by Renee LaRuse
"Oh, keep it together, you baby." I grumbled.
"Go, go, go," she whispered as she ushered me back into the bathroom. There is where I saw what she was all choked up about. I didn't even look this nice when I went to my senior prom! I raised my hand and waved at myself to make sure that what was in the mirror was me. The reflection waved back. Elizabeth had put soft curls in my hair and they softened my face a lot more than my usual bob. My eye shadow was smoky and my lips were glistening with a pink tinted gloss. The red dress made my skin glow and complimented my figure too well, in my opinion. It still looked rather nice on me. My mom popped in out of nowhere. She was still in her scrubs from work and her long braids were up in a bun. "Sydney, honey! You look amazing! He is going to have to roll his tongue back into his mouth." I gave her a little frown. How did she know I was going on a date? Mothers. I turned back to the mirror and smiled.
CHAPTER FOUR
Maybe he should wear the green bowtie. He chuckled, thinking of some smart remark Sydney would say to him if he did. It would bring out his eyes though. He decided on the green long sleeved sweater that had a silver stencil of a laughing Dionysus, god of wine and social merriment, on the front. He pulled on some Gap jeans and put his stainless steel Fossil watch on his wrist. He stood inside his walk-in closet and wondered if he should wear a jacket or a blazer. He decided on a light gray jacket with thin tan pinstripes and then slipped some light brown Asics onto his feet. He ran some gel through his hair to give it that wet, lustrous Banderas effect. The whole time he was getting ready, combing his hair through, spritzing on some Calvin Klein cologne, he repeated the same phrase in his head: She's never been on a date before.
If she had never been on a date, was she a virgin? She doesn't act like an innocent, naive virginess. He didn't want her to fall for him simply because he was the first guy to pay her this much attention. He didn't want her to fall for him at all at this point. During the earlier phone conversation he had been tempted to just call the whole thing off. However, he didn't want to hurt her feelings. He decided to keep it cordial and formal. He'd show her how a guy should treat her on a date and sort of guide her towards a good life path. He'd send her on her way, like pushing a young bird out of the nest so that it may fly. "Great", he muttered as he left his apartment with mixed emotions.
When he parked his car in the parking lot, walked up to the front of the Thai Moon restaurant and saw Sydney sitting on a bench outside the doors, he quite suddenly forgot all about his premeditations.
A cool breeze was blowing and it had that fresh salty smell of the ocean. She stood up from the bench and smiled sweetly at him. She looked so beautiful. Her outfit immediately made him conscious of his breathing and blood circulation. Before he knew it he was holding both of her hands in his and smoothing his thumbs along them. Then he pulled her towards him a bit, leaned towards her and kissed her on the temple, inhaling the smell of a flowery shampoo and her perfume. They grinned at each other for a few seconds.
"Red looks amazing on you," he complimented.
Sydney smirked looking into his green eyes. "That's why I wore it."
Gavin shook his head. "You can't take a compliment, can you?"
Sydney shrugged. They began walking to the door of the restaurant and she whispered to him, "That ass looks amazing on you." Gavin looked at her shocked and his face grew hot. "You just can't take a compliment, can you?" she teased. Gavin couldn't believe he was actually blushing! He needed to get a hold of himself. Holding her hand and kissing her was not part of the plan. He took a deep breath and lectured himself on how he was supposed to be her counselor or whatever.
The hostess directed them to one of the candlelit tables and Gavin pulled out Sydney's chair for her. They were smiling across the table at each other when the waiter bounced over.
"Hey guys. What can I get for you this evening?" He was no more than five feet tall with spiked up dirty blonde hair and his lips seemed stuck in a model pout. His uniform of black vest over a white shirt and black pants all fit snuggly, especially his pants, and his hands were on his hips as he waited for them to order.
"Could we both have a glass of Pinot Blanc and start off with the calamari as an appetizer?" Gavin said.
