Fate Night

Kelsey pulled the red dress over her head and threw it on the chair in her bedroom. What was she doing? What was she thinking? She shook her head in the direction of the dress, as if it was a person she was having a conversation with. She hated blind dates! Hated them! They never seemed to work out for her. She walked over to her closet and took a minute to look over her choices. After a few thoughtful minutes, she pulled out a black v neck sweater. You could never go wrong with black. Right? She put the sweater on and grabbed a pair of white jeans. She walked slowly to the full length mirror she had hanging in her bedroom. Her hand reached out to smooth the sweater out and pull it down a little more. This was a habit that Kelsey had started a long time ago. She was tall for a girl. Standing about 5’9 without heels, and it seemed to her that many of the clothes she had bought over the years, seemed to sit just about her waist and sometimes even showing a little sliver of skin. So, over the years she had just subconsciously started pulling her shirts and sweaters down. Almost as if the habit of doing that would make the shirt longer. She glanced in the mirror and sighed. This would have to be the outfit she wore tonight for this blind date. It was a good look on her thin frame. The black over white was classic, and she grabbed some diamond stud earrings and put them on along with her black heels. She fluffed up her long blond hair. It was down to her waist and she knew that she needed to trim it soon before it grew any longer. She smiled at herself in the mirror. Well, maybe not a smile, it looked more like a grimace. She really wasn't looking forward to this date and she hated herself for agreeing to it.

She laughed at the memory of her best friend, Ava, and how she had dropped by Tuesday unexpectedly. She loved Ava! They have been friends ever since middle school and that was over ten years ago. Kelsey knew right away that Ava had a hidden agenda the night she stopped over. She had been extra silly and walked right over to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses and sat down on her couch. After two bottles of wine and a night of laughing together, Ava had talked Kelsey into going on another blind date. Ava had assured her that this was a good one. Actually, she said,”this was the one!” Ava had been so happy that Kelsey agreed. Kelsey knew that Ava was just worried about her since her break up last year. It had been a terrible time, and her heart had been broken into shreds. So much so, that she had not wanted to ever date again. But, of course, she did. With the help of Ava, Kelsey had gone on about six blind dates. And all six had been terrible. Ava had scolded Kelsey and told her that she wasnt giving any of these guys a chance. That she was being too picky. And, you know what? Kelsey thought to herself. Maybe I am too picky. At 26 years old, she just didn't have the patience for immature men or playing games.

Kelsey took one last look at herself, and added some pink lipstick. Just in case this date was a winner! She grabbed her purse and again applauded her decision to meet Johnny, her blind date, at the restaurant, instead of letting him pick her up. She needed an out if the date wasn't going well, and she hated the thought of failed dates knowing where she lived.

Kelsey walked outside and the breeze felt amazing on her skin. It was late June and the weather was really heating up. She saw the taxi pull up. She hopped in and as she sat down, she gave the driver directions to the restaurant. During the twenty minutes it took to get to downtown Cleveland, Kelsey thought about the conversation she had with her blind date yesterday. He had seemed nice enough and suggested this Seafood restaurant on the lake. It was situated down in the west end of the flats, a popular entertainment area. After she paid the taxi and headed into the restaurant, she started getting second thoughts. Her stomach was feeling a little sick. She just wasn't ready to date again. Kelsey was a strong believer in fate. She had told Ava that if she had a soul mate in this world, then fate would intervene and she would find him. Ava had rolled her eyes and said that until that happened, she would keep trying to help fate along and get her some dates. What she knew about her blind date was minimal. Johnny was an old college football player and he worked as a trainer for college athletes. Kelsey tried not to stereotype him in her mind. Even though she was only 26, she was very mature for her age, and she wanted an instant connection with a guy. Love at first sight was what she hoped to happen. Oh well, here goes nothing she thought to herself as she walked into the restaurant. Closing her eyes for a brief second, she silently prayed that this would be the night she met her soul mate.

