Blind Date

by Doreen F.

"Don’t worry, he’s perfect for you!" that’s what my friend Anja told me before I met my date for the evening. It was a blind date she had arranged. I would go there with her and her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s friend, my date. I did not even know her boyfriend, Alan, that well. I had seen him a couple of times, but we were usually out in a group and I had not had much of a chance to talk to him. But I wanted to have some fun, so I had agreed, when they came up with the idea of hooking me up with Alan’s friend, Leo. Hell, why shouldn’t I get lucky for once when it came to men? I was really picky when it came to boyfriends, but why should I go for less than I felt I deserved?
A blind date it was.

Alan and Leo picked Anja and me up and we went to a nice Spanish restaurant. It was more like a tapas bar, just what I liked. I ended up sitting opposite Leo and next to Alan. I could tell from the very first moment that Leo was not my type and would never be. He was fascinated by me, which made it even worse. You see, the more I felt that someone, who I did not particularly like, was attracted to me, the less attractive it made him for me. That sounds weird, but that’s the way it is. The worst part was his voice, which was unusually high and he kept talking about his job. Being a policeman in training there was quite a lot to tell. But nothing of what he said made him more interesting. My answers were monosyllabic and I shot some glances at Anja hoping she would realise how I felt. But how could she? Leo was a friend of hers as much as he was Alan’s. The food was great and made Leo stop his monologues for a while. After the main course of our tapas Anja and I went to the toilet to talk.
"I can see you’re not a big fan of your blind date?"
"If it’s that obvious, why doesn’t he get it? I have been more cynical than I was in the whole last year."
"Let me handle it, okay? I’ll talk to him, I mean, so you don’t have to listen to what he’s saying. I hope it’s okay for you to talk to Alan."
"Better than hearing Leo’s voice all the time, I guess."
We headed back to the table and Anja and I changed seats. On the one hand, I was now sitting next to Leo, but, on the other hand, you tend to talk more to the person you are facing. So Alan and I had a rather pleasant conversation about movies with some interruptions, when Leo thought he had to join in, but Anja managed to distract him from me. I was entirely grateful, but it had been her idea, so I guess, she felt kind of guilty and wanted to rescue me. Alan was much nicer to talk to. First of all he had a really sexy voice, one I could have listened to all night, and he was much more handsome than Leo, I thought. The odd thing was that Leo was wearing glasses, something that I usually quite like when it comes to men, but with Leo they only made matters worse, if that was possible. I know that is really mean, but there was nothing which could have made him attractive to me. Besides, his character was not very appealing either. Alan, on the other hand, was good-looking, but he was Anja’s boyfriend and I would not cross that line. Friendship was far more important to me and Anja and I had been friends since kindergarten.
Leo also smoked, something I did not want my boyfriend to do and I had tried to make some of them quit, which never really worked. Drinking was another issue. As long as it was moderate, I did not complain, but Leo was pouring "cerveza" after "cerveza." Alan did not, but he was the one who had to drive. Even so, some guys would have had at least one beer or one glass of wine. But he was Anja’s boyfriend; I had to remind myself of that.
It was getting late and we had long finished our "postres." I was just talking to Alan about my summer vacation, which I had spent in Scandinavia "interrailing" with my cousin, when he looked quite uncomfortable and excused himself, heading to the toilet. Anja and Leo looked surprised, but continued their conversation. I took another sip of my cocktail. Alan returned after a while smiling apologetically. "I’m sorry, but the air’s so dry and my contact lenses were bothering me quite a bit."
I nodded, but Leo couldn’t keep his mouth shut, "That’s the problem when you’re too vain to wear glasses", he teased.
Anja did not say anything.
"The smoke didn’t actually help", Alan uttered looking at Leo, "but I’m alright now. I think we’d better get going", he said turning to the others.
We paid for our food and left the restaurant. Outside it was pouring and Alan told us to wait, while he fetched the car. Leo had gotten the message and talked more casually now, but he was quite drunk. So we decided to bring him home first. Since Anja had a family reunion on the next day, she did not spend the night with Alan and we brought her home next. Then Alan and I headed for my place. Alan actually apologized for Leo and his behaviour. "I’m really sorry. If I had known you better before, I’d have never tried to hook you up with Leo."
"Don’t worry about it. I can’t seem to find the right guy, but you tried to help."