"Oh darling, good choice! The calamari is absolutely delicious. And the sweet red pepper sauce compliments it beauuuutifully." He turns to Sydney, "Girlfriend, they are da bomb!" He giggles, twirls around, and bounces away from their table.
"Girlfriend?" Gavin repeats.
"Da bomb?" Sydney adds. They both laugh. "I love how just because I'm black I'm everyone's 'girlfriend'."
"I like how you thought I was part of his crowd." He smirked shaking his head from side to side.
"What do you mean?" Sydney questioned and picked up her glass of water to take a sip.
"Um, you thought I was gay. Remember?"
The water she was drinking was diverted directly into her trachea. Sydney sputtered, coughed and then took a few deep breaths.
"Are you alright?" said an amused and concerned Gavin.
"I? How? When? …You're not mad at me?"
"Well, I'm embarrassed and a little hurt, but definitely not mad at you."
Sydney's eyes were red from coughing. However, the tears in her eyes were because she was humiliated. How could she be so dumb and mean? What would he think of her now?
"I'm such a smartass sometimes and I say things not thinking that the person could really get their feelings hurt. I'm sorry I questioned your intelligence. I’m sorry if I offended you."
"It's fine. Trust me," Gavin assured her.
"Sir, Ma'am, your wine?" Their waiter poured them both a glass. "And your calamari. Enjoy!" He pranced away. Sydney looked at her wine glass and laughed.
"What?" Gavin said smiling.
"I can't drink this," she said between chuckles. "I'm underage, remember!"
Then Gavin started laughing, too. "Now, that I think of it, I can't drink it either. It'll interfere with my medication."
"What's the medication for?"
"Umm, depression."
"Aren't we all?" Sydney smiled. Gavin shrugged. "Well, Gavin, it's the thought that counts. Thank you for this lovely wine. It looks like it tastes very good." She laughed.
"I don't know what I was thinking," he said, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess I got carried away with having a nice dinner and I just forgot..." he trailed off, thinking of how he forgot a lot of things when in Sydney’s presence. He forgot she wasn’t his age, he forgot he wasn’t ready for another relationship, and he forgot he was mildly depressed. “You can drink your wine. I won't tell on you," he joked.
"No. I won't drink knowing that you can't."
"Honestly, don't hold back because of me."
"How 'bout we both just take a sip. A sip won't hurt you, right?" Sydney then took a rather long sip which was really more of a gulp. Gavin carefully sipped his. "Well," Sydney sighed, "it's not at all what it's cracked up to be, is it?"
"No," Gavin laughed. "Let's dig into the calamari."
"What exactly is it?"
"Battered and deep fried squid."
Sydney peered into the basket. "So those right there are tentacles?" She asked curiously. Gavin nodded. She took a fork and picked a piece of calamari, dipped it in the sauce and took a bite. "Mmmmm, they're good."
"I'm glad you're not grossed out," Gavin said and took a bite of his own calamari.
"I'm going into the medical field. I would hope it would take a lot more than this to gross me out."
"When did you know you wanted to work in the medical field?"
"When did I know?" Sydney chuckled. "I finally knew it was my true calling when my mom said to me 'You are going to be a doctor one day, Sydney, and things will be easier for you'. I suppose it's the smart thing to do."
"But what do you want to do?" he wondered aloud.
"I don't know," she answered and gave him a smile that she hoped would come off as 'I'm not worried about that
' even though she was.
When the waiter, who they were now calling the Thai Fairy, came back to the table they ordered fresh squeezed lemonade, Massaman Curry chicken and shrimp Pad Thai. Sydney tasted some of Gavin's Pad Thai which he playfully fed to her and she fed him a few forkfuls of the curry. It was all just too cute, really.
"I thought about wearing my green bowtie. How do you think I would have looked in that?" Gavin asked.
"I would have thought you looked absolutely dorky and mouthwateringly adorable. Of course I wouldn't have said that to your face. I probably would have only told you about the dorky part." She smiled, her brown eyes glistening with the light of the candle.
