The Set Up

Chapter 2

The blind date was tonight, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I wondered what type of man he was. I wasn’t sure, if I was ready to date again. My fix my gaze on the mirror, I was wearing the black dress I brought yesterday. My strawberry blonde hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, and I put a little makeup on. Satisfied at how I looked, I grabbed my purse and car keys.

Buzz!

It was a call from Ally. Taking my phone from my nightstand, I quickly pressed the answer button.

“Hey,” I answered the phone.

“You better not bail,” Ally said then hang up. Wasn’t planning on it, I thought. I slipped on my black heels, and walked made my way down the stairs. I checked myself in the mirror before I went out the door. After locking the door, I made my way to the driver’s seat of my Honda 2011 Pilot. I took my car key and put it in the ignition and drove to the restaurant. When I arrived, I found a few parking spaces and parked my car in the one closest to the entrance. With one last look in the rearview mirror, I got out of my car and walked to the door. Once I was inside, the reception lady came up to me.

“Did you make a reservation?” she asked, kindly.

“No, I am meeting someone,” I replied.

“Oh, well you can just go right in.” As soon as she said that, she turned to another customer.

I walked into the fancy restaurant looking for my date. I skimmed through the different people in their tux and elegant dresses. My eyes stop as soon as I saw a man in his early twenties with chocolate brown hair, just like how my best- friend described him. He had his hair combed back nicely; his black tux hugged his muscular arms. He was not what I imagined him to look like, he looked unreal. This man could be considered a model. I think he’s my date…hopefully. I started to walk towards his table. As I got closer my heart was started racing faster. When I reached him, I softly tapped his shoulder. He looked up from the menu. Right then, I swear, I saw the most gorgeous brown eyes.  I felt my cheeks start to burn up.

“Hi,” I started to say, “I’m Claire.”

“Do I know you?” he asked while giving me a confused look.

“Are you supposed to be my date?” I asked, slightly unsure if he was my date.

“No, you must be mistaking me for someone else, I already have a date; she just went to the washroom.”

“Oh, s-sorry,” I turned around to walk back to the reception area. Well, that was embarrassing.I waited for ten minutes before heading towards the doors to leave. Someone tapped on my shoulder, causing me to turn around. I saw a man standing there with dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes. He looked like he just walked out of a fashion magazine, with the tux he’s wearing.

“Um… are you Claire?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yes, yes I am,” I replied with a smile.

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Wesley, your date,” he stuck his hand out, while introducing himself. I gave him a small smile and shook his hand. We both made our way into the restaurant and found our table. Both of us were silent, none of us were willing to speak first. A waiter came up to us and asked what we wanted to order.

“I have a steak, medium rare,” Wesley ordered. The waiter then turned to me.

“I’ll have a garden salad, please.”

“Is that all?” he asked, and both of us nodded, “Would you like some wine?”

Wesley looked at me and asked, “Do you want any?”

“That would be nice, thank you,” I smiled, looking at the waiter. The waiter left, and soon the tension filled the atmosphere, that was until Wesley spoke up.

“So, tell me a bit about yourself,” he smiled and I sat there awkwardly.

“Um…” I started, until the waiter came back with a bottle of wine. When the waiter was pouring the wine into our cups, I glanced at the handsome man that was a couple of tables down. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t get him out of my mind. This was the first time; I ever felt this odd attraction towards a man, aside from Jacob.

Once our food arrived, Wesley started to talk about himself. Apparently he was an architect, and has his own firm; also he threw a few jokes here and there. Overall, he was a nice and genuine guy.

“Ready for desert?” Wesley asked as he placed his napkin down.

“Yes,” I nodded. The waiter cleaned our plates then right after served our desert. Once my plate of cheesecake was in front of me, I took a clean fork and, started enjoying the delicious treat.

“This is the best cheesecake ever,” I said as I finish the last bit of the yummy goodness.

“Glad you enjoyed it,” Wesley chuckled and I couldn’t believe I said that statement out loud. My cheeks were heating up, I could feel it. How many times do I have to embarrass myself?

“I’m going to go pay for the bill,” he stood up from his chair before I could protest. While Wesley was paying, I stole another glance at the browned haired, chocolate eyed, man and saw him already looking at me. I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks and I quickly looked away. I started to wonder, what if he was my actual date. I wonder was type of person he was, and what it will feel like to spend a night with him. When Wesley came back, I got up and walked to the exit with him by my side.

“Hey,” I heard Wesley say, while he got a hold of my forearm. I turned to look at him. “Would you like to go out again sometime?” he asked nervously. He looked cute when he’s nervous.

“Sure,” I replied with a smile. I took out my phone from my purse and handed it to him, “Here, put your number in.” He took the phone out of my hands and typed in his number. “I’ll text you later so you can have my number too,” I said after taking my back.

“Alright then, good night,” he gave me a hug and turned to go to his car. I let out a tried sigh and walked towards my car. On the drive back, I started to replay the night in my head.