My first date

I regret that I never bought proper clothes to go out on a date. The clothes that were in my closet were only old shirts and baggy pants that can be used both to go out and to be at home.

I had to borrow a shirt and pants from my dad. I decided to tell him about my date with Isabella, and I was really surprised by the interest he showed in my words. Even the clothes chosen for "the big day" were something he chose:

— Your mother liked this shirt very much; in fact, she was the one who bought it for me, and these pants would fit you very well, just don't forget the belt so it doesn't fall off. I'm sorry I can't lend you the shoes, but it's your fault for having such big feet

We laughed a little and talked about many things that day. He gave me advice on what to do on a date; from his experiences with women, the things I should say to her, the things I shouldn't do, etc. I really appreciated the moments I spent with my father, even if they were very rare due to his work, the few moments that I could have with him made me reaffirm the enormous effort he made to make me feel good.

The big day arrived, on Sunday at 3:00 PM I was in the downtown mall. I arrived a little tired, because I had not been able to sleep the night before, thinking about the thousands of events that could happen so that my first date will end in a tragedy.

The movie was going to start at 4:00 PM, but I decided to arrive an hour early to buy the tickets. I was very afraid that the tickets were going to run out and that this will cause Isabella to decide to cancel everything. In fact, I had made a list of "100 things you must do to avoid failing on your first date". Arriving on time and buy the tickets was thing # 28.

In addition to watching the movie, I wanted to take Isabella to eat somewhere in the mall, and at the end of the day take her home. I didn't plan on making any progress to make our friendship "level up" or something like that, I just wanted her to have a good time, and I could tell my grandchildren in the future that their grandfather's first date was a success.

As I had planned, I bought the tickets, and I waited for her. We agreed to meet at 3:45 PM, so I knew I had to wait a long time for her. But as the time approached, I became more and more nervous. I wouldn't stop sweating, my shirt collar was really damp. Because of this, I could not stop smelling myself; I knew that, even if I had bathed a few hours before, the sweat could affect my aroma. My head was a total mess.

The clock struck 3:45 PM and she did not appear. At this point, the nervousness that I had, turned into anxiety. I was afraid that she had completely forgotten our date. Before, it was not very common to have a cell phone, although there were already some cell phones on the market, my economic condition did not allow me to afford one, so it was impossible for me to contact her.

I even started to wonder if I was in the right place, but there was no way I could have been wrong. This was the only shopping center in the city that had a movie theater, and I was specific when I mentioned the exact point where we would meet. I just had to wait and watch the clock tick… 3:46, 3:47, 3:48, 3:49… 3:59.

By the time the clock struck 4:00 PM my anxiety had already turned into something else: Anger. I was mad at her and at myself. I was furious because at this point I was sure Isabella had completely forgotten our date, and at the same time I was cursing myself for being so naive in believing that she would come.

After anger followed sadness. By the time the clock struck 4:10 PM my mood was totally on the floor. I was a little sad to imagine coming home and having to tell my dad that my first date never happened.

The movie, of course, had already started. I was still waiting sitting at the point of the mall that we had agreed, it was already 4:30 PM. I decided to wait for her 15 more minutes, hoping that she would arrive and we could watch at least half of the movie.

As I kept waiting, I began to think about what I had done so far. I was surprised when I remembered the path that led me to this place. It's been a year since Isabella came into my life. From the beginning, I was impressed with her beauty, for me it was not normal that a girl could be so pretty, and when she decided to take the first step and start talking to me, I was so scared that I ended up pushing her away. Fortunately, I managed to fix things, and today our relationship had evolved so much that I could already consider her my friend ... my best friend. Now, I was sitting here waiting for my first date with her.

I kept reminiscing about the past until I looked at the clock and saw that it was already 5:00 PM. It was already certain that she was not going to arrive. The problem now is how I was going to deal with her at school; Am I going to argue furiously with her, or will I be understanding and let her explain to me what happened? It was something that I had not decided yet, but of one thing I was sure ... I no longer needed the tickets. I just broke them into thousands of pieces and tossed them into the nearest trashcan. When I did that, I could see a familiar silhouette approaching me.

THANK YOU, ISABELLA

— - Hi, I'm sorry I'm late. I had a few little problems at home

— - ...

