Brave Enough To Love Again

Chapter 1

Eden

"Get me the hell out of here." I half screamed into the phone, my voice reverberating on the walls of the restroom earning shushing sounds from other women who were also in the facilities of a well-known Michelin star restaurant. I turned to face the wall and leaned my forehead on the cool tiles which lessened the heat in my face after my outburst.

This stupid blind date my best friend persuaded me to go to was a complete disaster. I couldn't stand it any longer.

The thought of having to go back into the dining area made my stomach churn in the worst way possible.

"What? What happened? Where are you?" Megan asked with worry in her voice, "I'll be there right away. Send me the address."

I sent her the name of the restaurant and urged her to hurry. Knowing that my best friend was on her way to get me, calmed me down immensely as I sighed in relief.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, and was disappointed by what I saw. My outfit was alright, the little black dress clung to my body in all the right places, which emphasized my slender frame and showed off my toned dancer's legs. A thin black cardigan, however, covered my spaghetti strapped shoulders, ample bosom and slim waist, because I felt self-conscious in the saucy dress Megan had lent me.

What irked me was my face, which was well made up, thanks to my best friend. But I looked wrong. Something was amiss. Gone were the shimmer of happiness in my eyes, that I had had my whole life. It was about a year ago when the glint of light started to fade away, because of my ex-boyfriend. I tried to smile at my reflection, but to me it looked more like the grimace of a clown.

My shoulders sagged down in defeat. I couldn't do it. I wasn't ready for a relationship, and this dilemma that I found myself in, was proof that I wasn't ready even for simple dates. But since Megan had been bugging me for weeks about this guy from her work, who she insisted was so great, I gave in to her request.

I couldn't stay in the restroom any longer, Mitch, said great man, was waiting at the table. The main course was sure to arrive soon, thus I forced myself to go back to the dining area. I plastered some sort of a smile on my face, looked into the mirror one last time before leaving the facilities.

Yes, my face didn't look right.

At the dinner table, the blonde haired, square jawed and beefy built of man, looked up to me, with his blue eyes, the only commendable thing about him, from his plate of steak, which he had started eating without me, and began talking with his mouth half full.

"Sorry, I started without you, because I hate cold food, especially cold meat."

I was appalled by the bits and pieces of meat that came spraying out of his mouth when he continued to talk while he ate. He had been the only one talking during the entire evening, from the moment he picked me up at Megan's place, up until the end of the appetizers, at which point I excused myself to call my friend for help.

He talked, all the while waving about with his fork and knife. At one point, a piece of meat fell from his fork on to the floor, and I could have sworn he would have eaten it, if I hadn't stared at him in consternation. I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about anymore, I had stopped listening when I got back from the toilet. I simply smiled and nodded approvingly at him every once in a while, which seemed to be enough for him.