A Lifetime of Adventure

Chapter 8

Shantelle's POV 

Today is the first day of my five consecutive blind date nights. I woke up feeling refreshed and got out of my bed excitedly to have enough time to prepare my look for the day.

Its still so early in the morning but Tiara is already briefing me about the guy that I will meet tonight.

She really knows me because I sometimes ignore her calls when I focus finishing my tasks quickly.

"Shan, the guy for tonight is is Marc. He is from the same university where you studied bachelor's. Moreno, around 5'7", really handsome, currently a law student, three years older than you, and I know him personally. Potential turn offs.... medyo halos lahat ng kabarkada niya babae...... baka magselos ka"

"Okay lang yun noh! Di naman big deal yan saakin basta committed lang siya saakin"

"Sure?? Anyways, may reservation ka na at 7pm under your name sa Steakhouse in Taguig"

"Sige sige, I'll call late night today to update you"

I left work early today to get rest and get ready for my first date. My outfit for tonight is a black square neck blouse with puff sleeves, nude brown pencil skirt and black ankle strap heels. The lower half of my hair are curled up a bit and I applied minimal makeup to enhance my features.

Feeling nervous while entering the restaurant, I was kindly guided by the host to my table. My line of vision was immediately captured by my date.... he is so damn handsome.

He is quite masculine and looks good on his smart casual wear. I smiled widely when we greeted each other and got a little excited on the conversation that we will have this evening.

The date went really well. He is good with conversations as topics about getting to know each other flow naturally in our interaction.

He even offered to give me a ride home, which I accepted. At this point, I think that our date will end well.

I couldn't feel any awkwardness between us while walking to the parking Mid conversation, his phone rang. He excused himself to answer the call and moved a few steps away from me. Since I am am not doing anything and just standing beside a pillar, I looked at him and observed his body language while talking to people on the phone. I got shocked when he suddenly pulled out a vape from his pocket and started vaping.

I was immediately turned off. I generally do not care if a person smokes but I hate it when they do it in front of me or if the scent lingers around me.

When I entered his car, the same scent of vape welcomed me.

I may be wrong with my impression so I opened the topic about vaping and went cool about it.

He dropped me home safely and and exchanged our socials to keep the interaction going.

I felt tired when I arrived my room. Deciding to call Tiara already so I could rest earlier tonight, she picked up the phone immediately.

"Kumusta ang date!!! Gwapo siya noh"

"Oo shet grabe Tiara! Ang ganda pa ng convo namin at hindi nauubusan ng topics"

"Yieeee ano pa! Mag kwento ka pa nga diyan. Details plss"

"Madami kami napagkwentuhan. Sinabi pa niya sa akin yung mga plano niya for his career and life at sa family niya"

"Mukhang family-oriented ahh"

"Totoo! Sabi nga niya na nagaral daw siya ng law para matulungan ang parents niya sa family business nila"

"O yan naman pala ehh. Overall, ok ba siya?"

"Pero may part na naturnoff ako sakanya"

"Ano yun. Wag mo ako ibitin"

"Nag vavape siya. Sasakyan niya lakas ng amoy vape! Sinabi naman niya na nagvavape lang siya tuwing stressed or pressured siya sa law school and life"

"Ayy. Okay naman daw ba siya tumigil diyan?"

"Di ko na tinanong eh kasi baka maoffend siya"

"Hay nako. Naiintindihan ko naman kung bakit ayaw mo sa nagvavape"

"Yahh no compromise saakin yun"

I am already quite tired my call with Tiara ended. I just washed up for a bit and went ahead to sleep.

For the next few days, my blind dates continued. However, the guys I met did not catch my interest.

The second guy I met had different hobbies and interest as mine. He also had a life goal that I believe another woman could support him better than me.

The third date didn't work out. Although he is from a prominent family in the Philippines, I felt like he was just after my positon and expertise to help them in their family business.

The fourth guy was an introvert. I had a hard time talking to him since he was speaking softly. Overall, it didn't work out.

"Omgg shan nasa last candidate na tayo sana ito na mapili mo" Tiara said

"Sana nga ehh. Nakakapagod pala ito grabe! May single pa ba diyan na papasok sa standards ko ughh"

"Meron pa yan. Tiwala ka lang kasi saakin. So, going back to business, Lance is approx 3 years older than you, chinito,  extrovert, he has multiple circles of friends. Nakilala ko siya sa isang friend group ko. Balita ko he is working as an architect in his family's construction firm but he still allocates time for car racing"

"Mukhang excited na ako diyan ah"

"Actually, this is my best pick for you. Di ko lang siya agad naconvince na mag blind date with you. Busy daw kasi siya, pero palusot lang ata yun. Meeting time niyo later is at 7pm sa Makati"

"Sige na. Pupunta na ako sa date na yan mamayang gabi"

"Update mo ulit ako mamayang gabi ahh"

"Syempre naman"

I went on with my work day as usual. But I got really focused with work and lost track of time. When I looked at the clock, it was already quarter to 6.

I panicked and quickly fixed my outfit and makeup and rushed out of the office. Since I am already late, I decided to drive on my own so the driver would not wait for me any more. 

Unfortunately, I was involved in a car crash in the middle of a heavy traffic in one of the main roads going to Makati. The involved victims of the crash still has to wait for the police to investigate and make a report on the accident.

To not waste the time of the guy I am meeting, I decided to get his phone number from Tiara and called him to sincerely apologize for the unintentional inconvenience.

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