At The Beginning

#1

From afar, he must have looked like a god. His mushy, slightly messy sandy brown hair made him all the more irresistible. Every night, girls and women would come to a comfy, cozy, laid back café called La Bertissimo, just to see this guy singing and entertaining the entire room. With his enticing self and his charming voice, the customers were more than delighted to spend the end of each day in La Bertissimo.

"... So close, so close... Yet still so far..." Damian ended beautifully before taking his break. Just like every other night, he went to sit at a cornered cushion, ordering a bottle of mineral water from the waitress. He glanced around and found some unfamiliar faces. New comers, he guessed. Not dwelling on his assumption, he quickly moved to other thoughts as he opened the bottle and drank the water.

***

On the other side of the room, a nineteen-year-old girl was sitting alone. Her long, dark locks swayed gorgeously as she shook her head, wondering once again why she decided to come here. Sure, she heard excellent reviews from her friends about this café, but what exactly was she doing there alone? She had tried calling her friends. They all had previous plans and engagements. Yet, she knew she needed to get away from life, for a moment. After deciding on a plain yet chic pearly-white knee-length dress and a pair of matching heels and purse, she went there.

When she first arrived, she immediately felt the urge to go back towards the entrance and went home. However, like so many other girls before, she was enchanted with the voice singing onstage. Just like that, she called the waitress, ordered for a chocolate Martini and stayed.

So, when it was time for Damian to have his break, the girl decided to do something. She couldn't help but to have her eyes glued on him. It wasn't like her at all, talking to strangers, but she had to do it. For curiosity's sake. As she assured herself, she stood up and sashayed her way down to the other side of La Bertissimo.

***

Not that he didn't notice her before – he did – but with the lights and everything, he could barely see her. Now that he had the chance to look at her with more attention, she looked kind of pretty. Her face was..., he wasn't sure how to describe her face, but he was thinking something along the line of pure and innocent.

"Hello," she greeted. Damian, who at first was turning his head away, looked up to see the girl in the white dress. She was smiling rather shyly, unconsciously drawing his attention towards her semi-glossy peach lips, and seemed unsure about her action.

He smiled back, trying to look as friendly as he could, and replied, "Hello to you too."

There was a moment of awkwardness and the girl almost turned around to go back to her seat, or even to go home. She wanted to just sit down in front of Damian, but she just couldn't. It would be rude, wouldn't it? He hadn't exactly offered her to sit there.

Damian, realizing the situation, decided to take control of it.

"Oh, where are my manners? I'm sorry. Please sit down," he offered gently after shaking his head.

The girl smiled. "Thank you. For a moment there I thought I just did the biggest mistake of my life," she said, taking a seat on the cushion in front of Damian.

"Come here often?" Damian tried to bring up a conversation.

The girl shook her head and answered, "No, not really. This is my first time, actually. My friends recommended this café to me, so I just thought I should check it out."

"If they did recommend La Bertissimo to you, where are they then?" he asked curiously and took another gulp from his bottle.

"They can't come here. I, well, didn't exactly plan to come here. I needed a place to go to, my friends are all engaged to other plans and this place just came into my head. So I came. It's a good thing that I did," the girl explained, smiling more comfortably this time at Damian.

"And why is that?" he asked.

"Turns out La Bertissimo does not only offer good chocolate Martinis but also great live music," she replied flirtatiously. She was in her zone tonight, and so was Damian.

He chuckled and replied, "Oh, really? Well, thank you then, Miss..."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Call me Emma," she thrust her hand towards Damian.

"I'm Damian. Well, thank you, Emma," Damian said and took her hand. When Emma thought he was going to shake her hand, she was completely wrong. Damian wasn't just a singer. He was quite a charmer too. And as a charmer, he took her hand, lowered his face and gave Emma's soft hand a sweet, gentle kiss.

Emma was slightly embarrassed. There must be at least ten pairs of eyes in the room, looking at her and Damian. Most of them belonged to jealous girls who wished they were brave enough like her and also got a kiss from this charming young man. Yet, she quickly got a grip of herself. I won't meet them again. Who cares about what they think?

All she could do now was to look up and meet Damian's eyes. And from that moment, both of them shared something that couldn't be possibly understood by those around. Without having to say anything, Emma knew she would have to order another drink and waited until Damian finished his job for the night. Likewise, Damian knew he had to go back singing his second shift. However, instead of doing his usual style of enticing the entire room, he would only have one single person he gave his whole attention to. To this person alone would he sing the rest of the songs for the night to.

And after the night ended, Damian, a gentleman as he was, offered Emma a ride to her house. She refused, since she brought her yellow city car, but asked him if he would like to have lunch together the next day. Just like that, they went on a date.

***