One in the Same

Ch. 5: Sylvia

"Thanks again for rescheduling with me. I'm sorry that the last  time didn't work out." Gabe grinned. "You look amazing by the way."

    My cheeks flushed slightly, and a fake as all hell smile played on my lips as I sipped my water. Gabe was cute, but it was like he had rolled out of fucking bed the same clothes he had worn the night before. He decided to pick me up, and of course he was fifteen minutes late. Said that it was traffic. But the way Gabe was chewing his mint gum in the car on the way here showed me otherwise. I assumed, by the looks of it; he woke up in the same attire, saw my messages from the last time we conversed on getting a late lunch...

    Then begged me for a date. I gave in and said cause I knew I was going to be getting my stomach filled and alcohol levels would be on the rise for free.

Don't get me wrong, I love a man who will grovel to me on occasions. Free food?

    "Not a problem at all," I waved him off. "Life gets in the way of everyone sometimes."

    "Right." Now it was Gabe's turn for his cheeks to flush.

He grabbed his water and guzzled half of it. A water droplet dropping from his chin onto the table cloth. My eyes watched it fall and come back up to his face. His eyes were immediately on my chest.

    I snapped my fingers, "Eyes up, cowboy. Milk bar is closed."

    More scarlet now. I was getting annoyed and we haven't even gotten our order in yet.

    "I'm sorry. You just-"

"Look nice." I deadpanned, "You said that. I thanked you."

"True, work has consumed a lot of my time lately. I honestly think you would of told me to fuck off after I stood you up last time."

    My breathing faltered, my temper rising even higher.

    "Want to rethink the next choice of words that come out of your mouth, or are we here to embarrass each other in public?" I teased, smirking.

    Gabe swallowed, tugging on the collar of his shirt. It was already stretched out, not like he needs to do so anymore.

    He heaved a sigh, and I was taken aback by the breath. I got the whiff of spearmint, but did this man know anything about dental hygiene? Was Gabe really serious about this? Was I being Punk'd?

    "I'm sorry, Sylvia. Really. I am. It's been a while since I had been out with anyone. You're remarkably gorgeous, and sometimes I say or do things without meaning to." His face dropped into a frown as he reached behind his head to scratch his neck. "I apologize for anything else in advance. I'm nervous."

My muscles relaxed as I sipped on my water some. Maybe I was coming off too strong for the guy. I did have standards, and they were not going to come down for anyone at all. But somehow, a tiny part of me already felt bad for him. I shouldn't, being in our thirties, I would think or hope that others my age would know how to act. Dress. Talk. But a good majority of them don't. And one of them was sitting right in front of me.

"Can we try to refresh this date, starting now?" A hint of honesty was in Gabe's eye, but not much.

"Again, it's fine. Its just innap-"

"So sorry to keep you guys waiting, we are just cleaning up the front of the house from our lunch rush. Dinner menus will be switching on the tablets shortly. Could I get you guys started with some appetizers? Drinks, perhaps?" Jasmine, the waitresses name tag read. She clicked her pen, eyes bouncing back and forth between the both of us.

    "I will take a tequila sunrise, please. Also a starter of the friend mozzarella, as well." I commented, eyeing Gabe over my menu.

    "I'll take a Coke Zero, please. And can you make sure that it's Zero sugar? I'm diabetic, so I can't have sugar." Gabe explained.