Chapter 7
Even as I was getting ready for the date, I was still a bit unsure if I was making the right decision by going out again. See, I was an over thinker and the second I had agreed to go out on another date, I had already started thinking about all the negative possibilities and all the things that could go wrong tonight.
All the other dates that I've been on so far had failed, what if this one was no different? When I read this guy's profile, I was actually really intrigued and interested by how he described himself, the things he had mentioned enjoyed doing and also the qualities he was looking for in a lady. I was really hoping that even if things don't necessarily work out with this guy that the date wouldn't be a complete disaster, I just couldn't handle any more of those disastrous dates.
Kim had given me this floral spaghetti strap dress with a plunging neckline and was flowing right below my knees. She had bought it online- all because she is one of those impulsive shopaholic- and when she had gotten it, it didn't fit her well.
The return process for items bought online is sometimes tedious, so instead of returning it, she decided to give it to me. Then she proceeded to raid my closet for whatever clothes she could find that I had that couldn't fit me. Kim was at least three inches taller at a 5ft6" and a little skinnier than I, so at times whatever that was too tight or snug on me would fit her well and clothes that were loose on her would fit me better.
So for a while now, we have been trading clothes like that. When Kim brought the dress to me and suggested that it would look nice for my date, I had teased her asking her why she wanted me to wear a night gown on my date- the dress definitely reminded me of floral night gown I once had. The only difference was that one was shorter with a white background. However, the dress that Kim gave me was really comfortable, it wasn't too provocative and it wasn't too conservative- it was just alright.
"You look really pretty." Alexis said as she came into my room as I was getting ready.
"Wow, was that a compliment from you? Never thought that I'd see the day. Thank you." I said to her in surprise.
"What? You say that like I'm incapable of giving compliments." Alexis said to me.
"I never said that you were incapable, I'm just saying that it is weird hearing it from you because you're rarely ever nice much more giving compliments." I responded.
"That is so not true, I gave compliments all the time." Lexi said to me. "At least when compliments are due...are you wearing that out without a coat or something?"
"No, thanks for reminding me. Could you grab that red jacket from my closet please?" I said to her as I put my phone and lipstick that I had just used in my purse.
"I thought you said not to go back into your closet." Lexi said as she walked over to it.
"I did, and remember that I had also said not without my permission? Now I'm giving you permission to do so." I said to her.
"I don't see a red jacket," Alexis said as she looked through racks of clothes.
"It is right at the front Lexi." I told her.
"What this? This isn't red Morgan, this is burgundy." Lexi said as she brought the jacket to me.
"Red or Burgundy, it is the same thing. Thanks." I took the jacket from her hand put it on. "So how do I look now?"
"Are you fishing for another compliment?" Lexi chuckled.
"Yeah maybe, I kinda like the idea of compliments coming from you." I said to her.
"Well, like I said before, you look great and your hair looks awesome as well. You're going to knock this guy dead."
"I hope not." I laughedat her expression. "The idea was to wow my date, not knock him dead."
"You know I don't mean literally, I mean with your looks. Maybe I should say you're going to wow this guy then instead. Alexis smiled. "Good luck Morgan."
"Thanks, I'll need it." I replied. "I'm going to head out now if I don't want to be late. I'll see you later."
It was the very first time in forever that Lexi and I had gotten on well like this. Usually I couldn't stand her and we would be arguing alot but since our talk the other day, she seemed to be making progress so I figured that I might as well try too- she was family after all.
When I had prayed to the heavens that this guy that I was supposed to have a date with was real, my prayers have been answered. Mr.Sean Mercier was indeed a real person--that I was thankful for. The main thing on my checklist for a potential partner was crossed off--1.Real.
I had literally acted like a detective or more like a thorough investigator earlier. I had borrowed and driven dad's car tonight and there was a parking lot right across from the restaurant where we were supposed to meet. I actually parked the car and stayed in it people watching...well what I was really doing was looking out to see if I saw anyone that fitted the physical profile of the pictures I had seen on the guy's account.
