Lilly
Lilly tapped the table with a single manicured nail. She stopped herself, picking up her phone for the fifth time in as many minutes. She hated it when people tapped surfaces so she couldn’t very well hypocritically be out here tap tap tapping. She checked the time. Half an hour late and he hadn’t said a single word. She was done waiting. Heck, she was embarrassed she’d waited this long.
She signalled one of the servers, putting her hand down when the server nodded. She was out, and she was blocking him on every existing platform. Okay, all she had was his number and they’d had a single video call, so it wasn’t many platforms to block him on, still she’d relish the feeling of blocking his number.
“Can I please have the bill?” She asked the server.
“Of course, I’ll be right back.” She said with a smile that while kind failed to hide how exhausted she was.
She would tip even though she was morally against the practice of forced tipping. Fuck, employers for underpaying service workers and forcing them to rely on precarious tips. Okay, she was only getting angrier. Good, she needed to maintain that energy. She pulled up his number in her contacts and with a flourish, selected block contact. Good, she thought, pushing against the massive wave of disappointment.
“Hey, I am so sorry.”
She looked up to find him flustered.
“I am so sorry,” Oscar said, sliding into the seat opposite her.
She fought the ingrained impulse to set him at ease and say it was okay. She stayed silent instead, letting her face communicate her displeasure.
“I was already on my way when I noticed my phone was dead. I thought I’d get here in time, but there was a huge truck accident on the highway, and I just was stuck. I am so sorry. I wouldn’t just leave you hanging without a word.” He breathed out. “I am so sorry.”
Against her better judgement, she softened. There was no way to anticipate such a thing. Still, the sceptic in her refused to let it go at that. She was just about to respond when the server returned.
“Here, you are.” The server said, slipping her the bill in an imitation leather pouch. She turned to Oscar. “Can I get you anything?”
“In about five minutes.”
“Okay. I’ll be back.”
Oscar reached for the bill, placing his hand on it but not pulling it to him. “Please let me settle it?”
She was already shaking her head before she even knew had a reason for protesting.
“Come on, please. Consider it restitution.”
“Okay.”
He pulled the leather fold. “Just coffee?” He asked. “I owe you so much more than just coffee. Any way I convince you to stay and have dinner with me?”
“Listen, I’m kinda beat.” She said, intending to leave. “Maybe next time.”
“Yeah, I’m a little afraid and reasonably certain that if you walk out of here like this, I’ll never see you again.” He said, plugging his phone to the charging port near their table.
She laughed at that and started getting up.
“Please don’t go,” he whispered, looking up at her.
“I’m just going to the bathroom,” she said with amusement.
“Oh, okay.” He replied, laughing at himself.
She walked to the bathroom with a small laugh.
Oscar
Oscar sighed, cussing himself in every language he knew. “Ah, fuck.”
He’d been looking forward to their date all week, heck he’d been looking forward to it from their first conversation about two weeks ago. They’d both been added to a WhatsApp group for their mutual friend’s surprise birthday. They’d supported each other’s ideas, and he’d taken the leap and messaged her outside the group. They’d started chatting and when he’d asked her out on a date, she’d said yes. All week, it was all he’d been looking forward to, and now he’d blown it.
She was even prettier in person. He’d asked her to switch to video during one of their calls, saying they needed to know what the other looked like for the purposes of recognition on the date and damn, that little camera did her no justice. She had a round, friendly face, sensuous lips and piercing eyes that belonged to someone that smart. And he’d blown it. Fuck. He looked in the direction she’d disappeared in and that’s when it hit him. She’d left nothing at the table. She did not have a bag and her cell phone was gone, which meant she could just walk out and be gone.
The server came back. He handed her the leather pouch with cash sufficient for the bill and a tip.
He said a quick thanks and turned to his trilling phone. Lilly was calling him. What on earth?
“Hey?” he said.
“Can you please come to the ladies?” She asked.
“What’s wrong?” He said already on his feet, unplugging his phone and pocketing his charger.
“Nothing big. Just something small.”
“Okay, I’m coming.” He said. “I was pretty scared you were just going to ditch.” He said, keeping her on the line.
“I was,” she said, then hung up.
Oscar knocked on the door to the ladies’ washroom, then pushed the door open. “Lilly?” he whispered.
“I’m in the last stall,” she called out. He heard the door unlatch.
He took tentative steps towards her, feeling out of place.
“Hey,” he said when he was at the door.
Her back to him, she said, “I need your shirt.”
“What?” He asked, all the words leaving his brain. The wall she was facing was an almost full-length mirror and there she was, hands clasped around her ample boobs.
“I need your shirt,” she clipped out. “Small fashion emergency.”
There was nothing small about any of that.
He swallowed, nodding his head. He heard the bathroom door open and instinctively slid into the stall with her.
“What are you doing?” She angrily whispered, turning to him.
“Someone walked in, didn’t um… didn’t want to freak them out.” His throat had never been drier.
“Your shirt,” she said again.
“Oh sorry,” he said, unbuttoning his shirt and handing it to her. He stood there in a well-worn vest, trying to look anywhere but at her. Yet all he saw was her, all soft and lush and smelling delicious in a bathroom, no less.
“That will do,” she said, buttoning it halfway up. Finally, she turned to face him. “Let’s go.” She said, sounding impatient.
“What if someone sees me?” he asked.
