The Date - Short Story by Colm Hearne

 

THE DATE

Short Story

by Colm Hearne

I’m such a loser. Here I am, in my twenties, and I still haven’t had a girlfriend or even kissed a girl. All my life, I’ve been surrounded by boys, with no girls in sight. The only girl I’ve ever known is my mother.

I spent most of my school days in an all-boys’ school. What made matters worse was that I was the only boy in the school who had never kissed a girl. They thought that I was gay or a loser because I didn’t know any girls. I wanted to meet girls more than anything and have a girlfriend. But how could I be a ladies’ man when boys surrounded me?

I used to ask my mum, ‘Why didn’t you just put me in a mixed school? I would’ve been able to meet girls there, no problem.’

And she would say, ‘Well, I was in an all-girls’ school when I was your age and I enjoyed it.’

She didn’t understand. Nobody understood what I went through. I know nobody can change the past, but I wonder what my life would’ve been like if I’d gone to a mixed school.

But I’m still young and have plenty of time to meet girls. There’s a girl named Lily whom I’ve had my eye on for some time. She’s a lovely, young girl who works in a café, and I’m thinking of asking her out. But I’m too afraid because what if she says no, and I feel like a fool? I’ve tried asking out a few different girls in the past, but it didn’t go so well. I don’t think I could handle another rejection.

Here I am sitting in the small café where Ella, the girl I have a crush on, was working as she was serving coffee and helping the customers. There are only a couple of tables, but it’s a busy place. I can’t get over how pretty she is and how much I want to ask her out. She has long, brown hair and brown eyes. But I can’t. I just don’t have the guts.

Then I see something that changes my mind - another guy with Ella. He is good-looking, and she’s smiling at him. Is he the boyfriend? What if she’s only interested in older men? I feel like it’s over for me.

Then I say to myself, “Screw it. I can just ask her out, or regret it for the rest of my life.”

But how do I ask her out? I want to sound confident. Girls love confident guys. But I have no confidence.

Then, all of a sudden, something that I hadn’t planned happens. I knock over my cup of tea. Within a few seconds, there’s a puddle on the floor for everyone to see. Some people in the café turn around and laugh at me. Others clap their hands to mock me. I’m so embarrassed.

Then another unexpected thing happens. Lily comes over to me. I think, “Oh, no! Here she comes. What do I say to her? What if I embarrass myself even more?”

At first, I just sit and do nothing. Ella, however, smiles at me and cleans the mess that I made.

“Be more careful next time,” she says to me.

Now that she has spoken to me, I say the first thing that comes to my mind. “I’m sorry, Ella.”

She smiles again. My knowing her name seems to please her. This is my chance to ask her out. But what do I say to her? Screw it! She’s about to leave. It’s now or never!

I say to Ella, “Do you want to meet up sometime?” Thankfully, I don’t say the word “date!”

Lily turns to me. At first, she just looks at me and says nothing. I begin to feel embarrassed. Did I say the wrong thing?

But then she says, “Sure. Where would you like to meet up?”

That sounds like she said yes, but I’m not a hundred per cent sure. Now I have another question: where do I ask her out? I never knew I’d get this far. She’s waiting for an answer. I can’t just sit here and say nothing.

Again, I just say the first thing that comes to my mind. “How about the old cinema?”

Lily smiles. “Sure. When and what time?”

Another question I’m not prepared for, but I answer anyway. “How about tomorrow at around six?”

“Great. See you then,” she says, then goes back to work.

She said yes! I can’t believe it. On the outside, I’m calm, but on the inside, I feel like Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic, “I’m the king of the world! Whoa!” Today is the most exciting day of my life!

All of a sudden, all that excitement goes away and is replaced with anxiety. I begin asking myself all sorts of questions. How should I act on a first date? Does she see me as a boyfriend or just a friend? Should I kiss her on a first date? What should I wear?

Now I feel like everyone is staring and laughing at me. I’m tense and embarrassed, and uncertain. I tell myself I should just relax and be myself. But I’m still nervous.

