Gods And Monsters

3. when lovers meet

---------------\\ W H E N L O V E R S M E E T //---------------

Alex was surprised that she had called him after the disastrous first date. He did not dare think of it. This would be their new first date. He wanted to make it one they would remember, one they would never forget.

For this very reason, Alex had decided to put on his smartest suit, the one his mother had insisted he have tailored. (“No young man should go without a tailored suit. Otherwise, they’ll all look ridiculous.”) He had told his date to dress up the same.

The said date was gorgeous and out of his league. She wasn't a perfect ten - she was off the charts. She was the woman of his dreams, yet, she still wanted to go out with him. Alex was both bewildered and flattered at the same time.

He had suggested they have dinner at one of the smartest restaurants in town. They were going to meet there. Alex truthfully did not have the money to afford the date and a fancy car, no matter how much he desperately wanted to impress her. He didn’t want to let the chance go and have her end up with a horrible bastard.

Due to his investment in the affair, Alex had to catch the bus. It must be strange, he mused, to see a grown man with scruffy hair and glasses on the bus. Then again, he had definitely seen worse. He shuddered at the thought.

His stop was called out and he pressed the red stop button. The bus jolted and he lost his footing, nearly collapsing into the arms of a rather elderly woman. She had limbs like sticks and cherry lipstick applied to what was once a set of clearly defined lips.

"No worries, honey, I love young ones," she rasped; Alex jumped back and moved to the door. He was disturbed at being violated by an elderly woman. It was a perfect moment to wipe the lenses of his glasses and the memory from his mind.

The bus wobbled to a halt. Alex pushed his shoulders back and stepped off the bus, which ran off with a trail of fumes. It dawned on Alex that was his last chance to run back home and watch reruns of Firefly with Dante. He laughed at the most inappropriate moments, exactly like Alex did when he was nervous.

It was then that said nerves hit him. He gulped and walked the last stretch to the restaurant. The walk straightened out the tingling of anticipation in his limbs.

Outside the restaurant stood a beautiful girl with hair tied up in a golden bun. The lights of the restaurant illuminated her radiant figure. Her dress was made of iridescent green blue sequins; she shone like a diamond hidden in coal. It took a moment for him to realize that this was his date.

"Cecilia?" He walked towards her; it would be embarrassing if it wasn't. How he would stutter! It must be her - the place was empty outside.

"Alex!" The girl smiled, and the sun had decided to shine in the dead of night. Alex basked in the light as she hugged him in greeting. This was too perfect.

"Have you been waiting long?" He inquired fretfully - his dad had told him to never leave a lady waiting.

"No, I've just arrived!" Cecilia declared. Alex offered his arm and she took it. The doormen opened the doors and they entered the restaurant. This was probably the most ostentatious date that Alex had ever had the pleasure of going on; it was worth it. It was one of his first ever dates, though, which set the standard high.

"Reservation for Mr. Moore." He had hoped the reservation went though, as he was stuttering the whole way though the telephone call. Dante was laughing in the background because Alex could not quite believe she had said yes.

"This way, sir." The hostess smiled and showed them to their table. All the tables in the restaurant were separated with white, translucent tents. Pleats of material hung comfortably around the tables, allowing privacy. Inside the tents hung white chandeliers with extra fairy lights around the edge of the tents. The table had white flowers and small candles. It was absolutely enchanting.