"You deserve more than Leo, Stacy, believe me and one day you’ll get lucky." I felt myself blush and was grateful that it was dark, but my cheeks were glowing.
"That’s nice of you to say. I hope you’re right."
"I sure am…. So, here we are. I hope you enjoyed the evening."
"Yes, I actually did; my expectations were not too high. Thanks for bringing me home."
"You’re welcome." We said goodbye with pecks on the cheeks and I got out of the car before I did something I might regret. I went over to my door, but suddenly I heard footsteps. I turned and Alan was standing behind me, pulled me close and kissed me. I did not resist. After a while we drew apart. "I’m sorry, but I would have regretted it all of my live, good night." "Good night." I was perplexed. Not that I had not wanted this, but Alan was Anja’s boyfriend I did not want to interfere in their relationship. Let’s just hope this was just this once and would not happen again.
I had trouble falling asleep that night, but after some days I made myself forget about the incident. I tried to meet Anja alone or only to meet her and Alan when plenty of other people were there too. Anja did seem surprised, but never once asked. After a while she and Alan split up and I did not think I would ever see him again. Anja found herself another boyfriend quickly and I was still searching for my perfect match.
You won’t believe how I felt, when Friday evening while I was doing the groceries I thought I caught a glimpse of Alan. It was just a glimpse, but I was sure it was him. In the next aisle I really saw him, only from behind, but I knew it was him. I got closer, just to be sure and called out his name. He turned and looked at me and a smile spread across his face. "Stacy, I can’t believe my luck, it’s really you. How are you?" We gave each other peck on the cheeks. "I’m alright, how have you been?"
"Quite good, actually, I was on my way home from work and thought I’d stop and buy myself something for dinner."
"Wow, what a coincidence!"
"I was just thinking … erh… would you like to come over to my place for dinner? I know you probably don’t have time and you’re going out with some gorgeous bloke, but …"
"I’d love to, really. I’ll just take my groceries home and then I’ll come over to you, okay?"
"Wow, I can’t believe you agreed. You know, where I live, don’t you?"
"Roughly."
He explained how to get there and we agreed that we’d do some cooking together – chicken quesadillas.
I floated home, quickly put on a nice blouse and my favourite pair of jeans. Then I left for Alan’s place. The unbelievable had happened.
At his front door I was really nervous. He opened with a big smile on his face.
"Wow, you were quick! I haven’t even had the time to get dressed more casually. If you excuse me for a second, you can get started with the onions in the meantime, if you like."
"Sure, I hope I’ll find everything."
"Just keep looking and you’ll find it."
I started cutting onions, garlic, pepper, the meat and whatever else we had bought and threw it into the pan. I was so busy cooking that I did not notice him standing behind me until he touched my shoulders really gently. I felt a tingling sensation.
"That looks really delicious to me."
"I hope it’s going to taste great as well", I said.
We had dinner and had a really great time. Alan and I had a lot in common and he was a cute guy. After we had put the dishes in the dish-washer, Alan asked, if I wanted to stay a little longer. We moved to the living room which was nicely furnished and sat down on his bright red couch. Alan opened a bottle of wine and we were having a great time. After a while Alan started rubbing his eyes and eventually got up saying, "I’ll be right back. I just have to take out my contacts. It has been quite a long day."
"Go ahead. I’ll take a look at you DVD collection in the mean time."
"Right", Alan said and lightly walked to the bathroom. I got up and walked to the shelves which held Alan’s incredible DVD collection. For a movie enthusiast like me this was like heaven. I knew most films, but some I had not seen for years. I had to ask him, if he would lend me some.
"I see my DVDs have made quite an impression."
"Yes, indeed. I think I have never seen so many good movies in one place" I replied turning to watch him and my knees got really weak, when I saw that Alan was wearing a really nice pair of glasses with dark blue plastic frames. What a sight! In my sweetest dreams I would not have imagined how great he looked in glasses.
I smiled shyly and managed to say, "Nice glasses, they really suit you", as if I were saying it every day. But inside I was thrilled at how gorgeous he looked.
"Thanks", Alan replied with a smile, pushing the glasses up with his index-finger. "So, would you like to watch one of the DVDs?"
"Of course, but I don’t know which. Any suggestions?"
"Well, what about "Superman Returns"? It’s quite new and I haven’t had the time to watch it."
