A Blind Date As Sticky As A Piece Of Gum

Great! Just fucking great. Landon thought to himself as he stepped onto a piece of gum. He was already late for the blind date his brother Lester forced him into because someone (himself) forgot to check the traffic app. And now he was further delayed as he tried to scrape the sticky mess from the sole of his shoe.

He hated being late for anything in general, even something as unimportant as a blind date. He didn’t see himself as arrogant or disdainful in any manner, but he was a businessman whose time was precious to him. Why Lester thought he had time to date was beyond him, but he could never say no to his little brother. Maybe it was because he was the caring big brother or maybe Lester felt he owed him in some way or another.

What’s more, his brother decided to schedule the date for the middle of the day. Who went out on a date when the sun was still up, especially if it’s a first-time date and you’ve never seen the person before? One would think hiding behind a poorly lit lamp burning on the table and music overpowering your conversation would be perfect, but no it had to be a brunch at a little café in a village close by. Whatever the reason, he was here and he was going to try and make the best of an already unpleasant day.

Lester didn’t say much about her, except that they had been friends for a long time. Her name was Florence, she was twenty-nine and she had her own accounting firm. She was kind, understanding, compassionate, patient, and had a hundred other great traits Landon couldn’t remember on the spot. If he had to be honest, she sounded kind of boring, but surely she would understand why he was late.

Disposing of the gum, he ran his hand through his hair, straightened his jacket before he stepped into Café le Claire.

*****

Florence looked up from where she made herself comfortable, or as comfortable as one could get waiting for a blind date, when she heard the bell of the front door of the café. Straightening her spine, she popped her lips together and readjusted her glasses, only to be disappointed when the guy walked up to a group of people sitting in the corner.

She wasn’t one for blind dates and clearly for good reason. She had been sitting there for the past thirty minutes waiting patiently for her date to show up. She would have understood if it was some stranger she met online and he ghosted her, but this was a blind date set up by her best friend. Lester basically begged her to go out with his older brother, Landon, because according to him they were perfect for each other. If it was anyone but Lester she would have said no, but he always had a way of making people do what he wanted them to do. It’s probably why he was such a great sales manager. She was definitely going to give him an ear full about his poor matchmaking skills.

She didn’t know much about Landon except that he was thirty-one and a director of some company. She recalled a few times where Lester complained about his overprotective, bossy brother but other than that Lester was as tight-lipped as the zipper on her jeans. He insisted it would be better to meet face to face than to speculate about him. It was also the reason she was wearing a red bow in her chocolate brown hair. Though she already made up her mind that he was a pompous ass. Well, Landon could go screw himself because she had better things to do with her time. Gulping down the last of her mimosa, she gathered her handbag and stood up but was stopped when the bell of the café rang again.

*****

Smoothing down his blood-red tie, Landon scanned the café for a woman with a red bow in her hair. It was the only lead he had in identifying his blind date. Now that he thought about it, a name tag would have been better as there were several women with ribbons and bows in their hair. None of them red until . . .

Standing at a table, with her handbag in her hand, pushing her wayfarer glasses up over the bridge of her nose, he knew in his gut that she was his blind date. As he approached her, she slowly moved back into her seat.

“Florence?”

“Yes. Landon, I hope.” She retorted folding her hands over her lap.

“Yes, I’m sorry I am late-” he pulled out the chair to sit down.

“Thirty minutes late.”

“Yes, I do apologize for my tardiness. I am usually the one waiting on others, but I –“

“Let me guess . . . You got stuck in traffic?”

Surprised he answered, “Yes, but how did you-”

“Come on, it’s the oldest excuse in the book -”

“No, that’s really what happened and then I stepped in a piece of -”

“Save your excuses. We both know we’re only here because Laster wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

Staring at her in astonishment, Landon couldn’t believe he thought the woman in front of him was kind and understanding. She was nothing but a devil in Prada, though by the look of it she’d never seen the inside of a brand name store. With her pale blue jeans and very cute white shirt of a ginger kitten playing with yarn on it, she looked more like a nerd at an arcade than the supposed accountant she was. He was immediately ashamed of the path his mind traveled to, but what did she expect. He did apologize. He couldn’t fathom why Lester would think she would be a good match for him. But he promised Lester he would go on this date and he never broke his promises, which was why he hadn’t left yet.

“Would another drink make up for my ‘excuse’?” he sarcastically commented as he gestured to her empty glass.

“Sure, it seems I’ll need it.” She wittingly replied.

She wasn’t wrong in her assumption of him being a pompous ass. Who came dressed in a suit and tie for a brunch at a café? Who was he trying to impress with his attire, clearly not her? She wondered how long it will take him to start talking about his super fancy job, the mansion he lived in, and what expensive car he owned. She might want to ask the waiter to keep the mimosas coming if she was to get through this date.

“So Lester tells me you’re a director at a company?” She asked the inevitable question.

“I am yes. But I hear you have your own accounting firm. How did that start?”

“You want to hear about my job?” she questioned confused.

“Yes?” was his confused response. “Should I not want to hear about your job? I mean, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I’m only making conversation.”

“You don’t want to talk about your fancy job and big house and expensive car?” she ignored his reply.

“Why would I want to do that? And who says I have any of those?”

Jeez. He thought to himself. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. And she was quite feisty, not boring in the least which fascinated him in the strangest way.

“Oh.”

“Oh? That’s all you’re going to say?”

“Well . . . never mind. My accounting firm . . . yes, I inherited money when my grandmother passed away and decided to make my dream a reality and open my own firm.”

“It takes a lot of courage to do that. I myself had the dream of opening my own firm, but then I was offered the position of director and it was an offer I couldn’t refuse. But who knows, maybe I’ll have the courage one day to follow in your footsteps.” He winked which confused Florence even more.

Her hormones were doing a three hundred and sixty-degree turn. In her mind, he was a pompous ass but then he turned out to be flirty and considerate and interested in her life. She might have to swallow her words and thank Lester.

“Do you want to get out of here? I know a little street vendor who makes the best paninis.” She spontaneously suggested.

“Uh, yeah. Sounds good.”

Florence threw a few bills on the table before they left the café. Both walked out with a far different perspective on each other than when they came in.