Liars In Love

After the disasters that all of her other past dates had been. Eve now considered herself an expert when it came to spotting what would no doubt end up being a night filled with mayhem. 

But even she had to admit the date with Allen was a special kind of disaster.

The brown haired man, with his shy smile, and his glasses slipping down his nose, was a breath of fresh air when compared to the others. He did not behave like Eve's past blind dates and that counted in his favour. Sitting across the table from someone who did not instantly make her want to get up and leave was wonderful. It would have been a great date except for one very unfortunate thing. Allen was a nervous wreck. 

How the man handled his job as a medical doctor she had no idea. If she were to walk into a hospital and see him with his shaking, sweaty hands. Then she would walk right out even, if she were on the verge of bleeding out. That was how clumsy Allen was.

The moment that he had come to the table, things had just started going sideways. First, he had broken the stem of a glass of wine( luckily it had been empty). Then he had proceeded to apologize profusely and pay for it. After that, when the food had come, he had dropped his plate on his lap. The napkin that he'd put there barely managing to catch everything.

Had it not been for that tiny piece of fabric, he would have ended up with a lap full of ravioli. But the mishap with the food had not been the end of his clumsiness.

Somehow he'd nearly caught fire from the candle on the table. Then of course there was the unfortunate event where he had tried to lean over and wipe something off Eve's face, probably trying to be romantic. Instead he had ended up tripping on his own two feet while seated and face planting right onto the tablecloth. 

"Are you all right?" Eve had asked and she'd had to suppress a shocked gasp when he'd raised his head and she had seen his bloody nose.

Just like that the date had gone from incredibly awkward to scary as well. There was nothing quite like having your date nearly bleed out in front of you,( he had insisted that he was fine, but Eve had not bought the act). Even after he had gotten the nose bleed( and his nerves) under control, the two of them had been unable to carry on with the date.

A call had come in, and Allen'd had to rush to the hospital. He had left almost as soon as the call had ended. Not bothering to share his contact details with her. From the slight redness on his cheeks, it had been clear that he had still been embarrassed about earlier. Watching him retreat, Eve had felt bad. After all, the man, despite his clumsy nature, had actually not been that bad. But judging by the way he had seemed relieved to get a call from the hospital, there would be no second date. The embarrassment had clearly been too much for him to take.

No doubt they would not be meeting up again. On the positive side, unlike all the other times though, where her appetite had been ruined by her date. Spending time with Allen had not left her with an urge to push food around her plate instead of eating. So she had finished her meal, and had also ordered dessert. When the raspberry tart had arrived, she had dug into it with gusto.

Not even caring that she was the only single person in a restaurant full of couples. The looks from the pairs, and in some cases the throuples had not bothered her at all. Instead she had just focused on enjoying her meal. Having decided to take the night as a treat to herself.

As she had been finishing off her treat, she had happened to look over and see a familiar face, the man from the first night was there as well. He had been closer to the back of the restaurant, his face obscured by shadow. But even with the shadows and the distance, Eve had been able to tell that he looked bored out of his mind. 

Her eyes had shifted to the lady who was his date, and she had found herself wondering why he looked uninterested. The woman had been stunning. She had also looked like someone capable of having an intelligent conversation.

Shaking her head, she had turned her attention back to her meal, deciding that it was none of her business. After finishing off her tart, Eve had stepped out of the restaurant. Unlike all of the other times when she had been in a rush to just leave the area behind, she had lingered, walking slow, and people watching. When Stella had called for an update, Eve had actually had something different to tell her.

"If he ever calls you and tells you that he wants to see me again. Tell him I am available," Eve had said. Stella's shocked laugh, had been enough to loosen the tension that she'd felt coiling around her ever since the dates had begun.

"Why not tell him yourself, it sounds like you like him?"

"I would if I thought he would ever work up the courage to look me in the eye," Eve had found herself smiling as she heard a voice in the background, no doubt Ryan was home and also dying to know how the date had gone. With the restaurant still within sight, Eve had launched into her tale of how everything had gone.

When the call had ended, Eve had become aware of the sounds of a violin playing in the distance. While everyone else had continued to walk, she had stopped and listened. 

When the song had ended. She had still been able to hear it in her mind, and when her legs had begun to move to the rhythm, she had let them. Her eyes slipping half shut as she had spun in slow circles. Her movements had been more free thanks to there being less people out at that time of night, and she had taken full advantage of that.

Dancing in the middle of the street was weird, that she knew, and she had felt the curious gazes of the people walking by, but she had not cared. Eve had danced until the music in her head had faded, only then had she stopped and bowed. Seconds later her eyes had shot all the way open when she'd heard someone clap for her.

The man in black!

Just the sight of him from across the street had made her face heat, and Eve had found herself bowing again. When she had straightened, she had found him still there, and the two of them had shared a smile. The increase in the activity around them had ended their strange encounter.

But Eve could not seem to shake the memory that the moment had created.

That night as she lay in bed, she was not thinking about upcoming dates. Instead she was thinking about the man with the lovely freckles. The one who seemed to be stuck in the same fate of going on endless blind dates as her. 

She had danced, and he had clapped for her, her solo audience. Just a few seconds of an almost interaction and it had felt better than all of her blind dates combined.

Eve fell asleep with a smile on her face.