One Night

Jack

You're in your mid twenties or so, unlucky with love. You download Tinder as a last ditch effort before bar hopping your way to a decent conversation. After hours of picky swiping, you finally get a match by the name of Jack. 

He had stated in his bio, "I'm just looking for someone to chat with and see where it goes ;)", and the mystery intrigued you. 

After talking for a few hours, you discover he's actually a lot closer than tinder stated, as he hasn't updated his address. You two decide to meet up at a decently classy sushi bar for a couple drinks and some quality sushi. You decide on a cute cocktail dress that is relatively modest yet very cute, and wait just inside the door for him. Sitting there, staring at your phone, you get a text. 

"Hey, are you already there?" 

You get a nasty feeling in your gut. Maybe he's trying to bail? 

"Yeah, why?" 

"I've been here waiting, in the back rooms. I'm sorry, I should have told you."

 You sigh a breath of relief and tell the waitress waiting at her post where your date is. She flushed s slightly, but leads you to the room. It looks very ornate and beautiful, paintings of koi fish swimming across the walls. You soon realize this is the one of the nicest rooms in the venue, typically reserved for meetings or celebrity occasions. Jack quietly stands up, revealing his pristine navy blue suit with subtle pops of white and black found in the buttons and his undershirt. He pulls out a chair for you while bowing, short brown hair falling slightly due to a lack of product holding it. 

"So, do you like the room?" He asks, tones of worry litter his question as if he's worried you don't like it. 

"It's so beautiful, I don't know who wouldn't," you respond. 

He lets out a small sigh as if his nerves are really getting to him. You decide against questioning it, though, as an attempt to make him feel more comfortable. The waitress comes back with a medium sized bottle of warm sake and small, simplistic glasses, both in a pearly white colour. A small plate of calamari is presented as well. You hadn't been out on a proper nice date in a long time, making this whole night seem so much more grand. You look around at the walls once more before discovering the room is not lit by lamps and electricity, but with candles. The flickering lights dot the walls with an even glow. Golden accents on the paintings shine and glisten in the glow and almost seem to dance with the flames. 

Jack orders a platter of salmon sashimi along with two small orders of shoyu ramen for each of you, and you decide to order tuna nigiri with a few extra pieces of nori. The night goes on as you two talk, you notice his English habits lean slightly British, although with no discernible accent. As you finish the first bottle of sake, the waitress brings out another almost instantly, as well as a new plate of calamari. Your orders come and you continue to talk, telling jokes and talking about anything that comes to mind. The atmosphere is very friendly and it causes you to feel more comfortable and relaxed. The night wanes away and as you finish your meal, the waitress asks if you would like any dessert. Jack orders ten baby mochi and asks for the check after it is added. 

"I'll pay half, I just got paid yesterday," you offer. 

Your job doesn't pay much and this would make the month difficult, but the night had definitely not been cheap.

 "No it's fine, I got it," he responds, sliding his debit card into the check presenter. 

"I'll leave a tip, then? It's the least I can do."

 He chuckles a little, "Sure."

 You ask what would be suitable based on the check, secretly hoping to know how much the night was out of curiosity. 

"Oh, I would just go with $40. Don't bother taking a percentage from the check as it would be... a lot."

 He flushes slightly and your cheeks warm to a deep pink in embarrassment for wanting to know the cost. The dessert comes and the waitress takes the check. You both snack on a couple of them despite being very full. It takes around twenty minutes to finish them, but the night is still young, so it doesn't matter. You slide $40 out of your wallet and leave the venue after Jack's card is brought back. You had walked here as it's not far from your house. This information slipped from your lips while you two were talking and he refused to let you walk home this late. He instead insisted on driving you home. 

You were apprehensive at first, thinking the worst, but decided you're too close to refuse and it would be very obvious if he were trying to do something. You climb into his jet black mustang and a five minute drive later, you arrive at home. During the drive, he had snuck your hand into his, making leaving that much harder. You slip out of his grasp and wish him well, saying you'll text him once you shower. He agrees and thanks you for coming. As you walk up to your door you notice he hadn't left yet, though once you discover the door is locked you realize why. He wants to make sure you get inside okay, as a sweet gesture. You try the side door, as you have no back door, and the same result. You swore you left them unlocked but couldn't find your keys, until it hits you. You left them on the counter after forgetting to put them in your purse.

 As walk back to your front porch, Jack rolls down his window, "Hey, do you need to stay at my house?"

"I mean.. I could probably walk over to my friend's house-" 

"Please don't go walking alone in the dark. Where do you need to go, I'll take you."

 You remember your friends were on a vacation and tell him that after getting in his car again. He doesn't seem upset at all and simply decides you can stay at his house for the night. This seems unsafe, but you have nowhere else to go. After a twenty minute drive, you arrive at his house, and he lets you in. You go up to his bedroom and he offers you an older black dress shirt to sleep in. The worn fabric is very soft and you take his offer. It's oversized on you, almost like a short gown. 

He offers you his bed and says he can sleep on the couch, but you refuse, "This is your house, it's only fair you sleep most comfortably." 

However, you are so tired your eyes begin to close. He laughs before picking you up and putting you in bed. 

"Good night" he says quietly as you drift off. 

"Noo..." you start, but you fall asleep before finishing the sentence. 

You don't dream that night but wake up to the smell of a home cooked breakfast. After walking downstairs, you realize how beautiful his house is. His modern styled kitchen is the source of the smell, though, so you wander to it. After eating and chatting, you tell him a window should be unlocked behind the house, so he offers to drive you home after you eat. You accept, and hurry out shortly after finishing. He lets you keep the shirt and wear it back to your house and you oblige, knowing he is simply trying to be nice. After the drive, you try to open the window. It lets out a small *click* before opening. You climb inside and open the front door. You wave him goodbye and he waves back before pulling out of your driveway and going back to his house. You realize, though, that you never got his number. He had been messaging you through tinder and said last night he's going to delete it once he gets home. 

Sure enough, you check and it's gone. When you open your purse, however, you find a small slip of paper. 

"That was a fun night, text me if you want - my number is xxx-xxx-xxxx."