I was speechless, and it wasn't because I was angry and didn't want to talk to her, it’s just that her presence had shocked me. Isabella had arrived very scruffy; the usual overwhelming presence of beauty that she possessed had completely disappeared. It was the first time I saw her without makeup, disheveled, she was wearing ripped jeans, a patterned blouse and some dirty old tennis shoes.

— I understand that you are angry with me. I have arrived very late and possibly you bought the tickets, and it is impossible to get the money back, but believe me I tried to contact you, but I remembered that you do not have a cell phone ...

—HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHA

I couldn't hold back laughing anymore. In truth, I tried to contain myself as much as I could, but seeing her in that state was unreal. All the suffering that I had previously gone through had been totally worth it.

— Are you ok?

— Sorry, sorry ... It's just that, you ... No, nothing, nothing. Forget it

Isabella was stunned by my attitude. I couldn't tell her that the cause of my laughter was because the girl I thought was perfect all this time, had this side where she seems like just another mortal.

— Well, I'll just let you pass this because I was late. Tell me, do you want to watch the movie? This time I will pay for the tickets

— No, I don't want to watch the movie anymore. I heard from the movie workers that it's lousy

— Really? Well, okay… what do you want to do then?

— Shall we go for pizza?

I didn't even let her answer, and I went ahead to the pizzeria in the mall. I was surprised at how little nervous I was, perhaps because I had already experienced the worst and now I was just concentrating on enjoying my first date.

When we were entering the pizzeria, Isabella seemed a little nervous and gently pulled on my sleeve to say:

— S-Sebastian, I c-can't eat pizza

— Are you allergic to pizza?

— It's not that, it's just ... Pizza has a lot of calories

— That's what makes it so tasty. Have you ever eaten pizza?

— Never

God, I was surprised that such a person existed. She had voluntarily deprived herself of the incredible taste of pizza. I had to fix that...

— Now, this is personal, you will have to eat at least 3 slices

— Whaaaat? Are you crazy? I'll never do it

— You have to face it as your punishment for having made me wait more than an hour for you to arrive

— But ... I really don't want to eat pizza, do you know how much exercise I will have to do to burn those calories?

— Don't be dramatic ... Let's get in at once.

Unconsciously I took her by the hand and we entered the pizzeria. Now that I think about it, I was being a little rough, but the truth is that I was really enjoying being with her.

We ordered a pepperoni pizza. I told Isabella that she had to try a slice, and if she didn't like it, she could stop eating. Seeing her face when taking the first bite of pizza was amazing. When we are children, we have small important victories as we grow: We learn to crawl, then to walk, we say our first word, we go to school ... All are moments that remain etched in the minds of our parents. Well, seeing Isabella enjoy her first slice of pizza was something like that for me; her face when discovering a new flavor was something indescribable.

We ended up eating three pizzas. Isabella took care of two 1/2 of them. I was a little scared to observe her not having self control, I had created a "Pizza monster". When she was satisfied, her consciousness returned.

— Well, I admit that pizza has a taste… interesting

— Interesting? After watching you eat like this, I think the word "interesting" has changed its meaning ~

I laughed a little and then we left the pizza place. It was still early to go home, so I decided to take the initiative and invite Isabella to "do a little exercise"

— Hey Isabella, what do you think if we go to mini golf and burn the calories we just gained

— Hm? Is there a miniature golf at this mall?

— Yes, it's really new.

— ...

Isabella seemed a bit insecure, but in the end she decided to join me. I wasn't originally planning on going to mini golf on this date, because I've always been so bad at sports, but I felt so confident in myself that I didn't care if she saw me make a fool of myself.

We got to the mini golf and I had to shoot first. I really didn't do that badly, pretty decent actually. The problem came when Isabella took the golf club...

— Come on Isabella, don't be nervous

— Shut up!

I couldn't believe how bad she was for the game. The way she was gripping the golf club was, to say the least, weird. It took her 20 attempts to hit the ball, and when she did, her shot went totally deflected.

— Isabella, I have the impression that you suck for golf

— One more word and I'll break your head with this stick

I was having a lot of fun. I was a bit sorry to see the perfect girl like that, but my evil side couldn't help but tease and enjoy the moment

— Do you want me to help you? I can show you how I do it

— Now you plan to teach me? Do you feel like a master of mini golf or something?

