Page 20 of Just for Fun
After what feels like an eternity, it finally turns to five fifty-nine.
I glance around the restaurant, almost expecting for all the other patrons to be on pins and needles while we all watch the entrance in expectation of Kyle Kelly’s arrival.
My hands become sweaty, and my breathing feels shallow. It’s all incredibly ridiculous. This is not a real date by any means. There should be no reason for me to be this nervous about meeting this man for the very first time. Yet, I can’t snap out of it.
I once again tap on the screen of my phone, watching in horror as the time turns to six o’clock. That is the time I told him to be here. I thought I’d made it very obvious how important punctuality was for me.
For some inexplicable reason, my eyes fill with water. I am very familiar with disappointment, and it should not affect me in the way that it does in this moment.
I tap on the clock app and watch the seconds as they go buy, promising myself that the moment in turns to six oh-one, I am out of here. I refuse to wait on anyone, deciding that I don’t have to prove myself to my brother after all. Not sure why him challenging me even registered.
However, I am shaken to the core by the thought that my mother is actually dating someone. Meanwhile, I can’t get a man to go on a fake date with me.
Suddenly, there’s a bit of commotion by the door. I turn my head just in time to see someone rushing by the hostess, not even bothering to talk to her. His eyes look wild as they scaneveryone around the restaurant, going over each table until they land on me.
“Zara?” he mouths.
I nod in confirmation, completely removed from reality while in this moment. Kyle Kelly is finally here, and I am about to slide under the table as I expire from a heart attack.
He drops in the seat opposite from me, completely out of breath.
“It’s still six,” he says to me, his breathing so heavy, I can barely make out the words. “I’m not late.”
He lifts up his phone to show it to me. I stare at it without blinking for a full two seconds, then watch as it turns to six oh-one.
“This doesn’t count,” Kyle tells me, sounding like he’s panicking. “It was still six-zero-zero when I sat down.”
Unsure of how to respond, I just nod. And stare. I do a lot of that.
The picture of Kyle Kelly shared on theHolidatesapp did not do him justice. He looked attractive for sure, but now that he is in front of me in the flesh, I am blown away by how handsome he actually is. His hair is very messy, like he’s been running his hands through it a lot.
As if he can hear my thoughts, he brings his hands up and does just that. When he notices me looking, he gives me a sheepish grin.
“I took a nap with wet hair. I normally don’t look like this.”
I shake my head this time, confused about what he’s telling me.
“Did you take a nap before coming here?” I ask.
“Yeah,” he laughs self-consciously. “I’d been up all night working, and when you messaged that you’d like to meet today, I figured I’d shower. Then,” he says in an overly dramatic tone.“The bed looked so inviting, you know? I was out the second my head hit the pillow.”
“That’s good,” I murmur.
Everything about him so far is throwing me off. I want to ask him so many questions, but I just can’t find the words. So I continue staring and waiting for him to carry the conversation.
“Before that, I was on the phone with a friend who was totally against me meeting you.” He laughs again.
That seems to be like a default for when he’s nervous. At least, I’m assuming that he’s nervous. I have no idea because my head is a jumbled mess at the moment.
“Why, uh…” I pause and swallow hard. “Why did you friend say you shouldn’t meet me?”
Kyle shrugs. “He has some personal issues that he likes to take on others. Nobody really understands him very well.”
“Oh.” That’s all I can come up with.
“He means well, though.” Kyle continues telling me about this friend of his. “I think he’s head over heels in love with this chick, but he refuses to admit it. Now she’s seeing someone else, and he decided to take it all out on me.”
By the time he finishes talking, I have no idea what he just told me. I can’t follow him at all. Instead, I sit here, mesmerized by his incredible eyes that look bigger yet through the lenses of the glasses he’s wearing.