“Someone will see you, but as long as you’re with me, you’re good or are you worried about the vest? It’s fine. No one cares about male nipples..”
She moved to open the door when he didn’t make a move to open it..
He reached out to touch her hand near him, then changed his mind, his hand awkwardly hanging near hers. He pulled it back quickly. “I’m just… I’m going to need a minute.”
Her eyes dropped to his zipper. She sighed.
“You do not know how hot you are, alright?” he said defensively. “Maybe you’re inured because you see that every day. I don’t. Plus, you smell so good. So, you know, I am taking it a little hard.”
He closed his eyes, groaning deeply when he heard himself. “I didn’t mean to do that.”
She laughed, and he added her hearty laugh to the list of wonderful things about her.
“Okay. Did you pay?” She asked.
“What?” He asked, not following.
“The bill. Did you pay? I don’t want to have to go back in there.” She said, gesturing at her chest and the fact that his shirt didn’t do much to hide the fact that she no longer had any kind of bra or support going on beside the hardworking buttons on the bottom half of his flannel shirt. It was deliciously scandalous.
“Yeah, I paid. Can I ask what happened?” He asked, trying to keep his eyes on her eyes.
“I was getting out of the bathroom, then the corner snagged on the handle and my halter decided to just fold like a little bitch.”
He laughed. “I love that little halter.”
“Of course you do,” she said dryly.
That sobered him quickly. “I’m not making fun of you. I’m just saying you look good. That’s it. I’m good to go.”
He opened the door and peeked out. The coast was clear, thank God. Halfway to the door, the main door pushed open and two women stood frozen. Lilly grabbed his hand and pulled him onwards. The two women shook their heads, jumping to reasonable conclusions. He let her pull him out of the restaurant as she hugged his arm close.
“Can you drop me off?” She asked, uncertainty in her voice. She dropped his hand but stood at an angle facing him, hiding.
“Of course.” He rushed to assure her. “I’m parked there,” he said, pointing ahead. They speed walked to the car, where he opened the passenger door for her before slipping into the driver’s seat.
Lilly
They sat in traffic, only moving what felt like inches every few minutes. He’d taken one of the back roads hoping to avoid the traffic, but as it turned out, he wasn’t the only one with that bright idea. So there they sat, with her stealing glances at him. His vest was worn enough that she could see his nipples and his broad chest. She’d since lost the fight to stop lusting after his muscular arms. He wasn’t jacked by any definition of the word, but there was something so sexy about his arms.
He was explaining some TikTok on the size of the universe and the certainty of other life forms. She was struggling to keep up, lust was not compatible with oral learning. They were currently sharing some of the most interesting things they’d learned that week from social media. On his part, he’d listened intently as she’d described a video where someone talked about how AI was destroying humanity literally and figuratively.
“So, you really think aliens exist?” She asked when he turned to her.
“Definitely. No way, it’s just us.”
“Is that a scary thought?”
“Ummm… I don’t think so. I used to think it was. Now, I just think we’re surrounded by colonizers as in our lives are so thoroughly shaped by colonization and its legacy and so we think all unknown people are like that. But maybe they’re not. Maybe they’re just good people, minding their business and their land. What about you? Do you think it’s scary?”
“I don’t think there’s anything scarier than a man if you’re a woman, and I date them so….”
“Damn,” he said.
“Yeah.”
They spent the rest of the ride singing along to old and new songs that she played from her phone through his aux cable, making fun of each other’s taste in music. All too soon, they were in her neighbourhood. She gave him directions to her house, the mood in the car taking a dive even as the upbeat music kept pouring out the radio.
He switched the car off, turning to face her. He bit his lip and she couldn’t help smiling. He really was a beautiful man.
“I just want to say I’m sorry again for earlier. I swear I wanted to be there on time. Will you please go out with me again? Let me prove it to you. Let me show you a good time.”
She smiled. “You already showed me a good time. We’re good.”
He raised his eyebrows expectantly, and she realized he was waiting for a response on the date. “Oh, yes. We totally can. I’m game.”
He exhaled dramatically. “Thank God.”
She leaned close to him, eyes darting between his lips and eyes. “Can I kiss you?” She whispered.
“Yes, please.” He said.
He met her halfway, closing the distance between them. She smiled into the kiss, letting herself run her hands over his bearded face. He moaned deeply before cupping the back of her neck, deepening the kiss. It was her turn to moan. She ran her hand down his chest, cussing at the weird angles the car forced on them.
She pulled back, taking a deep breath. He ran his thumb over his lower lip like he was trying to hold on to hold on to their kiss and she fought the impulse to climb him right there.
She opened the door, and he reached out a hand to stop her.
“Can I walk you up?” He asked.
She started to shake her head.
“Not like that, just walk you to your door.”
“Okay,” she said.
For the first time in her life, she cussed the fact that she lived on the first floor. It was all over so fast. She stopped at her door, turning to face him.
“Thanks.”
He nodded. “Good night, Lilly.”
“Good night, Oscar.”
He started to walk off, then walked back to her as she unlocked the door. “Can I kiss you?” He asked.
She nodded, a smile on her lips. He leaned in, locking their lips in what was a declaration of attraction and a promise of more to come. This time when he pulled away, he ran his thumb delicately over her lower lip, eyes soft with desire.
“Go in,” he finally said.
She slipped in, closed the door behind her and leaned on it like a love-struck teenager in a coming-of-age film.
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