The plan was to meet at Thulsi's restaurant at 6:30pm and I had gotten here at around 6:15 so I had enough time to mentally prepare myself for this date as well as scope out the area for a familiar face. At exactly 6:24 I saw him walking towards the restaurant's entrance. His car was parked a little distance from mine in an opposite lane. I had only gotten a quick glimpse of his face before only being able to see his back as he entered the restaurant. That was another good thing I could tick on my checklist--2.Timely.
I did a quick check in the mirror before getting out of the car to go into the restaurant, he definitely had to see me as a timely person as well.
The second the host showed me to the table where Mr.Mercier was, I had mentally ticked another thing that was already obviously on my checklist but evidence just now--3. Super Handsome.
When we had officially met and greeted each other, another thing was ticked on my list. Well two other things--Chivalrous and Gentlemanly.
He had greeted me so nicely and offered to pull out my chair for me to sit. I didn't know that guys still do that anymore, I had really thought that chivalry had died but then again, Sean was an older man- he still had those values and way instilled in him.
"So your real name is Morgan Rose?" Sean asked me while we waited for our food to be served. We had already ordered a couple minutes ago.
"Yes, but it is actually Morgan Rosen." I said to him.
"Oh, so you shortened them. So is Morgy like a nickname or something?" Sean asked again.
"Not really," I chuckled remembering how that nickname came about. "The truth is... My best friend- Kim, she is the one who created the account. So she was the one who came up with that nickname."
"You know, I was wondering after meeting you but now I understand." Sean said confusing me.
"What do you mean exactly?" I asked him just as the server came back with our food.
We both said thank you as the waiter put two plates of confit de canard with potatoes in front of us. In English it is duck confit. It was a dish made with the whole duck and prepared using its own fat. It does sound gross but I've decided to try it and so far it smelled like an amazing meal.
"I meant, now that I've met you in person, I can't help but have the universal cliche thought and wonder what a beautiful, smart, intelligent young woman like yourself doing on a dating website." Sean said to me. "Especially, one with such a name, you don't really seem like the type who needs online dating. Now I know that you're on it because of your friend. Friends can be a bit influential aren't they?"
"Yes, they can. She was determined to sign me up even more so once I told her that I wasn't interested." I said to him as we started eating. "How about you? How come you're on a dating website like that? I don't see you as the type of man who needs the internet to get dates either."
"Really? Are you saying that I'm charming, good looking and still got a little game?" Sean joked.
Okay another attribute on my checklist ticked--funny with a sense of humor.
"Actually, you're breathtakingly handsome..."
Wait what!? Omg, did I really just admit that out loud. Oh crap.
"Oh my God. I'm sorry I didn't mean to be so blunt. I don't know what came over me to blurt that out, I'm usually not this bold, I..."
"No, no it is okay. Why are you apologizing?" Sean chuckled. "You just gave me an honest compliment that's probably going to cause me to get a bigger head now but thank you. Don't apologize, I honestly appreciate your sudden boldness, makes me feel great about myself. Don't you see that you've just boosted my ego and self confidence. And for the record you are even more breathtakingly beautiful."
"Oh God," I chuckled while blushing. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Sean smiled at me. "See? you don't need to feel awkward about giving sincere compliments."
"I'll keep that in mind next time." I said to him.
"You know, when I sent you that message I didn't think you were going to respond to me." Sean said to me.
"Why not?"
"I didn't even think that you'd ever agree to go out with me, I hadn't thought we'd be here having dinner this evening." he continued.
"I don't understand why though." I said to him curious to hear his response.
"Just looking at your pictures, deep down I thought that I didn't stand a chance with this girl. I was a bit insecure and I thought 'I can't possibly be this girl's type and she probably have a 1000 other guys sending messages to her, what are the odds that she'll even read mine?" Sean responded.
"Please don't judge but being an older guy approaching beautiful younger women can sometimes be a bit intimidating. At times our confidence can be a bit lower than younger guys and all insecurity rises. You have no idea how glad I was when I saw a respond from you and then you agreed to meet me for dinner."
