Rendezvous

"Noel"

A date was such an odd concept to me, I had never been on one. I was so confused as to what to do for it. We're we splitting the bill, were we going to have sex after this. Was I ready for sex, how would the twenty-five-year-old virgin conversation go with him. I lay on my bed letting thoughts just pass through my head making me more and more nervous. It wasn't helped by Chloe throwing clothes everywhere in an attempt to arrange a beautiful outfit for me to wear. Also, she had my older brother Joseph who we called JoJo on the phone. He wasn't too happy that I was going on a date with a guy he hadn't met which was right on brand for him. He had always been overprotective of the both of us, but he was definitely overprotective of me. I had always been quiet and shy which made me an easy target for bullies growing up. JoJo would continuously be in fights protecting me, and I knew he would do the same for his son or daughter whenever they were born.

"Noel are you listening to me, make sure that nigga pays for the food," he said aloud in his gruff voice.

"And don't bite your fingernails," Chloe said while looking at an all-black outfit she had picked out for me. JoJo was telling me how he should treat me and Chloe was focused on me not ruining the dinner.

"Fine I get it; I need to get dressed now so goodbye. JoJo, please make sure to tell Chanel I said hello and that I sent her baby clothes," I said aloud.

"Alright call me when you get back, love you," he said before hanging up. I turned to Chloe who was still standing there looking at me.

"Don't you need some rest for your job interview tomorrow," I asked her as I slowly lifted my body up. And moved towards the clothes that she laid out. I reached out and rubbed my hand over the soft black ribbed knit fabric not able to remember when I bought the garment. The jeans were ripped which wasn't the most comfortable thing to wear in the mid-December weather.

"I'm sleeping in your bed tonight so I need for you to hurry up and get dressed," she said before walking out and closing my door. I took a deep breath before walking into my bathroom and turning the shower on and took my clothes off before taking a quick shower and jumping out then taking care of my hygiene and primping my hair to make it look like an organized mess. When I was satisfied by what I saw reflected back in the mirror, I walked back into my room and strolled over to my dresser and grabbed a matching black pair of underwear and slipped them on and then moved to place my clothes on and my black suede Chelsea boots. When I was done, I sprayed some honey body spray, grabbed my wallet and keys then walked out my room to my living room where Chloe was waiting with a happy smile on her face and a little bit of jelly doughnut filling.

"You look amazing you just need a little bit of lip balm," she said walking me to the door where I had a table with my going out essentials which included a stick of chapstick. She grabbed it put it in my hand and pushed me out the door closing it behind me. With that, I knew there was no way she was letting me back in the apartment. I huffed before making my way down to the lobby and then to my car to drive to them. My legs were cold when I made it to this upscale Asian restaurant which was Austin's favorite type of food. He oozed confidence but not in a careless way that would make him come off as cocky and immature. I stepped out of my car seeing my date in front of the restaurant looking in my direction. He was wearing a black leather coat and tan sweater along with darker jeans that weren't baggy but weren't skin tight at the same time. He looked at me and waved his hand at me as I made my way over to him.

"Hey, you look amazing. Hope you're hungry because I'm starving after my long day at the station. We can talk about that later let's go grab our table before they give it up," he said and opened the door for me to walk in. The restaurant space was open and lit with candles and dimmed amber lights overhead. It smelled like delicious food and a low roar of people having conversations and music that you would hear in kung-fu movies played in the background.

"Hey ma'am Robinson for two," Austin said to the man up front wearing midnight blue slacks and a white dress shirt. He looked down at the podium where an iPad was sitting and nodded.

"Alright- Sorry Good evening sirs, your table is ready," he said grabbing two golden menus and then walked to the middle of the dining area with us trailing slowly behind him. When we walked to one of the tables the host stopped and placed the menus on opposite sides of the table covered with a tablecloth that had intricate designs.

"Your waiter will be here momentarily," he said before walking away. Not even three seconds later Austin was holding a seat out for me which I took. Austin took his place then looked at me with a smile.

"How was your week, and before you make a face I know you hate small talk, but you can't start a nice conversation without it," Austin said with a smile on his face.

"It was fine," I said to him.

"Come on a little more description," he said while removing his utensils that were wrapped tightly in a cream-colored cloth napkin which he unfurled and placed it over his lap.

"Ummm I was allowed back into the operating room for the first time since my accident. Not doing anything important just talking a junior through the steps with Dr. Haynes," I said.

"How is it in the operating room, I doubt it's like all the tv shows make it out to seem," He asked me with a look of genuine interest on his face that was being nicely complimented by the candle that provided a dull glow from where it was placed on the table.

"No it's not like the tv, it's less dramatic we don't have viewing galleries where surgeons watch like it's a game show. It's more technical, competitive. It can be a bunch of science nerds having a pissing competition at times but I love it," I said to him honestly.

"Sounds like the firehouse except with less money," he responded to me.

"How do you like being a fireman," I asked him which surprised me I wasn't one for prolonging a conversation. I was often seen as a man of few words that liked to get to the point.

"It's a job...I've made some good friends from it, and it keeps the law school debt to a minimum," he said just as the waiter came up to ask for our drinks we both ended up ordering some peach drink which was their specialty.

"You're in law school, what for," I asked him.

"Yeah I am, see the things you could learn from small talk. Anyway, this is my last semester before I graduate then take the state bar exam, I'm going to be specializing in family law. I know it sounds backward, but I'd love to focus on divorce law because I know what it feels like to live with people who need to be divorced," he said to me, and I nodded.

'Good looking, smart, ambitious. Why is he wasting his time with me?'

"Sounds cool," I said to him, and he went deeper into the conversation.

"So it's just you and your sister correct," he asked me while his hands clamped together on the tabletop.

"No, my brother Jojo also makes up my family, how about you," I asked him.

"My family is a whole tribe, there are eight of us," he said to me.

As dinner progressed we dived deeper into the conversation, both of learning more about one another. I learned that his mother had passed away two years ago from a sudden heart attack which made Austin slightly emotional. His father was emotionally distant with most of his children. He didn't spend too much time talking about his dad other than that he was once a football player but changed into farming when he got injured as a rookie for some team in Florida. Somehow he got me to speak about my experience as a foster child. I told him about the first three homes I could remember and before I knew it dinner was over and we were walking out the front door. I found myself disappointed that it was over.

"Don't forget to tell your brother that I paid," he said to me with a smile as we stood in front of my car.

"What," I asked in confusion.

"He found my Instagram and Dm'd me," he chuckled.

"Oh my God, " I said hiding my face due to the embarrassment of his chuckle turned into laughter. I figured he asked me about my brother to continue to the conversation we were having earlier.

"It's not a big deal your brother was just looking out to make sure I didn't do anything stupid. It's more than my brothers would ever do for me. Anyway, I have to get some sleep a long day tomorrow. Call me when you get back home, so I know that you're safe," he said and looked at me waiting for a response. I nodded at him blushing under his gaze

"Alright then goodnight," he said then leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. It felt like a million butterflies were flying around in my stomach. He pulled back and smiled before stepping back a little bit waiting for me to climb in my car and pull off. I couldn't stop smiling as I made my way back home.

🌙🌙 THANKS FOR READING🌙🌙