Blind Date

Blind Date

By: Sarah

I sat at the bar. Made of shiny wood, seemed a shame to let glasses condensate into rings on teak. A blind date. I never thought I would go on a blind date, online dating not being my style.

The man I spoke to online was smooth- his words, his bald head, the contrast of his tattoos on his skin in the photos- clearly carefully selected. I was wondering whether he would look like the photos. I know I looked slightly better in my photos than I do in real life because filters and editing just make looking awesome online so easy. I tried not to stray too far from reality, though, including one full body photo so he would know there is slightly more to love.

The bartender walked over, piercings adorning her pale skin, with dark hair carefully positioned to one side.

‘What can I get you, sweetheart?’ She asked loudly, over the din. Atmospheric, the music was classic rock, which I was certainly in tune with, singing along in my head cause I didn’t want to create a scene or be embarrassed if he showed up and I didn’t realize. The windows were fogged up, summer heat creating a humidity we couldn’t shake.

There were tables outside, made of doors and unfinished pallets of wood with stools creatively strewn. I figured I would wait outside.

“A glass of red?” I asked, surprised by the sweetness in my voice. I already felt shy.

She looked at me strangely. Wine wasn’t the usual fare here. Maybe my tone.

She grabbed a bottle, the only one behind the counter with pretty foil wings on the front bearing the type of wine and year- Merlot-California 2016. She filled a wine glass with a gold rim and slid the cup across the bar.

I grabbed the glass with a fancy grip- fingers entwined the stem, and turned around to go outside. As I turned, I almost collided with a patron- a youngish guy with a long beard- droplets of red wine spilling out over the edge of the glass onto his beard.

“Apologies!” I exclaimed, my nervousness very obvious from my tone.

He looked annoyed. “Yeah no problem, watch where you are going.”

I went outside to meet the man I spoke to online. I was sitting at a table, my back to the parking lot, wishing for a cigarette but I had recently tried to quit and didn’t think having one on a first date would be good form.

I tasted the wine, a bit dry with flavors of cherry and smoky tobacco hitting the back of my throat. Pretty great for a bar with seemingly only one selection for wine.

The night air was blue with twilight, stars starting to dot the pink sunsetted sky.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on the back of my chair and a man leaned over, right into my face.

‘Hi!’ He said, smiling with white teeth, his pale skin and tattoos and a slight goatee all contrasting to make an attractive visage.

“Well, hello,” I said, in a sultry tone I barely recognized.

“I’m going to get a drink- you already have one- you want something on the jukebox?”

His tone was infectious- and I felt a warm bubble of excitement in my belly. This was going to be fun.

“Anything is fine- the classic rock suits me, but whatever you want to surprise me with- let me see if I recognize?”

He nodded and strode away- his basketball sneakers making a casual atmosphere and relaxing me- I wasn’t sure if my jeans and pink polka dotted top was appropriate but I dressed myself up a little with heeled boots and earrings.

Suddenly, Black Sabbath blared on the speakers and I knew some of the patrons might not appreciate but I certainly did.

He came back out and walked past me, sitting down behind me, and leaning back in his chair to whisper in my ear.

“Why, hi there, pretty girl,” he said.

A shiver ran down my spine.

I blushed, which I didn’t even know was possible for me at this point in life.

I said, “Nice to meet you, handsome stranger,” in this voice I didn’t even recognize.

“Fairies wear boots, you know” he continued talking to me from the side, in my ear. Singing the lyrics in a low tone, I appreciated, the way he had of creating intimacy in an otherwise not-so-intimate environment.

I was blushing and giggling, and I thought this is exactly the way dates are supposed to go- doesn’t need to be fancy, doesn’t need to be diamonds and fur, but attention focused exclusively on the person you are going to see.

We talked throughout the night, the dialogue ranging from song lyrics to taste in music, to minor puns causing uproarious laughter.

Before he kissed me goodnight, just past the barrier leading to the cars- he whispered in a low tone, “Great job pretending we just met.”

Then he grabbed my lower back with his palm, spreading across the expanse of my back as he had such large hands, and kissed me, lips soft and tongue reaching far into the depths of my mouth which still, I imagined, tasted like the one glass of Merlot.