"I don't see any reason for you to be insecure and have a low confidence. I mean what are you insecure about? I don't get it and you being intimidated? That's a surprise because you seem to have excellent communication skills and you're doing great so far." I said to him with a smile.
"You haven't creeped me out or anything as yet and like I said before, you don't seem like a guy who needs the internet or a dating site to get a date so I'm still curious as to how come you're on one."
"Well, my wife passed away almost four years ago..."
"I'm sorry to hear that." I said to him empathetically.
"Yeah, since she passed away I never dated anyone since. I hardly come across women that I'm interested in and I work a lot, so I don't get much time to go out and meet other people." Sean said to me. "See, I'm a doctor. I have my own medical clinic- Mercier Medical Clinic- and I work six days a week, from 7:30 in the mornings to 6:30 in the evenings. Except for Saturdays, on Saturdays the office is opened at 8:00am to 4:30pm. Also this may be weird or random but here is my card- if you ever get sick, you could come by."
Sean reached into his pocket taking out a card with his Clinic's address and numbers and handing it to me.
Alright, so he is really a doctor then.
"Okay," I smiled as I took the card and put it in my purse.
"Working for over 10 hours almost every day of the week makes it hard for me to get a date and since I've been single for four years now, I figured I would get back into the dating scene." Sean said to me pausing to take a bite from his food.
That was another thing I admired about him so far, he didn't chew with his mouth opened or talk with his mouth full or anything. He had Perfect Table Manners.
"I decided to try online dating a month ago and when I went online that website was among the first set that popped up. I know the name sounded a bit weird and creepy like a website for old pervs to prey on younger women but somehow I still decided to sign up." Sean said to me. "Now that I think about, I feel like I acted desperate in signing up."
"Oh, I totally get what you mean because when my friend introduced me to the website, I remember thinking the same thing." I chuckled as do Sean. "So Mr. Mercier, I'm a bit curious. Other than me, have you had any luck meeting anyone else interesting from the site?"
"I don't think I would be here if I had. I however went on two dates with two separate young ladies and let's just say they were definitely not my type or what I was looking for." Sean said to me. "I then saw your profile and I really liked it when I read through it. You seem quite interesting and I like how you stated certain things about you and what you wanted in life. I was intrigued so I sent you that message unsure if you were ever going to respond but you did and now we're here having dinner. What about you? Haven't met any interesting guys yet?"
"Oh, I have met quite a few interesting people. And let me tell you that I never would've believed that the world had so many crazies and creeps until I've experienced it myself. " I said to him "So far, you're the first and only normal guy I've met and been out with. I'm praying that you don't prove me wrong sooner or later."
"I promise you that I'll try my very best not to turn into a sudden creep or weirdo on you Morgan." Sean laughed.
"Please, I'd appreciate that." I responded chuckling as well.
The rest of the date went absolutely perfect without any unusual, disgusting or creepy events. This was the very first perfect date I've had in a while. On my mental checklist, Sean probably scored 8 out of 10 so far.
After we had finished eating, Sean insisted on paying for the check since he was the one who took me on this date. He then proceeded to ask how I was getting home if he should get a cab for me, when I told him that I drove he offered to walk me to my car.
"Sean, I had a great time tonight," I smiled at him as we came to a stop by the car. "Thank you for that."
"I had a great time as well Morgan." Sean smiled back as he opened my door for me.
"So I guess I should say goodnight then." I smiled at him while thanking him for opening the car door for me.
"Morgan, wait I..." Sean paused as I got in the car.
"What is it?" I smiled as I looked at him.
"I had a great time tonight and I want to see you again." Sean said to me with a little hesitation. "That is only if you agree with seeing me again. I won't force anything on you."
"Oh, okay lend me your phone please. " I said opening my palm to him.
When he placed his phone in my hand, I quickly typed in my number and saved it, as well as ringing my phone so I would know his number as well.
"You can call or text me anytime. " I smiled before handing back the phone to him.
"I definitely will, " Sean smiled shutting the car door for me "Goodnight Morgan, drive home safely."
"You too Sean." I smiled at him as he stepped back and I started the car. "Bye, Goodnight."