The minute she walked in the door, someone had grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into a big hug. She pulled back quickly and saw that she was staring into a pair of brown eyes. Brown eyes that were part of a handsome face and a big, muscular body. Kelsey caught her breath and forced a smile. She said to the smiling man “you must be Johnny?” Johnny put out his hand and said “yes, I am, and you must be my beautiful blind date, Kelsey!” Kelsey knew instantly that this was not her soul mate. Johnny was a handsome guy, and of course his body was tall and muscular, but she just knew. Before she could even finish that thought, Johnny put his arm around her and walked her over to their table. She could tell that he had been there for a while as she saw the half full beer mug on the table. He pulled out her chair and she thanked him. The waitress came over and set a glass of beer in front of her. Kelsey looked confused and told the waitress she did not order anything. Johnny smiled at her and said,”I could definitely tell you were a beer girl from your social media. So, I ordered you the pale ale that is one of my favorites.” For some reason this annoyed Kelsey, but she let it go, She informed him that she actually was a wine drinker, but this would be fine. Johnny seemed to smirk at that remark. He started talking about his job and how he works out all the time and he had paused there, almost to see if she would agree to that comment. Kelsey kept quiet. They ordered dinner and during the whole hour and a half, Johnny kept talking about himself and all his old girlfriends. He never even asked her one question about her job or her future plans. Kelsely knew this date was done before it really began. After Johnny paid the bill, he said, “so, I was thinking that we could go back to my place and maybe get to know each other a little better?” Kelsey stood up and turned to Johnny and thanked him and told him that she needed to head home because she had an early day tomorrow. Johnny tried to grab her hand, but she shrugged him away. She heard him say as she walked out the door. “Well this is the worst blind date I ever had, you let me buy you dinner and then you just go home? What a waste of a Saturday night!” Kelsey felt her anxiety kick up. She had tried to make the date work, but he was not her type at all. Why waste anymore precious time?

She pushed her hair back and stepped outside in the fresh air. She felt like crying. Maybe she would be single forever. She saw a taxi pull up and ran to it. At the same time she reached for the door, another hand also reached for the door. She turned around and saw a tall man in a suit jacket with his hand on the taxi door. He held it open for her and said, “ I am so sorry, do you mind if we share this taxi?” Kelsey just shook her head yes. She was really feeling a little depressed about the whole night and did not care if she had to share a taxi. The man sat down next to her and held out his hand, “Hi, my name is Samuel, you can call me Sam.” Kelsey introduced herself and for the first time looked at her taxi partner. Sam was a good looking man. Maybe early thirties or so, with big blue eyes and dark wavy hair. Sam asked her why she looked so sad. For some reason, Kelsey just started blurting out the story of her blind date and how it had not turned out so well. When she finished the story, Sam looked at her and started laughing. Laughing so hard that Kelsey was suddenly a little annoyed with him. Kelsey gave him a look that could kill, and asked him what was so funny about her bad date? Sam apologized, but he did it with a huge smile. He then went on to tell Kelsey that he had also had a blind date tonight and it also did not go well. He had used the excuse that he was called into work, which was why he was rushing to get into the taxi. Kelsey could not help herself, she started laughing so hard she was crying. Tears were literally falling down her cheek. They laughed together for a few more minutes then Sam told the driver to stop the taxi. Sam looked at Kelsey and took her hand,”look, I know we just met, but I am a strong believer in fate! And if this isn't fate, what is? What do you say we go into this wine bar and have a drink and compare our bad blind dates. Just one drink?” Kelsey smiled at Sam and said it all depends. “Depends on what?” Sam asked with a little confusion. Kelsey went on to tell Sam, that if this was really fate then he would be able to answer the question she had for him. Sam shrugged his shoulders and said wearily,”ask away!” Kelsey looked him right in the eyes and said, “if you were to go on a date with me and decided to order me a drink before I got there, what would it be?” Sam smiled his million dollar smile and answered. “First of all, I would never order you a drink without asking you first, so I would wait until you got there. But, if I had to pick, I would order you a nice, tall glass of Merlot. That is my favorite and you look like a Merlot girl. Kelsey's heart was beating out of her chest when she looked at Sam. She took Sam's hand and told him that she would love to go have a glass of Merlot with him. He paid the taxi and held the door for her and when he grabbed her hand to lead her into the bar, Kelsey just knew that fate had finally found her. What is meant to be will always find a way.