"Yeah, I figured. Why are you such a meanie?" He teased.
"I have to get them before they get me." She said seriously, waving her knife and then stabbing it in the air. She then laughed at her gesture.
"Maybe, I don't know, maybe that might be why this is your first date. I'm not trying to be hurtful or anything I just...I'm saying that if you weren't so defensive you’d have been on hundreds of dates with dozens of willing men." Gavin smiled trying to take the edge off of his statement.
"You have a point but that's not it. It’s something else, I think." Sydney said and then nodded in agreement with herself.
As she ate her last few bites of food Gavin's cool green eyes studied her face. He didn't want to end the date on that note. Why didn't he just shut up? A part of him tried to justify his statement by pointing out that he was being a good friend and 'mentor' to give her some advice on how she could be in a nice relationship with a good guy her own age. The other part was hoping she'd let down her guard just for him. He could tell his reserve was slipping when he actually thought to himself that the way Sydney chewed her food was cute. He paid for dinner and they decided to stroll down the boardwalk beside the restaurant.
CHAPTER FIVE
It was dark except for the strings of yellowed Christmas lights draped along the edge of the railings on the boardwalk.
When they got to the end of the boardwalk they peered into the dark water below. The moon was hiding behind thick clouds so the sky was a deep bluish black with only a few visible stars. The breeze had picked up speed since the beginning of the night and was threatening to blow out all of Sydney’s curls.
"Are you cold?" Gavin asked. "Here take my jacket," he said before she could answer.
His jacket was already off when she said, "No. I'm fine." Gavin was holding the jacket up and trying to put it around her shoulders when she stepped away. "Honestly, I'm fine. I didn't say no to be coy. I'm really not cold at all."
Gavin stood there for a second and looked her in the eyes. She looked away from him and back down to the dark water. He shrugged his jacket back on. "Even if you aren't cold, would it have hurt you to allow me to feel like I could make you comfortable? Or is a guy giving a girl his jacket too cliché for you?"
Still looking at the water she shook her head.
Gavin’s face softened. “Are you mad at me about what I said in the restaurant?”
“No. It’s something that needs to be discussed, just in case we start dating regularly.”
Gavin smiled. He was smiling because she was always trying to stay rational and mature. She was so afraid of getting hurt and she hadn’t even really been hurt before. He’d experienced being hurt and it had put him in a very dark place, so he understood her reasoning for being defensive. Besides running a shopping cart into her ankle, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t hurt her again. That is, if they were ever together. Sydney looked up and met his eyes.
“What’s so funny?” she said. He just shook his head and stopped himself from smiling. “You want to know what the ‘something else’ is that’s keeping me from a relationship with a guy my age?”
“Very much so.”
“I haven’t really been on a date with a guy before tonight because…I don’t want to waste my time. I don’t want to waste my time with a bunch of pleasantries and chivalry if a month down the road he shows his true colors and tries to get in my pants. Do you understand?” Gavin nodded. “I can’t find out a year later that I was blind for love or a fool in love. I just will not waste my time on that. I’d never forgive myself if I did.” Sydney looked down and played with the hem of her red dress.
“That’s the most sensible thing I’ve heard in a year and a half.”
Sydney laughed. “So then you understand why it’s not popular with guys my age.”
“When I was that age, heck, just two years ago I wasn’t that serious.”
“But you are now?”
“Yes.”
Then Sydney felt something wet on her shoulder. “Is that rain or do you have a lisp?” In answer to her question the sky unleashed its contents onto the earth. Gavin took his jacket off and Sydney accepted it to cover her head and shoulders, she accepted his hand and they ran through the downpour all the way down the boardwalk and to the awning in front of the restaurant. They were the only people who’d found themselves out in the rain. Sydney looked up at a dripping wet Gavin. They grinned at each other.
