Note: Hey! Am on time posting this week! HAHAHA.
And to celebrate, here's a pic of Prince. <3
CHAPTER 17 - DATE FAILS
"Would you like another cocktail?" the waiter asked me.
I've already had either four or five within the last hour that I've been waiting. Yes, waiting for Fighter. I was sitting at a fancy restaurant wearing one of those little black dresses that is a staple in every woman's closet. I paired it with heels. I wore makeup and spent a lot of time getting my smoky eye and winged eyeliner just right. My hair was left loose to keep it simple.
I wore pearl earrings, a necklace from Pandora, and a platinum watch which was a gift from my dad. And right now, that watch was telling me that it's been almost an hour and fifteen minutes. My phone was telling me there were no calls and texts from Fighter. I've tried to call him once and sent two texts.
All these things and yet I still can't accept the fact that I was being stood up.
How long should one wait for a date anyway? Is it like college where you wait fifteen minutes for the professor and if he doesn't arrive at that time then you're free to go? Does the wait time add if the date notifies you there's traffic or that he's going to be late because of a valid reason?
How many calls should you make and texts to send before you seem desperate?
I don't know if there's a standard rule for this. But right now, I'm going to make one: Wait for fifteen minutes. Send one text when the clock hits twenty minutes. Call after five minutes if there's no response. If he doesn't answer, get your ass out of there.
It's common courtesy to inform someone if you're going to be late. But before that, it's good manners to not actually be late. It shows that you value and respect a person's time.
And then let's say you left the date and then he calls thirty minutes later to say he got held up by something. The reschedule if you still want to date the guy and only if you think his reason was valid.
My heart sank as I nodded to the waiter. Might as well just get drunk again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me indeed. I gave the guy a chance and this is what he does. Kari owes me bigtime for this.
I sighed loudly and drank some water while waiting for my cocktail. I closed my eyes and prayed for patience.
And then I thought of uninstalling Finder and deleting my account from there. It's brought me nothing but heartache and false hope. Maybe I'm looking for love in the wrong place. Maybe it's not the right time. Maybe the universe had other plans for me.
Or maybe the plan for me is to be single. Another sigh. I should look into freezing my eggs then while they're still okay. Then maybe someday, I'd get married and we could still have a child by surrogate when I'm too old to be pregnant. If I don't get married, I'll just find a sperm donor with nice genes. And then I'd have a son or daughter who's going to fill my heart with more love than I needed.
That sounds like a great plan!
I took out my phone and was about to uninstall Finder when the waiter came back with my cocktail. He placed it on the table and said, "This one is from the man at the bar. He sends his compliments."
"Who?" I said, craning my neck to look at the bar.
The waiter stepped to the side and behind him was Prince.
"Oh! It's you!"
"Hey, Princess," he replied with a grin, showing off those dimples. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt and slacks. His hair was still in that messy, totally awesome way. In his hands, he held the most beautiful bouquet of flowers I've ever seen in my life.
"Hiya back, Prince," I replied. I saw the waiter grin at our exchange as he placed Prince's drink on my table too. And then he left.
"Are you waiting for someone? Do you mind if I sit?" he asked.
"No. Not with someone. Go ahead."
He pulled up a chair and sighed heavily, exactly what I've been doing the past couple of minutes.
"We have got to stop meeting like this," he said in a light, teasing tone.
I rolled my eyes. "I know. It's like you have this damsel-in-distress radar. You appear at the times I need rescuing from the world."
"What?" he gasped. "I think it's you who has that radar. It's you who comes in this knight's darkest hours," he told me as he waved a hand to indicate himself.
"Aww. Come on. It's not you who was getting drunk at the bar that one time. It's not you who got left by your date at a big ball. It's not you who got stood up tonight."
He shook his head. "I was getting drunk at the bar same as you. Maybe not for the same reason - that I had sex with a gay guy..." he paused because I snorted. "...At that ball, I was bored out of my mind and there you were. And tonight? I got stood up too," he said as he waved the bouquet of flowers.
I winced. "I'm so sorry. But hey, these are really nice flowers."
"And now they're yours," he told me as he handed them over. "Think of them as a grand gesture from this fallen knight," he whispered.
I accepted them with a tilt of my head. "Noble knight, I accept your humble offering. I'm afraid I don't have a token for you."
He laughed, shaking his head. "Your company is my token. Sitting with a woman as beautiful as you is priceless," he told me.
Whoosh.
I looked down, trying to hide my blush. "So who were you waiting for tonight?" he asked.
