When I moved to the big city to pursue my dreams of working in the entertainment industry, I had no idea that one day, I would be on a date with one of the biggest stars. I always thought that movie stars were snobbish and only dated their fellow actresses. So, when I started working in the industry, I mostly kept to myself and only interacted with other regular people. Occasionally, I would bump into a famous actor or actress and exchange a few pleasantries but nothing more ever happened. After working for a year, I became more comfortable which made me realize that famous people were just like the rest of us. I started being more comfortable around them and soon enough, I got the attention of a popular actor.
Mark was the typical actor – handsome, rich and a bit arrogant. He used to act like he was God’s gift to earth but who could blame him? He had everything going on for him and everyone loved him. I remember the first time I met him, I was starstruck and I normally don’t get carried away by celebrities but he was on his own level. We crossed paths a few times until finally, one of my coworkers decided to introduce us.
“Jess, come here. I want you to meet my friend.” Wendy yelled as I walked by her and Mark.
“Hi, Jess. What’s up?” I said.
“Have you met Mark?”
“Yes, we’ve met a few times.”
“We have?”
“Yes, I styled you twice.”
“Oh. Well, I think you’re very pretty. Can I take you on a date?”
Hearing those words was like a dream come true. However, I was surprised when he asked me out on a date. As I mentioned, Mark had an attitude and I didn’t think he was the type to ask anyone out, much less a regular girl. My excitement soon turned to worry. I wondered whether he was playing a trick on me and would stand me up then tell everyone how I thought he actually wanted to go on a date with me and I would be the laughing stock of the industry. As my mind raced, my coworker elbowed me gently to bring me back to reality.
“So, what will it be?” She asked excitedly.
“Of course. I’d love to.” I answered with a smile.
“Great. I’ll text you the details.” Mark said then walked away while looking at his phone.
Although I had dated a few actors, I had never dated anyone as famous as Mark. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know where we were going which made it hard to decide on what to wear. Additionally, I liked checking the menu of the restaurant before going so I knew what to order. Being completely in the dark only made me more nervous.
Finally, he texted me the details of our date the day before we were supposed to meet.
“Let’s meet at Olive Tree Restaurant at 8 pm.” He wrote.
I had been to the restaurant and I knew it wasn’t too high-end so I didn’t have to buy a new dress which was a huge relief. I chose a Fashion Nova dress which I thought Mark would like and went to bed, excited for the day the following day.
“Are you ready for the date?” My coworker asked as I was doing my makeup.
“Yeah, but I’m still a bit nervous.”
“Don’t be. Mark really likes you.”
“Well, that’s good to know.”
“What are you wearing?”
“A pink mini dress.”
“Nice. I know he’ll like it. Good luck on the date.”
“Thanks,” I said then hung up.
By the time I finished getting ready, I only had an hour to get to the restaurant so I called an Uber and headed there. I arrived a few minutes early so I sat at the bar to wait for Mark. Even without turning around, I knew when he arrived. The bartender’s demeanour changed. He looked like he had seen a supernatural being. Finally, I turned around and got up from my seat to hug him. I noticed that he gave me a strange look but I ignored it.
“Should we go to our table?” I asked.
As we walked through the restaurant, everyone turned to look at us. Even when we sat down, people were still staring at us. It was evident that it wasn’t going to be a regular date but I tried my best to have a normal conversation with Mark despite his famous status.
“Were you born here?” I asked.
“No, I came here to pursue my career.”
Nice. How long have you lived here?”
“Almost 10 years.”
“That’s such a long time. I’ve only been here for a year and I already feel drained.”
He didn’t respond and we sat silently for some time. Then, he gave me the same look he did earlier.
“Where did you buy that dress?” He asked.
“Why? So you like it?”
“It looks like Fashion Nova. I don’t like girls who wear Fashion Nova. It’s a cheap brand.”
I was too embarrassed to say anything, especially since I worked with the brand. I changed the subject which only made things worse.
“Do you have siblings?” I asked.
“Yeah, I have two brothers and a sister. What about you?”
“No, I’m an only child but I have half siblings from my dad’s side.”
“Okay. Are you close with them?”
“No, I’m not even close with my dad.”
“Why?”
“It’s a long story,” I said and tried to change the topic yet again.
“You should find a way to reconcile with your dad.”
His comment took me by surprise. I hadn’t told him anything about my dad or what caused problems between us yet Mark was coming to his defence.
“You know, women don’t tell the whole story about what happened between them and the father of their children.” He continued.
Since he was older than me, he acted like he knew better than me and had a slightly condescending tone when he spoke. I just sat quietly, drank my cocktail and tried to keep my cool.
Somehow, things kept getting worse. He ranted for a while before I managed to change the topic. I thought that asking him about famous people would lighten the mood. We started talking about Rihanna and he went on and on about how he loved her.
“I think she’s very beautiful and classy. I’d do anything for her.” He said.
It wasn’t a big deal but the way he insisted that she was his dream girl rubbed me off the wrong way considering that we were on a date. No woman wants to hear that you have a crush on another woman, especially on the first date, even if that other woman is Rihanna.
Finally, the date came to an end and I nearly ran to my Uber. I kept replaying the events of that night in disbelief as I headed home. I wondered how someone could act like that. Maybe he thought that he could get away with it because he was famous. However, I couldn’t tolerate such behaviour. I never saw him again after that disastrous date.
This story is partly based on a story we saw by @Jessleewong.
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