“How bad is it?” He asked, running the hand that wasn’t holding Sydney’s through the damp waves of his black hair. He frowned a bit at seeing that Sydney’s hair was perfectly dry. Sydney watched as little drops of water fell from the tips of his hair and ran down the side of his face.
“Is this how you look coming out of the shower?” She teased. Gavin smiled shyly. “I look just like this when I come out of the shower,” Sydney said. “You know I can’t be getting my hair wet every day.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, it takes a minimum of one hour to style my hair after it gets wet. Conditioning, blow drying, greasing, straightening, yadda yadda. And I can only get my hair relaxed twice a month, so I have to make it last.”
“I guess there’ll be no surprise water balloon fights, then.”
“Unfortunately.” Sydney pouted.
“This was a really good date,” Gavin said in a soft voice just above a whisper. “We should do this again real soon.”
“I agree.” Sydney beamed, “This was the best date I’ve ever had.”
“Not because it was your only one so far?”
Sydney paused and stroked her chin as if thinking. Then she shrugged her shoulders and laughed. The rain had slowed down to a very faint drizzle.
“Let me walk you to your car.” Still holding hands, Gavin and Sydney walked across the wet pavement of the parking lot, dodging large puddles until they were at her car. Sydney handed back his wet jacket.
“Thanks for the jacket, babe,” she said smiling.
“No problem, mama,” he said in a Johnny Bravo impression and made a kissy noise as he puckered his lips. Sydney laughed and gently squeezed at his hand. He squeezed back. This was the part where they were supposed to say goodbye. Neither was in a hurry to go.
“I think a hug is in order,” she said, “I think you deserve it. What do you think?”
“I think I better get some, since I paid for dinner and all,” he said. She playfully smacked him across his face. He rubbed at his cheek and pretended to be hurt. Then he tossed his wet jacket onto the hood of her car and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close, enjoying the warmth of their closeness.
Sydney took in a deep breath and sighed trying to calm her racing heart. “I thought I was supposed to give you the hug,” she murmured into his chest.
“Either way, I’m happy with the outcome,” he said.
***
“Then what happened?!” Elizabeth practically squealed. Poor Sara was being bounced on Elizabeth’s knee. I feared she would suffer brain damage.
“Then he said he’d call me and we went home to our perspective beds.”
“Awww.” Elizabeth laughed. She took Sara’s little hands and clapped them together and sang “Auntie’s got a boyfriend! Auntie’s got a boyfriend!” Sara laughed with her toothless smile. “Oh, Syd, I am so excited for you.
I just know you’re not going to regret this.”
“How can you possibly know that?”
“Okay, I take that back. I have a feeling that you won’t regret it.”
“Oh, okay, a feeling. Well in that case…” Sydney rolled her eyes and smiled.
* * *
Gavin jogged around the bend on the trail through the wooded area beside his apartment complex. The crickets were chirping in the trees, thoroughly enjoying the humidity on a Sunday morning. As he jogged he tried to think of a way he could change his work schedule for Monday and Tuesday night so that he could see Sydney earlier. His superiors had gotten used to his 24/7 availability and he didn’t want to disappoint them by suddenly backing out of things he’d already agreed to do. His bosses thought he was a motivated guy trying to make his way up the ladder. Really, he had been taking on extra projects to distract himself from other things. He made a mental note to lighten his schedule for next week.
He wondered whether he was planning too far ahead into the future. But he couldn’t deny his feelings for her; the quickening of his heart beat and the fluttering in his stomach every time he saw her, the fact that he couldn’t stop smiling when he was with her, the fact that he was smiling now as he jogged because he was thinking of her. As he came within half a mile from the end of the trail he sprint full speed until he made it to the joining of the trail to the sidewalk along the inner perimeter of the complex. As he walked to the other end of the community where his apartment was located he came to the sad conclusion that Wednesday would be the only evening he’d have free for the entire week. He walked up the steps to his apartment and went straight for the bathroom. He kicked off his sneakers and socks, peeled off his sweaty jogging t-shirt and shorts, and hopped into the shower.