"Sounds great. I’ve seen it last summer and really liked it. I have been thinking about buying the DVD myself."
"Great. My TV is not quite as tall as the screen in the cinema, but the couch is much more comfortable."
Alan dimmed the lights and put in the DVD; then we sat down on the couch - quite close to each other. I really enjoyed the scenes in which Clark Kent appeared because I thought that Brandon Routh looked amazing in glasses. Only Alan next to me looked better and he was for real. I still could not believe my luck.
We both enjoyed the movie and when it was over both of us were quite tired. Alan invited me to stay at his place, just as friends naturally. I accepted because I was tired and not really keen on going home. I was so much at ease in Alan’s company. The couch looked quite tempting as a bed to me, but Alan surprised me by offering me to sleep in his bed as well, which was big enough. "Okay, but only if you don’t make any sudden movements like turning over to kiss me in the middle of the night", I teased him.
"So you do remember the kiss."
"How could I forget?"
"I was just checking your memory."
We went to bed and talked until we fell asleep almost simultaneously. In the late morning I woke up because Alan was moving. I turned to face him. He looked really cute; his hair was in complete disorder and there was a stubble on his cheeks. "Good morning."
"Morning, did I wake you?"
"Never mind, I didn’t want to sleep that long anyway."
We got up and Alan made breakfast. I really enjoyed being with him and I hoped that he felt the same. I did not really want to leave, but what could I do? It would be kind of obvious if I stayed much longer without good reason.
"I was thinking…erh… would you like to have lunch with me today?" Alan asked.
"I’d love, but we’d have to go past my place so I can put on some decent clothes."
"No problem. You could go there and I’ll pick you up at noon."
"Sounds great."
We said goodbye with pecks on the cheeks and I left already anticipating the moment I’d see him again. I was floating home and put on some really nice clothes.
At twelve o’clock sharp the ring of my doorbell announced that Alan was there to pick me. He was not wearing his glasses, which was kind of weird because I had seen him in glasses most of the time yesterday. Alan smiled at me and gave me a really beautiful sun flower. I had told him I hated roses how ever strange it might sound and there he was with a sun flower. This was so cute. I kissed his cheeks and let him poke around in my flat while I was searching for a vase.
We left and went to a nice Asian restaurant. The food was great it was so much fun to be with Alan. Afterwards we decided to take a walk in one of the city’s beautiful parks. Since it was a beautiful day we sat down on the grass and watched the people who were passing by. It was great fun and whenever I looked into Alan’s eyes my heart moved faster; once it even missed a beat, when Alan started rubbing his eye looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, don’t worry, there was just some dust in my eye, but it’s okay now, I hope. Sometimes my contacts are really driving me crazy."
"My brother used to say the same before he switched back to wearing glasses."
"I bet his glasses aren’t as strong as mine, though."
"Stronger I’d guess, but it’s hard to say because he is farsighted."
"I see."
"I have never seen you in glasses before last night. Why’s that?"
"Well, I suppose I’m so used to wearing contacts that it feels extremely weird to be wearing glasses anywhere else but at home."
"They really suit you, though. Do you know that?"
"I don’t really mind the way I look in them, but it feels better this way, well, most of the time it does. And when I’m older, I guess there’ll be plenty of time when I have to wear glasses, but I don’t want to just now." Alan smiled.
"So you’re not going to have lasik?"
"No, I’m far too scared something goes wrong and I really don’t mind wearing glasses. I just prefer the contacts for now. I hope you don’t mind."
"Why should I?"
"Well, some of my girlfriends have tried to convince me to get rid of my glasses and contact lenses."
"First, I’m not your girlfriend and, second, I personally like the way you look in glasses."
"I think you should have said ‘I’m not your girlfriend just yet.’"
"Very funny." I smiled. "So what about watching the special features of yesterday’s DVD at my place tonight?"
"Great idea, but only if I don’t have to sleep on your couch; it’s far to short for me."
"My bed’s big enough for two."
"Just what I’ve been hoping for."
"So, we’ll drop by at your place, get the DVD and go over to my place?"
"Yeah, and I’ll get my glasses."
After a while we left the park and after a short stop at Alan’s place during which he took out his contact lenses and I picked up the DVD, we went to my place. We ate pasta and after that we sat down to watch the special features of "Superman Returns." It was really interesting and since my couch was not too big we were sitting right next to each other, our bodies touching.