Blank Canvas

Chapter Seventeen

Summary: Talia and Felix went out on a date. By the end of the night, a confession was made.

I was not the type of girl who would dress up on a date for the sole purpose of impressing another person. Most of the time, I chose comfort over style. My rationale was simple yet fool-proof. A date could go bad but at least I did not have to suffer through it entirely. But on Friday, as I prepped for my date with Felix, I ventured out of my comfort zone and picked a short dress which I loved.

The length of the classic black dress was perfect, and to make it modern, it had an elaborate but modest abstract cut-out design on the back. The first time I saw the dress, I immediately thought of Matisse. Plus, the dress had pockets. Pockets!

I added simple and small hoop earrings as an accent. I was on the hunt for the shoes that would complement my dress when Celia came in.

She sat on my bed and said, "You look nice." She stood up and added, "Wait, I have the perfect accessory for you." After a minute, she came back with her new high heels.

"Are these new?"

"Is that a problem? It goes well with that design on your dress."

"I can't wear this, Celia. I might wreck them. Also, there's a huge chance that they would do the same to me." I pointed at the heel that looked like one of those things that appeared good but in reality could be your own ticket to hell such as a mosquito bite or a giant ornate horse that you thought was a war trophy. I told my sister that my worn combat boots would do a fine job.

Celia said no. She went back to her room and brought another pair of new shoes. Flat ones, thankfully, with soft soles.

"Thank you," I said.

"Don't thank me," she said. "I'm being selfish. I want you to break them in for me like the way that the Queen of England had assistants to make her shoes royally comfortable."

"Did you read that in one of those gossip magazines at the nail salon?"

Celia shook her head in exasperation. I told her that I was still grateful. She took that as an encouragement and fussed with my hair.

Felix was on time, which was good because both my mom and my dad had an aversion for people who were not punctual. He chatted with Mom for a few minutes. Mom kissed me on the cheek and reminded me to be home by midnight.

We had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant in White Plains. I only realized the significance of why Felix chose that place when a plate with two shrimp rolls was set in our table and he asked if I would like to share the rolls with him. It was almost a replica of our first meeting. Somehow, it was startling because he hardly cared about those things but it was also sweet. I smiled at him and said, "Of course."

In the middle of dinner, Felix let out a quiet but rude scoff when a couple in the adjacent table said the word basil with a long "a," like "bay-sil" which according to Felix was incorrect. He told me that it should be pronounced with a short "a," like "ba-sil."

"Not like that," he said.

I was embarrassed and relieved that he was out of earshot. Did he have to make a big deal about one letter? Did he have to be obnoxious about it?

The rest of dinner was uneventful. I had chicken curry and Felix had the ginger chicken.

After, I thought we could get a gelato or something but Felix had another idea. We went to a carnival that was part of a charity event in his old high school.

We played all the games from shooting rubber ducks in a row to ring toss to shooting balloons with a dart. We even tried archery. When we finished knocking out bottles without actually knocking one, we concluded that we had no talents or whatsoever when it came to carnival games.

We decided to walk around the area. Kids ran around with toys in their hands. I could smell sugar in the air. We had corn dogs and snow cones. Felix coaxed me to shoot at the nailed balloons again. I shook my head no but told him that I would cheer him on. This time, he won.

"Do you want cotton candy?"

"Sure," I answered with a smile. Felix bought blue cotton candy for me. We rode the carousel. I chose the white horse with gold trimmings.

We talked about school. He told me about his subjects. I listened.

"Hey," Felix said as I put a blob of blue sugar in my mouth. "I was thinking that next weekend or the next one after that, you can meet my parents. If you want to, that is. They're a little old-fashioned but they're harmless. You can meet my younger brother too."

"Sure," I said, a little uncertain.

The expression on my face did not escape Felix.

"That's it?" He smiled at me as he asked me the question. He bobbed up and down as the decorated pony moved.

The bright yellow lights that were reflected in his eyes sparkled and they were beautiful.

"I'm looking forward to it," I said awkwardly, bouncing up and down as nervous twinges courses through me. Meeting the parents was a big thing, but I was not sure how that would come to be. I was not Felix's girlfriend. Meeting the parents would be a case of too much, too soon. I glanced at Felix as he flicked something off his shoulder and frowned at an overhead light surrounded with a few bugs. Could he become something more? Do I want him to be?

When the ride ended, we went in line to the Ferris wheel. After that, we tried the bump cars. Felix was terrible at controlling the bump cars but we had a great time and laughed all the way until we heard the whistle that signalled that our time and turn was over.

Felix laughed freely when we exited the area. He looked like he genuinely enjoyed himself and behaved like he was a sport at being terrible at an amusement ride. I laughed along with him and teased him.

On our way home, Felix reached out and clasped my hand in his. "Talia, I'm done no longer defining what we have. For almost a year, we're not just friends but we're not more than friends either. I hate the thought that you will meet some other guy one day and he will do what I should have done a long time ago."

"And what is that?"

He leaned in and gave me a somewhat chaste kiss on the lips.

I smiled at him. He returned my smile and leaned over for another kiss.