— Well, compared to you I think I'm Tiger Woods

— F*ck you

I laughed out loud again, but when it was my turn to shoot I started to teach my technique to Isabella

— Look, first you have to grab the stick this way. Then you adjust your body like this and once you do that you only have to move from back to front

Fortune was on my side and the shot was perfect. But when Isabella's turn came, she did it again fatal. This time I didn't laugh anymore, she was really having a hard time

— ­­ Let's repeat the shot. This time let me help you

I stood behind her and took her arms. Of course, I kept my distance so that it wouldn't be considered sexual harassment, but still just being so close to her made me nervous

— This way, if you do it like this ...

Isabella shot and the ball took the path to the hole. She was really happy, she was jumping from side to side with joy

— You are a cheater, if only you had taught me your technique from the beginning, I would already be winning the game

— Hey, it's my first time playing mini golf too. It's not like my technique is something I've practiced for years.

— Come on, let's start over. Whoever loses will have to buy an ice cream from the winner.

We played for quite some time. I ended up winning narrowly, so Isabella had to buy me an ice cream. We went to the terrace of the mall. The view was magnificent, seeing the starry sky with her created a very beautiful atmosphere.

I had truly had one of the funniest days of my life. In fact, I can't recall a day when I had so much fun and laughter. I was very grateful to Isabella, this was the best first date of all

— Thank you, Isabella

— Eat your ice cream in silence, no bragging

— I do not thank you for the ice cream, I want to thank you because this day has been a lot of fun for me

— A-Ah ... I see

I noticed that Isabella got nervous, but I didn't want to say anything to her. Maybe what I said was just uncomfortable for her. I just kept enjoying the moment

— …I-I also had a lot of f-fun today

— I-I'm glad to h-hear that

Was this the typical romantic scene where the protagonists are too nervous because they have realized their feelings? Yes, it was exactly that. In the end, we didn't say anything else, we only finished our ice cream and left the mall.

I walked Isabella home. She refused at first, but the truth is that it was too late, and I was afraid that something bad happen to her, so in the end she accepted. We were very nervous, the attitude that I had shown throughout the date had disappeared, and now only the nervous and scary Sebastian remained.

We arrived at Isabella’s house without any problem. We were both standing in front of the door without saying anything to each other. The atmosphere was very tense, I was very nervous, but even so, I decided to start with the farewell.

— This is your house, right?

Quite a stupid question, but it had the expected effect. Isabella started laughing and continued with the conversation

— It looks a lot like my house, I think so

— I'm glad to hear that, we'd be in trouble if you open the door and it's not your family that's inside

— I can always say that you kidnapped me and made me do it

— By the time you start talking I'll be a long way from here

Isabella and I burst out laughter. The tense atmosphere that was before disappeared and we were the same as before

— I had a great time today Isabella, I think it was the most fun day of my life. I hope we can go out again one day

— Yes of course. I promise to be early next time

— Do not think that I will wait for you so long again

— Don't challenge me ~

I didn't want to say goodbye. But it was already late, and I didn't want to worry my dad. So I said goodbye to her

— Bye Isabella, see you at school

I held out my hand, expecting a goodbye squeeze. Isabella looked at me and said:

— Yes, see you at school ...

She left me with my arm outstretched and slowly approached me. Instead of the normal goodbye squeeze, she took my face and kissed my cheek. I'll repeat it: SHE GAVE ME A KISS ON THE CHEEK.

After the little kiss, she smiled as usual and entered her house. I stayed outside, motionless, for a couple of minutes. I asked my legs to move from there, but they didn't respond. My entire body was petrified; it was the first time that I received a kiss.

Finally, when my feet responded to my request, I returned home. I no longer had any doubts: I had completely fallen in love with Isabella. And it was not necessary the kiss to prove it, it was simply undeniable that I felt something special for her, something more than a simple friendship.

I am grateful to Isabella, my first date was something totally special. But, what followed next was the beginning of my hatred of women. To this day, I do not understand how something that seemed to be the beginning of a beautiful relationship ended up being a total tragedy.

Those things only happen to me, I guess...