew he was going to be able to tell that I wasn’t the kind of girl he wanted to go out with.
“It’s nice to meet you. I was looking for a beautiful blonde in a bikini, but then I decided it was probably a little too chilly for you to wear that on our first date.”
He smiled at me and winked at the same time, and it sent heat flushing right to my cheeks. This guy was drop dead handsome – like Hollywood handsome. In fact, he looked a little familiar to me; maybe he was in the movies or something.
I knew I couldn’t be myself. There was no way a guy like him was going to fall for a girl like me if I was actually my dorky self. I seriously doubted if he was used to dating IT systems administrators or web designers. Nope, I was just going to have to chalk this up to a fun breakfast with a handsome guy I’d never see again.
“Yeah, I’ve got my bikini in the car, if you’d like me to change,” I said as I reached for the door handle.