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Dan drummed his fingers on his knee. He had been waiting for half an hour for his late blind date. He sighed and checked his phone and debated leaving.
Dan hadn’t even wanted to do this, but Chris insisted that this girl was “perfect” for him. Dan was never really the type for blind dates, and especially not with girls that Chris set him up with. Dan wasn’t thrilled, to say the very least.
He tapped his foot and checked the time again, contemplating leaving.
‘I’ve already been here for 35 minutes, she’s a no-show.’ He thought, sighing in annoyance. This had been a huge waste of his time. He stood up to leave, but as he did so, the door of the restaurant swung open. In stepped a short girl with dyed grey hair who was wearing a black dress. Dan looked at her and knew instantly this was the girl that Chris had been talking about.
‘Typical,’ Dan thought, ‘setting me up with the first girl he sees wearing all black.’ Dan approached her, still slightly annoyed. The girl looked up at him and smiled.
“You must be Dan, right?” She asked, and he nodded.
“I’m Kat. Sorry I was late, I kind of forgot about this. Chris isn’t the best at communication.” She explained and pulled him into an awkward hug. Dan gave her a half smile.
“We should get a table,” Dan said, a hint of salt still in his tone. She seemed alright, I guess. Kat nodded and stood beside him, rambling about traffic. The two were led to a table near a window, sunlight pouring through it and all over the table. Dan sat down across from her.
“So, what are some of your hobbies?” She asked, casting him a smile. He smiled back at her, not wanting to be rude.
“Well, I spend a lot of time online.” Dan said with a chuckle. Kat laughed and started rambling about her own hobbies.
“Oh wow, me too, haha!” She said and continued to talk about her hobbies. Dan surveyed her as she talked. She definitely seemed like a nice girl, but Dan didn’t see…it. She just seemed slightly overbearing and boring, not Dan’s type. She did, however, seem like she’d be a great friend.
Dan’s thoughts were interrupted by someone walking up beside their table.
“Hi! I’ll be your waiter today!” The man chirped. Dan looked up at the waiter by their table. He looked tall from this angle, and he looked as though he’d never seen the sun. His black hair was a startling difference against his pale skin. Two bright blue eyes gazed back down at Dan. On his shirt was a nametag that read ‘Phil’.
Dan felt like he’d been punched in the chest.
‘Holy shit, the waiter is hot,’ he thought and mustered up a smile as their waiter, Phil, began to rattle off the specials. Dan swallowed hard and smiled wider as his eyes met Phil’s again.
“Can I start you two out with some drinks?” He asked cheerily. Dan smiled back at him and pushed some fringe out of his eyes.
“I’ll just have a water.” Dan said, not being able to take his eyes off of Phil. Phil smiled at him then turned his head to Kat.
“I’ll have water too.” Kat said and Phil nodded, scribbling onto his notepad.
“I’ll be right back with those! Oh, and my name is Phil.” He said and smiled at them again, his eyes lingering on Dan before turning and heading off to a different table. Dan’s eyes followed Phil as he walked off, enjoying the view.
He felt a small pang of guilt, though. Into her or not, he was ignoring Kat. He turned back to her, thinking of ways to keep the conversation friendly instead of flirty.
“So, what do you do for a living?” Dan asked, and Kat laughed.
“I don’t really have a living, but I work at Starbucks while I’m trying to find a permanent job.” She said, putting her elbows on the table, leaning forward. Dan leaned back slightly, trying to drop hints without being rude.
“Have you ever been on one of these things before?” Kat asked, twirling a strand of her hair idly. Clearly, she didn’t get the hint. Dan chuckled and crossed his arms and glanced out of the window.
“No, I don’t really do blind dates. I just kinda, go with the flow.” Dan said casually, prompting Kat to laugh and flip her hair over her shoulder. Dan glanced over his shoulder, seeing if he could spot Phil. He was taking an order at a far away table, but Dan could make out his black hair and stark white skin.
He turned his attention back to Kat, who was twirling her hair again.
“So uh,” Dan said, not sure exactly what to talk about. Kat laughed again and threw her hair over her shoulder. That seemed to be a habit of hers. Kat chatted idly about different things; her job (or lackthereof), how she met Chris and Pj, etc. Dan simply nodded and listened, laughing occasionally.
They were interrupted by Phil approaching them, two waters in hand and his notepad balanced in the crook of his elbow. Dan couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. Phil glanced at him and smiled. As he reached the table, his notepad fell on the ground. Dan saw this as his opportunity.
“Oh, I’ll get that for you!” He said and sprung up, bumping into Phil in the process. He wobbled and went to put a hand on the table to stabilize himself, losing grip on the cup in the process. The cup fell, spilling all over Dan and the front of Phil’s apron.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry! I’m so clumsy!” Phil apologized and scrambled in his apron pocket for napkins. Kat peeked her head over and picked up the glass from the floor. Dan didn’t care about his now-soaking black skinny jeans. All he could focus on was how cute Phil looked when he was flustered and scrambling. His cheeks burned, and he could already tell he was blushing.
“No, it’s ok, it was my fault.” Dan said and took the napkin that Phil handed him. Phil patted down Dan’s wet shirt, then stopped with a blush.
“I, uh, I’ll let you get the rest of that,” he said with a laugh. Dan laughed and started patting the front of his jeans dry.
“Wow, I feel so dumb. Is there anything I could get you?” Phil asked, standing up to face Dan. For the first time, Dan was getting to see him up close, and fuck, was he attractive. His lips were a soft pink, and his nose resembled a beak, which looked cute on him. His eyes somehow seemed even brighter up close; Dan wasn’t sure how that was possible. He was taller than Phil by about an inch or two. Dan grinned at him, feeling butterflies already forming in the pit of his stomach.
“How about your number?” Dan asked, then bit his lip and smiled when he saw Phil’s face light up and his cheeks turn pink.
“Ah, yes, that, that would be great. Let me,” he rambled while smiling, patting his apron pocket in search of a pen. He located one and pulled it out, then took Dan’s much larger hand in his own and scrawled his number onto his palm.
Dan’s heart skipped a beat and he let out a laugh.
‘I can’t believe that actually worked,’ he thought.
“I, erm, I’ll go get another water,” Phil said with a smile and picked up the water glass. He smiled wide at Dan, then walked back in the direction of the kitchen. Dan sat back down, face still red. Kat simply laughed and wiped up excess water from the table.
“Real smooth. He’s cute,” she joked, but she was smiling. Dan let out a laugh of relief. He may not have found the perfect girl for him, but he certainly found the right guy.