Anti-Stall

The damn shutterbugs

Nürburg, Germany

Erica let me borrow her dress, it had to be the prettiest satin dress I have ever seen. She altered it with a few safety pins to make sure it fit me.

By the time she was done getting me into the dress and doing my hair, it was seven.

"Don't be nervous! It's just dinner, if you're not having a good time I'll pick you up."

"I'm nervous Eri! I didn't think I'd be going on a date."

"Well you are! So have fun." She smiled.

She walked me to the lobby, he was already there. He looked handsome, so very handsome in his ensemble and neat hair. The look in his eyes gave me butterflies.

"You look gorgeous." He complimented me.

"You don't look too bad yourself." I grinned.

"So where are we off to?" I asked him walking towards his car.

"The best restaurant in Cologne." He beamed opening the door for me.

"Driving all the way back to the city?"

"For a great dinner? Yes."

The car ride was awkward for a while, until he turned the radio on. Catchy and familiar tracks started playing, before we knew if we were singing along at the top of our lungs.

We drove around the city for a while, it looked even prettier at night. I noticed there was a night cruise along the river, it was stunning.

The Restaurant was a sleek and very modern looking building, the opulence of the place was jumping out at me. He had reserved a table for us at the rooftop, overlooking the river.

"This place is beautiful!" I chirped taking a seat.

"I'm so glad you like it, I pulled a lot of strings."

"Well, they were totally worth it!"

"So what are you going to get?" He asked me leading through the menu.

All the dishes sounded way more elegant than I could ever look, they probably costed more than I'd earn from a day of working. The names and descriptions of all of them were so graceful, that's exactly what scared me, it intimidated me.

"I'll get whatever you're having." I smiled.

"Okay."

He ordered the food, we sat there in silence for sometime. I couldn't get over the view of the river and the reflection of the lights in the water.

"So Natalie, how do you find Cologne?"

"Charming, it's a fascinating place. Do you come here often?"

"Well technically yes but no."

"What does that even mean?" I laughed.

"Junior category races, we didn't have time to explore the city. Arrive, race and leave."

"Woah! I find living out of a suitcase manageable now, how did you adjust to it?"

"I've been doing it for about ten years, travelling around the world with a suitcase in hand has become my normal. It's all I know."

We talked about more topics for a while until the food got here, the food was delicious. So delicate and balanced, the flavours were exquisite and the plating was so detailed.

After eating a fill, Mick suggested we walked along Rhine. I grabbed some ice cream for the two of us to eat while we walked, it felt magical.

Walking along the river, talking to the politest boy I've ever met felt unreal. It felt like a movie, his eyes were sparkling , they were brilliant.