The Second First Date

I flip through Netflix for the billionth time. “Ugh,” I groan and rest my head back against the sofa.

“Give up already?” my roommate Chloe asks with a playful grin. She takes the remote and starts searching. “This looks good. It’s a romantic comedy series about two friends who fall in love after signing their daughters up for the same girl scout troop. It’s called Tagalong with Me.”

I shrug. This will be the eighth show we’ll probably binge through this week, and I’ve decided I no longer have the energy to care about what’s on.

Chloe starts the show. It seems interesting enough. It opens with a lovely panoramic view of a small port town. Somewhere in Maine, maybe?

“So, speaking of romance…” Chloe says, turning to face me.

Oh boy. I can tell by the way Chloe is drumming her fingers against her knee that she is about to drop a bomb on me.

“I may have set you up on a date tonight.”

BOOM! There it is. I stare at Chloe in disbelief. “Wait, are you for real?”

She nods her head and starts talking rapidly, which means I must be sporting my “Girl, you better explain yourself” mug.

“Okay, wait before you get mad. It’s just that you’ve been pretty down lately after everything that happened with Emma, and you’re my roommate, but you’re also my friend, and I just want good things for you.”

Chloe confesses that she set up a dating profile for me and a girl she thinks is promising agreed to meet up tonight.

“So anyway, you’re supposed to be meeting her at the Lunar Café at 6:00 pm,” Chloe finishes, now staring down at her taco socks.

Part of me really wants to be mad at Chloe for springing this on me and forcing me into a situation where I have to look decent after bumming around bra-less for almost a year, but I know she means well.

“Alright, I’ll go, I guess,” I say as I get up to do something about my stinky self.

***

I must admit that I am happy with the venue choice for this date. The Lunar Café is spaced themed (hence the name), and I’m feeling the atmosphere. Glow-in-the-dark stars cover the walls and ceiling, and the lights are dimmed, so the stars give off a faint glow. It’s giving the place an intimate, mystical vibe.

I take a seat on a large teal sofa in a corner. I grab my phone and scroll through Instagram while I wait. I’m laughing at a perm fail video when someone comes up to me.

“Hey, are you Sasha?”

I look up to see a pretty redhead who is wearing an outfit that is overly fancy for this café. “Arie?” I ask. She nods and takes a seat across from me.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I say with a smile before remembering there’s a mask covering half of my face.

“Yeah, nice to meet you too,” Arie says, barely glancing at me. She seems overly fixated by the stars. Maybe she has a thing for stars.

“So umm,” I realize I probably should have asked Chloe more about Arie before coming on this date. “Would you like a menu? I can go grab you one. I think I’m gonna get the Milky Way latte with a Not Your Mother’s Venus sandwich.

“Actually,” Arie says, standing and brushing off her dress, “Can we go somewhere else? This place seems a little tacky to me. How about we head over to Vincenzo’s instead?”

Oh, I know homegirl did not just diss this awesome café and then ask to go to like the most expensive restaurant in the area. Nope.

“You know what? I think I’m just gonna head home.” I make a b-line for the door without turning back.

Well, that was a bust. I think to myself as I get into my car. Oh well, I tried. That Arie chick is definitely not my type, but it was nice of Chloe to arrange a date for me. She must’ve been the one to suggest the Lunar Café. She has good taste.

I lean back and smile, suddenly flooded with images of all of the sweet things Chloe has done for me over the past year. How she bought me mint chocolate chip ice cream and gummy worms the night, Emma broke up with me and let me cry all over her favorite shirt. How she secretly watered my plant babies for a month because a) she knew if I saw her doing it, I would feel like a horrible plant mom and b) because she knew that my fickle babies need lots of love to flourish, and I wasn’t in a position to deal with any more loss. Chloe’s funny ass is also constantly making me laugh. She could make a joke out of the simplest things. Granted, most of her jokes are corny, but they make me laugh just the same.

Next thing I know, I’m speeding down the street heading for the grocery store. I pick up some things to make pasta and then head across the street to Wondrous Wines. I’ve never been in this store before, and I get overwhelmed within two minutes.

A store associate must see my deer in the headlights expression because he stops stocking the display he’s working on and comes over.

“Can I help you find anything?”

“Hi Daniel,” I say, reading the tag on his shirt. “I just want a nice wine for my dinner tonight. Nothing too fancy, but not super cheap either.”

“Well, what are you having for dinner?”

“Pasta.”

Daniel smiles and pulls a wine off the display he was working on. “Well, you’re in luck, this is a fruity dry wine that should pair perfectly with your dinner, and it’s 30% off.”

I look at the bottle. It has a bright blue label with a bird that looks like a phoenix on it. Under the phoenix is the word Merlot in gold lettering.

I like the bottle, and I’m pressed for time, so I thank Daniel and make my way over to the checkout.

I glance at my phone as I get home. It’s a little after 8, so I have about an hour to get everything ready. I boil some water for the pasta and chop up some veggies for the sauce. This isn’t gonna be a MICHELIN Star masterpiece, but hopefully, it will be okay.

I’m pouring the merlot into two glasses when Chloe walks in.

“Hey! How was – hold on, what’s all this?”

“Hey,” I say, nearly spilling wine in the process. Why am I so nervous all of a sudden? “So um, the date didn’t really happen.”

Chloe’s face falls. “Oh, Sasha, I’m sorry. She seemed pretty cool when I looked at her profile and –”

“No, no, it’s fine,” I say reassuringly. “So listen, you’ve been like the freakin best over the past year, and I don’t think I ever really thanked you.”

“Aw, there’s no need to thank me,” Chloe says, a slight blush blooming on her face. “At least not like this,” she motions to the dining room table.

“Well, I want to,” I say, smiling. “Actually…” (Now I’m the one blushing), “I thought maybe this could be a date if you’re interested.”

Chloe seems surprised for a second, but then she grins. “Sure. This can be a date.”

“Cool,” I say casually in an attempt to downplay my excitement.

“Should I go change into something fancy?” Chloe askes playfully.

“Don’t you dare,” I shoot back.

Later on the couch, our hands intertwine, and my head rests against Chloe’s shoulder. We watch more Tagalong with Me, laughing through every episode (we both get so giggly once we’ve had wine). I’m pretty impressed with myself for having two first dates in one night, especially after flying solo for so long, and I’m excited that this second first date feels like the start of something wonderful.