First Date

“Really, a hair salon?” Elena asked, wearing a confused look on her face.

“Yup,” replied Noah, pushing the car door closed, as he had insisted on picking her up for this surprise. He placed his hand on her lower back as he led her towards the small doors. He felt her muscular back with the tips of his fingers and got self conscious of his bulky body for a moment, but quickly cast that feeling aside.

“You are weird,” she said laughing, referring to their conversation a few days back at the gym, when he finally asked her out, where he warned her he was ‘an odd fellow’ as he put it. “But why this place?”

“I think the bravest thing a person can do on a first date,” he opened the door to the salon and gestured for her to go first, “is change something fundamental about themselves. It says a lot about one’s personality.” He looked off in a fake pensive expression that made Elena laugh.

“Oh yeah? How’s that?”

“Patience, dear…” Said Noah, walking off to the receptionist’s desk and leaving Elena sitting alone in the waiting area. This is crazy, I am not doing anything to my hair today, she thought.

After a moment, Noah came back to relay the reply the lady at the front dest had given him. “So the next chair available is in 20 minutes, which gives me enough time to convince you to do this, I know you don’t want to.”

Elena rolled her eyes, smiled, and said firmly, “I am not cutting my hair.”

“Ah, but you haven’t heard my philosophy.” He pulled his phone and checked the time. 4:15 pm. “Hair is one of the easiest and reversible way to change a person's look, right, yet people are always so reluctant to change it because they’re scared they won’t like it and they’d rather sit and stew in their own comfortable bubble than actually go for something they know they want to do and take a risk. Now, I love your hair... but it's basic and I propose to you a challenge. Change your hair however you’d like, small trim, colour it, go bald, whatever you want, all on me, just be fearless, I know you want to.” He sat back, smiling slyly as if saying 'I dare you to'.

“And what will you gain from this? If this is something that turns you on, then please count me out,” she laughed and touched his arm, because despite this crazy turn of events, she felt something between them, she had for a while. He was funny and wild, never mind the obvious fact that he was gorgeous, with his dirty blonde locks and brown eyes so inquisitive and alluring that, when Elena allowed herself to get lost in them, made her feel a pressure in her heart that made breathing increasingly difficult.

Noah felt her fingers on his skin and got nervous, though he didn’t dare show it. “I get to know you.” He was looking at her like this wasn’t merely a first date, but rather with an expression of lust that made her blush and want to look away. But she held his gaze, hoping he would kiss her, but at the same time, wishing he wouldn’t with all these people around. “I also get to see how adventurous you are,” he continued, adding a mellow ambience after the short pause that lasted an hour to them both. “And that is what we’re really here for.”

Elena gave a knowing smile, as was Noah’s intention. As from their first meeting, he had been planning this.

* * *

TWO WEEKS AGO…

They had been glancing at each other from across the gym for the past week. He had been visiting this particular gym more often in hopes of seeing her. She had always visited this gym because she had a passion for fitness. But now, locking eyes with this boy who was struggling with his exercises in the cutest way, she was coming in even on her rest days.

He had caught up to her as she was exiting the building one day. Her heart started racing as he tapped her shoulder lightly and as she turned around to face him, her imagination was flying with romantic thoughts, but they all came to a halt when she spotted her water bottle in his hand.

“I noticed you left this behind, just wanted to return it,” he said, extending the bottle to her.

With a small mention of thanks she took it and was about to turn around and leave when he hesitantly asked her a simple question and so began their friendship.

They chatted for a long time as they sat inside the coffee shop nearby. They talked effortlessly about everything, their goals, fears, and ambitions, their conversations becoming deep and meaningful effortlessly and naturally. Elena’s fear of failure in the art world after she had left the safe choice of business school in an attempt to follow her dreams. Noah’s recovery from being overweight and the challenges that came with that. Their discussions about the universe and religion. They conversed with ease, and supported each other from the beginning.

And so was the beginning of this particular love story.

* * *

THE PRESENT 

Noah looked at his phone, noticed it was now 4:43 and asked “So, what’s your decision? Come on, be bold,” he whispered. He thought he’d succeeded in opening her mind a little, and he was right.

Elena decided to go for it. For the past few years she had wanted to dye her hair a cool colour, pastel pink or a combination of blue and purple tones that would make her feel like a mermaid. Of course, being the timid and practical person she was, she did not go that far, but she did decide to bleach the ends of her hair a lighter shade, a look that she had always found attractive and that she had always hesitated to try for herself for fear of the new look not suiting her.

Luckily, the salon’s colourist was available and they had no other appointments for that day, so they were able to finish quite quick for a walk-in. During this time, Elena and Noah talked, laughed, joked, and were feeling increasingly comfortable with each other. Elena ended up paying for it, after all, it was not a cheap procedure, and when they got back inside his car, he promised that he would actually pay for the next date.

“So there’s going to be a next date?” asked Elena, squinting her eyes and turning sideways to smile at him, attempting to give a look of suspicion but failing in an adorable way.

Noah, leaning in closer and closer and taking her face in his hand said, “If you’ll have me...”

Elena, staring at his lips, was suddenly pulled by her desire to close the space between their lips and they kissed softly, both leaning their bodies closer to the other as they got swept up in the moment of a great kiss.

After a few seconds, they pulled apart far enough to stare into each other’s eyes and smiled, both releasing the tension in their bodies. Then, Noah said in a low voice that made Elena want to be somewhere more private, “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.”