Dreamy first Date

It’s a warm summer night, its three months into the pandemic, everyone is in quarantine, clubs are closed; restaurants are closed for dining in, and there is no human contact outside of your home. I am a single woman yearning for that male interaction, I decide I will take myself on a date, on my balcony of course. I take a refreshing bath; pull my hair up into a sexy messy bun, put on my hot pink mini silky sun dress, my sexiest lip stick, the sweetest smelling perfume, and my six-inch high heels.

I go onto the balcony and light my best smelling candles, create the most romantic table with pork chops sautéed in rosemary and thyme seasoning with a side of sautéed zucchini, I open my Apple Music App and select Herb Alpert, “Making Love in the Rain” to set the romantic ambiance I so desperately need. I pour myself a glass of Marilyn Merlot; I take a bite of my sautéed pork chops, and close my eyes as I enjoy the flavors. I kick off my heels as I sink into my cozy chaise lounge.

I reach over to grab my glass of Marilyn Merlot; I take a slight sip, as I am dreamily whisked away from quarantine life in Atlanta Georgia to running freely in Napa Valley California vineyard. As I am slowly running through the Napa Valley vineyard, my palette is enjoying every flavor of my sip of Marilyn Merlot, I taste blueberries, vanilla, the wine goes down so smoothly, offering a fruit-like jam flavor, with subtle hints of new oak and sweet spice.

I drift further into the Napa Valley vineyard, I hear a soft, but strong, sexy voice say, “Good evening my love.” I hear this soft, but strong, sexy voice again, “Good evening my love.” I open my eyes; on the neighboring balcony is a handsome, tall, single, Blair Underwood look-alike, chills run up my back, he is so handsome; his shirt is off showing his twelve pack each indention glistening.

With dreamy eyes, I softly reply, “Good evening.” He replies, “I just seared my lamb chops and decided to have dinner on the balcony. Do you mind if I join you and your romantic ambiance?”

In a silky, embracing voice, I say, “You may”. He gives me a smile that sends chills up my spine and say, “Consider it a date.” I’m thinking is this real, this Marilyn Merlot is so dreamy, I must be dreaming. He returns to the balcony, in one hand he is carrying a plate of lamb chops, I could smell the savory flavors; in the other hand he has a wine glass and a bottle of Chateau Saint-Sulpice Bordeaux. I am in awe of his wine choice, as I lightly sip my Marilyn Merlot; he slowly pours his Chateau Saint-Sulpice Bordeaux. I can smell the black cherry, spice, and plum notes in the warm summer air.

As I lift my wine glass he glances over, his eyes are breathtaking, he softly says, “May I propose a toast?” With a flirtatious smile, I say, “I would love that.” We raise our wine glasses of Marilyn Merlot and Chateau Saint-Sulpice Bordeaux, he toast, “To balcony neighbors, meeting on a warm summer quarantine night, enjoying a Merlot infused romantic social distancing first date with many more to come.” We air-touch wine glasses as we both say, “Salut”.

We enjoy our meals and learn one another, romantically sipping our wine, until we both swallow the last drop in the bottles. We watch as the sun begins to rise and decide we will end our Merlot infused first date until next time. We say our flirtatious, romantic goodbyes, as we dreamily walk from the balcony into our condos. I fall softly onto my bed still feeling like I’m dreaming. I ask myself, “Did I just have a romantic first date with a Blair Underwood look alike?” As I drift off to sleep, whispering, “Marilyn Merlot is dreamy.”