"I had this date with a guy once. Met him through Finder." I saw Prince wince. "It didn't go well. He asked for a second chance. And now I got stood up. Been here for what feels like hours."
"An hour and almost thirty minutes to be exact," he said.
I frowned. "Wait. How did you know that?"
"I've been here for the last two hours. So I saw the exact moment you walked inside," he said. "Me and every other man in this restaurant probably," he added under his breath.
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"There's something about your presence that draws eyes," he answered. I waved a hand asking him to go on.
"I think it's the confidence and grace you exhibit even through the simple act of walking. You're like a beacon. You light up the room wherever you go," he answered.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
I cleared my throat to stop myself from being a puddle of goo on the floor. "How about you? Who were you waiting for?"
He leaned back on his chair and sighed. "My ex," he replied. This time, it was my turn to wince. I remembered Prince telling me all about her during the ball. She was his last relationship and that was four years ago. He told me he almost married her too. And for a guy, that was a huge commitment.
The four years he was single could also be because he still hasn't gotten over her. He even waited for her in this restaurant for two hours. He even got her flowers. I mean, who does that at this day and age?
"Pathetic, I know," he whispered.
I shook my head. "Not pathetic at all. There are just some people who, when they love someone, give their all," I told him. He just sighed and looked at the table cloth.
Beautiful, broken man.
I picked up my cocktail. "To us who got stood up and to us who'll not be sitting here moping but instead we're turning our luck around," I said in the most cheerful tone I could muster.
That got a smile out of him and I got to see his dimples again.
"I was wrong. You're not a beacon. Maybe a lighthouse that guides sailors home," he said. Then he picked up his own drink, rum and coke I think. That didn't make any sense at all but I let it go.
"To always rescuing each other," he said and we toasted.
He signaled for the waiter and asked for the menus. "I'm starving. How about you?"
"Yep. Same." Right on cue, my stomach grumbled.
"Have you been here before?" he asked. "Nope. It's actually my first time here."
"Ahh. I love this place and I know the chef. I have lots or recommendations. Are you allergic to anything? Any preferences?"
"Allergic to crab. I'm more of a carnivore and I don't like eating veggies."
He almost spat out his drink. "Are you seven or something?" he said in a teasing tone and I rolled my eyes. "My parents never forced me to eat veggies. So sue me!" I replied and he burst out laughing.
"Alright. I recommend the baked scallops for starters. And then carnivore, hmm? How about a nice steak? And then for dessert, their chocolate cake is a must try."
I closed my menu. "All those sound good to me. I'll go with your suggestions."
"Great!" He signaled the waiter over and ordered. He also ordered a lot more food than what we discussed. I looked around the room. "Are we having company that I didn't know about?" I asked him.
He laughed, shaking his head. "I want you to try those other things too. And besides, I love eating a lot."
"Is this a stress thing?" I teased. He laughed harder and shook his head. "No. I just eat a lot because I love it. And I burn it all on the gym and do it again."
"Cool," I replied. I made a mental note to start going to the gym again so I could be like him. I want to enjoy food and I love eating too! But now that I'm growing older, my metabolism is not like before. If I eat a burger, it would all go to my hips.
"So what's your worst dating experience?" he asked me.
I pursed my lips as I thought hard. "Hmm. This is actually my first time getting stood up. But this would rank in my top three worse ones."
It was bad. I shaved, waxed, put on lotion, ransacked my closet for what to wear, did my makeup, blow dried my hair, stressed about going out, and so much more!
"What are the other two?"
"Hmm. One was when I was out with my ex and he shouted at me in a restaurant filled with people."
Prince cringed. "Yikes. And next?"
"I was out with this guy I met on Finder. We ate dinner and had nothing to talk about. I kept trying to initiate conversation but he just kept answering with a yes or no... or one word replies. He never tried to initiate the conversation. He kept staring off into the distance. At first, I thought maybe he didn't like me. So after dinner, we split the bill and I said I'd go home. He was appalled that I didn't want to take him to my place."
"What? That guy just wanted to get inside your pants. Right from the start. And he didn't even try to hide it."
"I know. His reaction after I didn't invite him to my place said it all. I really thought he just didn't like me and that hit my confidence hard. But then I figured out he was just a douche."
Prince laughed again. "So what about you? What are your worse dates?"
He sipped his drink before answering. "My mom loves to introduce me to her friends' daughters. She loves setting up blind dates for me. It doesn't really go well. There was this girl who cried after the date when I told her I really wasn't looking for someone and that I wanted to focus on work. She threw a tantrum in the street."
