A Blind Date

Okay, so I'm a bit gullible

"No, Aiden. I'm not in the mood to go on another date." I sigh into the phone.

"But, Kenzie, you have to give yourself another chance."

I exaggerate a sigh, "You're really persistent. I see how you got Tess now."

"I'm not sure if that was an insult or a compliment." Aiden responds.

I roll my eyes, even though he can't see me over the phone. "I ruined the last date I went on. I'm not having a repeat of that night."

"Kenzie! For crying out loud, you had one bad date! Get back out there!" He shouts at me.

I close my eyes, trying to be patient with him. He's just trying to help me. But he can only help me so far. "Maybe we could double date." I propose the idea, knowing he's going to shoot it down.

"Stop, we've been on plenty of double dates. You hate them. Look, I'm going to give this guy your number. Don't turn him down, okay?"

Great, another random guy to add to my contacts.

Before I can object, Aiden hangs up on me and I'm left in silence. Because my roommate isn't back with groceries yet, and I'm completely alone, I find it appropriate to scream in frustration. Why can't Aiden see that I'm just meant to be alone for the rest of my days? Not everyone is meant to have a soul mate. Besides, I don't even believe in soul mates. I've been single for so long that I know how to take care of myself.

I am smart. I am beautiful. I am kind. If I'm being honest with myself, I'm freaking hilarious. So I'm not the most attractive girl on the planet, but in the end I'm thankful I have the personality I have. If guys can't see past what's on the outside, then that's their loss.

I am fully capable of loving myself.

***

There's a knock on the door and my roommate, Malorie opens it. I don't think anything of it until Aiden barges through the door and scoops me up, throwing me over his shoulder. I yell at him to put me down, but he waves goodbye to Malorie - who is just as stunned as I am - and closes the door behind us.

"Aiden, you better tell me what's going on or-"

"Shut up, Kenzie. You'll thank me later." He jogs down the steps, which makes me nauseous. The next thing I know, I'm seeing stars floating around the coffee shop sign on campus. Why are we here?

Aiden sets me down and I almost fall on my butt because I'm so dizzy. The world around me spins for a few seconds, then comes back into focus. Aiden is grinning from ear to ear. His blond hair is slightly wet from sweat. His bright green eyes are staring up at the coffee shop sign like the letters hold some secret message.

"Why are we here?" I ask Aiden. He smiles mischieviously.

"For your date." I slap his arm as hard as I can.

"I told you I didn't want to date another guy!" I scold him in a whisper as people exit the shop.

Aiden shrugs, then digs something out of his pocket.

"Oh my gosh, look!" He points at something behind me, staring at it in horror. I'm not that gullible, but I turn around just to humor him.

"Wow, Aiden, would you look at that-" And then black fabric is over my eyes and tied behind my head. I wince as some of my hair is tied into the cloth. "Aiden what the heck?!?" He pushes me into the coffee shop. Well, he tries. I slam my head into the door thanks to his poor steering.

I take back what I said about not being gullible.

"Take a seat right here." Aiden instructs. I lower myself into a hard chair and hear laughter across the table.

"Thanks, Aiden." I hear footsteps walk away, so I guess that means Aiden was dismissed by my date.

"Look, I was kind of brought here against my will. So if you'll just help me take this blindfold off-"

"No, I can't do that." My date laughs.

"Why not?" I fume.

"I'm a hideous beast."

I gulp, stunned to my core by that one sentence. This blindfold is coming off right now. I reach my hands up to untie the fabric.

"Please, keep it on." Parker pleads.

I huff, "I know what this is about. I made you wear a blindfold, so now you're getting back at me. Fine, whatever." I begin to stand up from my seat, but he reaches his hand out to touch mine.

"I'm not doing it to get back at you. I really do want to have this second date with you. What you did was original. I just thought it was unfair that you got to judge me off of my appearance."

I mumble, "Appearances mean nothing." The most gorgeous guy in the world could be a grade A jerk. It's personality that you fall in love with. Being attractive is just the cherry on top.

"You're absolutely right. Now you can take off your blindfold."

I would raise an eyebrow if they weren't held down by the fabric.

"Why?"

Parker replies, "We both can finally agree that appearances aren't everything. So let's take off the masks and just talk."

My fingers reach behind my head to remove the blindfold. "Okay," I wince as I pull some of my hair out. "But I can't fall for you." I shockingly say aloud.

"And why is that?" My mask finally releases and I look into Parker's eyes. He doesn't seem surprised to see that it's me. Aiden had to have told him.

I shrug, "Because I just swore off guys like an hour ago."

Parker chuckles, "That's the most adorable thing you've said to me yet."

I'm finally able to lift an eyebrow, "Really?"

He smiles, "I'm going to go out on a limb and say you've finally realized your own self worth?"

I lean on the table, propping my hand under my chin. "You're a psychology major, aren't you?"

His bright smile lights up the whole coffee shop, "You got me."

His grin is contagious, and I find it spreading to me. "I need to see a therapist anyways."

He rolls his eyes, playfully. "The self-deprecating jokes are back, I see."

I shake my head, "Nah, that was just my clever way of using your major to flirt with you."

His cheeks turn slightly red, but he laughs. "Love the confidence. Where was that two nights ago?"

I twiddle my thumbs. "I remember what you said about not loving myself; that I couldn't see my own beauty. I decided to work on that."

When I look up, I see him smiling at me. "What?" I bashfully smile back.

"Let's start over then. I'm Parker," He extends his hand out, "And I'm extremely clumsy."

I close my eyes to take in this moment. It's okay, he has insecurities too. I open my eyes with a smile.

"I'm Kenzie. And I'm learning to love myself."