The First Date

I walk out of my apartment building, half expecting him to already be here waiting for me. I’m not disappointed to see the sidewalk empty though, as this now gives me more time to mentally prepare.

First dates are the worst. I hate them. Every time I think maybe this one will be different, but it never is.

Despite the string of low quality men I seem to keep running into, I still remain hopeful. I’ve always been a hopeless romantic and a strong believer that my soul mate is out there.

I try to block my mind from thinking maybe this time will be different, but maybe it will be. Instead of meeting Benjamin on an app like all the rest, he approached me sitting alone at a restaurant. We started chatting and he ended up sitting at my table for about twenty minutes.

The beginning was different so who knows, maybe the date will be also.

Well he’s not off to a good start, I think, looking down at the silver watch on my wrist. He said he’d be here by 8:00 and it’s now 8:07. How long do I wait before I turn around and go back upstairs?

It’s a chilly night in New York City and I’m thankful I thought to put a sweater over my dress. I smooth the black material down my body, picking off a piece of lint from my chest. It’s a simple dress, but something about it always makes me feel so confident and sexy. The way the material clings to my curves and how the deep v-neck shows off my chest in the classiest way possible gives me the energy to sit through another awkward dinner.

I check my watch again. It’s 8:09 and I decide to give him another six minutes.

“Brittany!” His familiar voice cuts through my thoughts and I look up to see my date half jogging towards me. “I’m so sorry I’m late, I got caught up at work.”

He puts his arms around me, catching me off guard with a hug. I normally am not a fan of physical affection, but something about this feels right.

“Well that’s okay,” I say smiling and hugging him back. “I was starting to think you forgot about me.”

His body feels so warm and comfortable wrapped around mine. When he pulls back, I notice he’s wearing a suit and wonder if he came straight from work or if he dressed up for me.

“Of course not! I’ve been looking forward to this all day,” he replies, then stretches his arm out in front of us to lead me down the block. “Shall we?”

I follow him as we slowly walk the few blocks from my apartment to the restaurant. The streets get crowded as we move closer to where all the excitement happens.

I’m very lucky to live in an area that’s just a few blocks from a ton of great restaurants, clubs, stores, and really everything else I could imagine. There’s a subway stop directly across the street from my front door and it’s only two stops to my office. I don't think I could've found a better area.

We walk side by side for a few minutes before he puts his arm around me and I lean into his shoulder. This doesn’t feel like a first date. This really does feel different, but I try to block that thought from my mind as to not jinx the date.

“The sushi at this restaurant is so good,” he says.

“Is there a such thing as bad sushi?” I ask with a giggle.

Our walk slows to a stop as we approach a street to cross and I look up at him as he begins to tell me a story about homemade sushi his friend once tried to make. Apparently they were celebrating his birthday with a dinner party but the sushi fell apart and came out so poorly, they ended up ordering pizza instead.

I watch as his eyes light up at the memories. He really is a beautiful man. His blue eyes are bright and playful, his brown hair is cut short but is long enough to see it starting to curl ever so slightly and I wonder what it would look like grown out a little more. His Adam's apple bobs slightly as he laughs along at the story. It's a quiet, but genuine laugh and I love the sound of it.

He looks so good standing next to me in his deep blue suit, white shirt and baby blue tie. This look is so much more put together than the tee shirt I saw him in when we first met. He still looked good that day, but I am finding that the professional look is very attractive to me.

We begin walking again and when we cross the street we pass more homes. Houses in the city are very small and squished together. If I ever buy one I would want to move out of Brooklyn and maybe out to the suburbs where it’s not so claustrophobic.

One side of my brain begins to wonder if that will be with Benjamin someday, then the other half of my brain shuts down the thoughts to remind myself this is just a first date and I shouldn’t get too attached yet.

I don't pay much attention to our surroundings as Benjamin tells me about his day at work. It sounds like he really did come straight from the office and I smile at the thought of him rushing through the city to get to me.

As he talks about the meeting that ran long, something yellow catches my eye. I look over to find one of the homes we are about to pass has a whole bush full of the most beautiful golden yellow flowers I've ever seen in my life.

"Wow, those are gorgeous," I say, cutting him off before I realize what I'm doing.

"Flowers!" Benjamin playfully slaps his forehead. "I should've brought you flowers!"

"It's okay," I laugh. "I didn't bring you flowers either."

"Wait right here." I stop walking as he removes his arm from my shoulder and hurries to the bush. I can still feel the warmth of his arm around me and part of me is sad it's no longer there, but I'm also really excited to see what's about to happen.

Benjamin quickly rips one of the flowers out of the bush, stem and all.

"This is for you, my lady," he says holding it out between us and smiling.

The flower is beautiful and so is his smile. I've already seen it a lot during our walk and he's seen mine quite a bit as well.

I'm trying to play it cool, but my mouth doesn't seem to get the message. The gesture is so sweet and makes me smile so big my cheeks begin to ache as I take it from him.

"This is so cute," I say beaming. "Thank you."

I study the flower in my hands, hoping he doesn't notice how red my cheeks are probably getting.

It really is gorgeous. The velvet feeling petals are a darker gold at the center, but lighten the further away it gets until it's as bright as the sun. I've never seen anything like this and am in absolute awe at its beauty.

"Do you know what kind of flower this is?" I ask genuinely curious. "I think this is my new favorite."

"I believe it's a marigold," Benjamin says as he puts his arm around me again.

I lean into him as we resume our walk. The beauty of the flower, the smell of his sweet cologne, and the butterflies in my stomach mix for a perfect moment and a feeling I haven't ever had on a first date.

I bring the flower to my nose and take a deep breath, enjoying every second we've spent together so far.

Maybe this time it will be different.