"Oh wow."
"And then there was this girl who began planning engagement arrangements with my mom after one date."
I cringed. "You're kidding."
He shook his head. "I'm serious. She thought my mom arranged us to get married, you know that old Chinese tradition and that the blind date was us just meeting before all arrangements were finalized."
"Oh wow," was the only reply I could manage.
"And then there was this girl who told me she loved me on the first date."
We both cringed. I recovered first and laughed. "She fell in love at first sight." He laughed too. Just then the waiter arrived with our appetizers. I tried the baked scallops first since I really love that. And just as he said, it tasted heavenly.
"Is there even such a thing?" I asked.
"What thing?"
"Love at first sight?"
He paused and looked at me for what felt like several minutes but would just be mere seconds. "Maybe," he answered. Then, he cleared his throat and started eating.
My heart stopped right then and there. Prince was a great guy. He was someone that could never be mine for I know his heart still belongs to someone else. But even though my brain comprehends that, part of my heart doesn't. It kept on beating this furious rhythm.
It made me think the flowers were handpicked for me even though I know they weren't. It made me think that Prince's compliments and the way he acted were those of a man who wanted me.
But they weren't.
For a while, we ate in silence. I didn't mind because it wasn't awkward and the food really was superb. When the plates were cleared and the main course arrived, Prince cleared his throat again and I looked at him.
"So have we gotten to a point where I can ask what you do? How's work and all that?"
"Yeah that's fine. It's small talk," I answered. "Well, I invest in a few small businesses. I have some of my own. I want to start more not for money but because I love doing it. It challenges me and I guess I feel this sense of fulfillment when I finish a project or when a company I believed and invested in grows big." There. I think that's a good enough reply. Pretty vague but not too vague.
"That's really great. You seem like a strong go-getter who loves her career. And I sense your passion about it too."
"Yeah. I really love it. What about you?" I asked.
He shrugged. "I'm more of a jack of all trades kind of guy. I do a lot of things but never really a main one. You know, jack of all trades, master of none," he said and gave a nervous laugh.
"Hmm. I don't think so. There's nothing wrong with being a jack of all trades. It shows diversity. And do you know that the saying you just told me is incomplete?"
"What do you mean?"
"Jack of all trades master of none is the popular version. The complete one is: Jack of all trades, master of none. But better than a master of one."
He whistled. "I never knew that."
"There were a lot of sayings that were incomplete, you know. Mostly they were cut to tell people to be average. To not stand out. To be content with what you have. To not explore. Those are the popular versions. But the complete one means a totally opposite thing."
"Give me another example," he said. His eyes were shining and he leaned forward as though genuinely interested. I told Kari this before and I think I bored the shit out of her.
"Curiosity killed the cat," I said.
"Yeah tells us not to be curious. What's the complete version?"
"Curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back."
"Damn. We've been lied to!" he said, laughing.
"I know, right?"
"This is very interesting. You're my lighthouse, princess. I'm a sailor whose ship sunk off the coast and I don't know which way to swim. But now I do."
I looked at him to see if he was joking. I didn't do anything except tell him there's nothing wrong with being a jack of all trades!
He shook his head as though reading my thoughts. "My parents have always wanted me to focus on the family's businesses. I've always wanted to go my own way and start my own things. And now I do. I have a lot going for me but people have criticized me for it."
I paused slicing my steak and put my utensils down so I could look him in the eyes.
"A lot of times, people don't understand things. In whatever we do, there's always going to be someone who won't approve. So to hell with them. Do whatever you want to do for yourself and for whoever matters to you. And for the rest? They're haters and you can just raise your middle finger and tell them to go fuck themselves."
He laughed, banging his fist on the table. I smiled at him. "Don't take that literally, though. I know you get what I mean."
He nodded. "I do." I went back to eating my delicious steak. "But there are some kinds of people who I really want to tell them to go fuck themselves. And maybe I should do that. The feeling of satisfaction I'll get won't give me any regrets at all."
I didn't want to play devil's advocate. Scratch that. I really did. So I smiled and said, "Go be yourself. Go do what you want to do. I support it."
He smiled and raised his glass for another toast.
"To jacks of all trades," he said.
I raised mine too. "To curious cats."
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Hope you liked this chapter! And please don't forget to vote and comment! So much feels writing this. :D
P.S. Of course I'm going to have to put another pic of Prince. HAHAHA
Wipe that drool, lady. :p