BN Prose: Forever First Date by Mya Williams

Cam felt a tap on her hand, when she looked up, this handsome face was staring at her. He had the longest legs she had ever seen, with piercing blue eyes like the ocean and silky smooth hair that had been slicked back with a sweet smelling product. He was immaculately dress in a fitted grey suit, black lace up shoes and a long over coat. He said “hi my name is Kerry, sorry to bother you but I love your shoes”. Turns out Kerry was half Irish and half Italian. According to him, in the three years since he’d come to live in these parts, he was yet to find somewhere he could get very nice shoes for men; he always had to have his brother send him shoes from Italy. Knowing the solid craftsmanship and expertise that went into making Italian shoes, Cam couldn’t argue much but immediately disagreed that there weren’t good places around to get nice shoes for men.

After thanking him for his compliments (which included her coat as well), Cam went on to reel off a list of shops Kerry could check for nice men shoes. They went on to banter about other things all the way to his stop. Just before reaching his stop he said to her “I would love to see you again, can I please have your number?” Cam said yes, though not really believing he would call. When the train stopped at Kerry’s station he turned back to wink at Cam just before he stepped off.

Thirty minutes later, as Cam put her key in the lock to open her flat door, her phone went off. She scrambled in her big bag to locate it, cursing out the caller for calling at such an awkward moment; couldn’t the caller just wait two more seconds till she actually made it into the flat and put her bag on the table? After finally locating her phone in her bag, having literally buried her head in it, she breathed a breathless “hello?” into her phone. The voice on the other end immediately apologised “oh I’m sorry, is this a bad time?” Who’s this? Cam replied, not masking her irritation very well. “It’sKerry, we just met on the train”. Kerry was calling barely 30 minutes after they’d met to thank her for the shoe tips and to ask her out to drinks. Cam of course said yes.

Kerry said to meet at Jewel Bar at 7pm the next day – Friday night. As Cam walked in, Kerry was already there waiting; he looked even more handsome than she remembered. He’d chosen a very cozy booth in the corner of the bar. The bar was dimly lit by sparkling chandeliers hanging from the ceiling; wonderfully soft purple sofas lined the walls with delicate white hand painted antique side tables. Cam was mesmerized by the beauty of it all. Kerry asked if he could order for Cam and she said yes, He beckoned to the waiter and ordered a cosmopolitan for Cam and a scotch for himself, setting up a tab at the bar with the waiter. They talked about their likes and hobbies as they sipped their drinks. Kerry loved to play the Guitar and happened to manage one of Cam’s favourite artistes. By their second round of drinks, they were both relaxed and laughing playfully and Cam couldn’t imagine the night getting any better.

Two hours later, Kerry glanced at his watch and Cam’s heart sank; the lovely night was about to end. Kerry instead turned to face Cam and said, “I was hoping you were hungry because I know a lovely little Latin American restaurant down by the river and I would love to take you there”. They walked hand in hand along the river; giggling and laughing. The restaurant was lovely just as Kerry had said and they enjoyed a delicious meal together. Half way through the meal, when Cam suddenly encountered an errant mushroom (which she was allergic to) in her curry, Kerry asked that she order something else. Cam resisted, saying she’d eaten enough anyway and didn’t want to rake up the bill, Kerry then insisted that she either order something else or they swap meals. To Cam’s utter bewilderment, Kerry handed her his tuna and rice and proceeded to eat the rest of her messy curry and rice. Cam blushed at the effortless ease of his actions on just the very first date. It felt like they’d known each other for forever. She was having the time of her life.

After their meal, Kerry asked Cam to after dinner drinks at a quaint bar just up the road from the restaurant, Cam was in romantic bliss. As they sat sipping their drinks, whispering in each other’s ears over the music, Kerry leaned in for a kiss and Cam met him halfway. It was a soft, sensual and affectionate kiss. By now it was gone past midnight. As Kerry walked Cam to the taxi rank, they held hands in a blissful comfortable silence. When they got to a set of traffic lights, the lights were red, as they waited, Kerry cupped Cam’s face and kissed her again and they stood frozen in time, locked in a passionate embrace. Cam heard other pedestrians cross and realised the lights had turned green but neither of them moved. When they finally pulled apart, the lights were red again and they both laughed. Kerry opened the taxi door for Cam, paid her fare and gave her a kiss goodbye. She sunk into the back seat of the taxi reveling in the night she had just had.

Minutes later, as Cam made her way up the stairs to her flat, just as she’d put the key in the lock, her phone went off. Not to waste time on this occasion, she upturned her bag spilling all its contents on the lobby floor, grabbed her phone and without glancing at the screen clicked answer and breathed a flirty and sexy “hello” into the phone; a screechy sing song “Cammeerrroonnn” came back at her. It was her mother.

Photo Credit: Dreamstime | Michael Zhang