Page 6 of Blind Bite
I followed her through the dimly lit room, spotting a guy sitting alone near the back window. Tall, dark-haired, pretty conventionally handsome. He looked muscular without looking like a balloon animal, I wondered how he’d perceive me. Would I be his type? Not everyone was into the violet hair, lip piercing, tattoos, girlie goth that was my essence. My skirt and sweater today was pretty tame, my safest choice besides a white t-shirt and jeans.
The man looked up as we approached, letting a smile spread across his face as he stood.
I tucked a loose strand behind my ear and flashed a small smile. “Beckett? I’m sorry I’m so late, work got away from me. Hi, I’m your blind date.” Hi, I’m your blind date? Kill me now before I said something even more cringey.
“No worries,” he laughed. “What’s your name?”
“Lilith.”
Lacey was not kidding, this guy was cute! Deep brown eyes rimmed with the most gorgeous dark lashes I had ever seen. Short brown hair in that purposefully messy style. Everything about him screamed all-American boy until you got to the silver hoop adorning his lower left lip. We took our seats and the waiter came to grab my drink order before leaving us.
“So, where do you work?” he asked.
“Down at Venom, I’m the owner's apprentice.” I could feel my cheeks getting a tinge of red. “It works out well for my class schedule since she doesn’t open until noon anyway.”
“Oh yeah, Lacey said you were an art student. I’m studying cyber security.”
I laughed. “I feel like we’re polar opposites there. Analytical versus creative.” The waiter returned with my sparkling moscato and took our orders. He ran off again and my hungry stomach couldn’t be more grateful.
“I like that about us,” Beckett said as he noted my confusion, “us being opposites. It’d be boring if we were the exact same and liked all of the same things. But to be fair, tech can be creative in its own way. My guess is you’re not a big hockey fan?”
He liked that about us… No, slow your roll, Lilith. This is just one date, a first date. He’s just being nice.
I shook my head, “Nope, sorry.”
“That’s okay, as long as you don’t mind coming to watch me play sometimes,” he winked. “I’ll come to your art shows and try to blend in with everyone who sees the universe in a blob.”
“Well, I don’t know about art shows, but if you like manga or need a tattoo, I’m your girl.”
It was his turn to be confused but saved by our food gracefully arriving by way of our waiter. He dropped the plates down in a flourish before sauntering off to check in with his other tables.
“Is that like anime?” he asked.
I was in the middle of chewing my food but I gave an encouraging nod.
“I dig it.”
We ate our meal slowly, fitting in bites between our conversation. We talked about everything, our families, friends, how his hockey buddies teased him over tonight. I mentioned seeing Steven, his captain, at the shop. It was clear they were not the best of friends. The conversation never became awkward. He even seemed excited as I shared more about myself. He wasn’t what I thought he would be. He was definitely a jock, but he appeared to be openly interested when it came to things like my web comic or how my apprenticeship was going. Just by looking at him, you’d think he’d be more into the preppy sorority type like Grace. But as I started to see him a bit deeper, I realized my thoughts when I got here were so unfounded.
We shared a dessert. When the bill came, he insisted on paying. Much to my surprise, he offered to walk me home. The walk was nice, he left barely enough space to be respectful but our hands often grazed each other with every step.
As my building came into view, my nerves started ramping up once again.
We stopped near the door, the silence now heavy with something unspoken, but not in the worst way.
“Thanks for walking me home,” I said.
He towered over me, but not in an intimidating way, pools of brown captured my eyes. “Anytime, I enjoyed meeting you, Lilith.”
“Me too.”
“Can I get your number? Maybe we can grab coffee sometime this week?”
My heart skipped a beat, suddenly aware that I had caused an awkward pause.
“Yeah,” I handed him my phone and took his, entering my name and number for him before swapping back.
He seemed ready to say something else, the air around him felt energized. Before I could blink, his large hands cupped my face and his mouth descended on mine. Kissing him back, my hands found their way onto his chest. His very broad, very hard chest. It was almost hard to notice under the jacket he had on. We stayed entangled for a few more moments, lost in the heat of the kiss until he finally pulled away. A huge grin brightened his face.
