Prank Date [✔]

Part 3

My date hadn't arrived yet when the hostess led me to the table. Of course not. I was always the first person to arrive for meetings or dates. Today, I had contemplated taking a page from Jin's book and showing up late, but I couldn't change my overly punctual nature any more than I could change my height.

I chose the chair with my back to the wall, enabling me to observe the men entering the restaurant.

The hostess handed me a menu and a wine list. "Your waiter will be with you in a minute."

When the hostess walked away, I looked around. The room was filled with cozy tables draped in snow-white tablecloths. Soft Italian music played in the background, and candles flickered in the center of each table. The dim lighting added to the romantic atmosphere. My gaze lingered on the tables with couples, who seemed engrossed in each other, hardly aware of their surroundings. I rubbed my temples. What am I doing here?

The waiter stepped up to my table and introduced himself. "May I start you off with something to drink?"

I considered it for a moment and then decided that a glass of wine might help to get me through the evening. "Can you recommend a Merlot from a local winery?"

"The Manoban Merlot is excellent," the waiter said.

"Then could you bring me a glass of that, please?"

"Of course. I'll get your wine and give you a minute to look at the menu. The special we have today is Pollo al Forno, chicken breast served on a bed of mushroom risotto."

"Someone is joining me." I glanced at my watch. Ten to eight. "He should be here any minute now. I'll wait to order when he gets here." If he even shows up. Jin's friends weren't known for their reliability.

The waiter nodded and leaned forward to light the candle in the middle of the table.

Don't bother, I wanted to tell him. Romance wasn't on my mind.

I already knew the three different ways the evening might end.

Option one: my date would ask me what I did for a living and then yawn excessively or smirk when I told him I was an accountant.

Option two: if this Li was a businessman, he might try to get free advice from me. Well, that wouldn't be so bad. At least then I would be on familiar ground.

The worst was option three: Li would be perfectly nice, trying to draw me out and engage me in conversation, but I would feel no connection at all. I would focus on my food, self-conscious about every word I said, already thinking about how to get out of a second date. At the end of the evening, I would return home frustrated, feeling as if something was wrong with me.

I glanced up as the waiter approached with my glass of wine and another guest in tow. But instead of Jin's friend Li, he ushered a woman to the table.