 

The next day, I arrive at the cinema to meet Ella. But I’m still very worried. What if she doesn’t show up at all? It’s still early, and she still has time.

While I’m waiting, I have butterflies in my stomach. What if she does show up and I don’t know how to act, and I make a fool of myself? But I must be doing something right if I’ve made it this far with dating. I try to relax.

Then all of a sudden, I see Lily coming. She shows up after all. The butterflies in my stomach turn even more.

“Hi, hon,” she says, smiling.

She called me “hon”. I like that. That must be a sign that she sees me as her boyfriend. But what do I call her? What do I call a girl on a first date?

Once again, I just say the first thing that comes to my mind. “Hello, sweetheart.”

She gives me a warm hug, and I hug her back. It feels nice to hug a girl like that. I wonder what the next step is? Do I kiss her? Oh, how I want to kiss her. But then I think no, it’s not the right time. She might feel weird or uncomfortable. Would she smack me in the face? I tell myself to take it one step at a time. Don’t rush anything.

I ask her, “So what would you like to go see?”

“I don’t know,” says Ella. “Let’s see what’s on.”

We look at the showtimes outside the cinema. The cinema is having a classic film festival, so one option is Psycho. A great horror movie, but I don’t think girls like scary movies. Or there’s Some Like It Hot. A funny comedy, but guys dressed in drag might be a bit disturbing.

Then I see the perfect date movie: Rear Window. A great thriller and a nice mix of mystery, suspense, and romance. Starring James Stewart and the gorgeous Grace Kelly. I think James Stewart was so lucky to have been kissed by Grace Kelly. She must’ve been a great kisser! The only question is, would Lily want to see it? I ask her.

            “Yes, that sounds good to me, hon,” she answers.

We get our tickets, I pay for them, and then we go into the theatre. I get even more nervous. I wonder again when I should try to kiss her? Before the movie? During the movie? After the movie?  Once again, I decide to just relax and be myself.

We get into our seats, but the film hasn’t started yet. There are only Lily and I and a few other people in the cinema. So, there I am, sitting next to Ella, almost alone in a theatre. I wonder what the next step is.

Then I think, “I should kiss her.”

But wait. Would she want me to kiss her now? Would she like it?

Lily looks at me, and I look at her. We look into each other’s eyes. So, I move over to her and kiss her right on the mouth. After a couple of seconds, I move away.

Lily doesn’t say or do anything. She just looks at me. Did I make the right move?

For a few minutes, neither of us says anything. Then the lights in the theatre go down, and the movie starts.

I give Lily a little kiss on the cheek. She turns to me and all of a sudden, she kisses me right on the mouth. It feels amazing!

Never before have I imagined what it feels like to be passionately kissed by a girl. I’ve seen it done a million times in movies. It was a feeling I had never felt before. It was the most beautiful feeling of my life. It was like a touch of Heaven.

After a few minutes of passionate kissing, Lily and I move apart. My mouth feels very wet, but it’s a nice feeling.

Then I look at Ella, and I say to her, “I really like you.”

She smiles at me and says, “I really like you, too.”

Hearing that again made me feel like Leo DiCaprio in Titanic. “I’m the king of the world! Whoa!” 

Colm Hearne lives in Dublin, Ireland, and has been writing since he was a child. He holds an Arts degree in Film, Literature and Drama from Dublin Business School. He published a children's fantasy book called "A Legend of Tara: Fionn the Reviver", and it has gotten a lot of great reviews and has sold hundreds of copies. He is planning to make it into a book series. He has also published the prequel book “A Legend of Tara: The Lost Brother”, and he is also working on the third and fourth books. He is also interested in comic book writing. His favourite writers include C.S. Lewis, Brian Jacques, Roald Dahl and J.R.R. Tolkien. He works at Fighting Words in Dublin, an organisation that helps children and young people with creative writing. He is also part of a writers workshop that meets every month, and is a member of the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. He also enjoys playing chess, running, listening to music and watching movies.