I’ve never seen such a deep shade of purple in the night as I was walking home from my horrible date. The guy was a nut job and he was all wrong for me. So much for my friend being right about us, he was horrible! He ate with his mouth open and talked with it full. The worst date of my life. I’m only 17, I live in San Francisco, California, I shouldn’t have to go through this stuff yet. My sister was right though, I shouldn’t go on blind dates, I mean, what was I thinking?

I looked all around me I could tell where I was, the corner of Diamond Dr. and Adirondack St. it was pretty busy around here but I guess not at 11 at night. “Hey, Julie! What are you doing out here?” It was my friend’s older brother, Zach, he’s a good guy. I didn’t realize he was behind me.

“Gosh Zach you scared me for a second. I’m walking home from a date.”

“Oh doesn’t sound like it ended very well.”

“No, it didn’t. What are you doing out here so late? Shouldn’t you be at home?”

“Yeah well I just got in a fight with my girlfriend; I think it’s over though. So, I decided to go for a walk, it’s nice.”

“Oh that’s rough.”

“Yeah, so are you and this guy going to work it out?”

“Not in a million years. I have decided that I hate blind dates. Every time my friends try and hook me up with one, they don’t meet the ‘good boyfriend requirements’ and I just don’t think I can deal with anything else.”

“Oh yeah, and what are these requirements? Should I be scared?”

“Maybe, I think it’s mostly along the lines of being a gentlemen, buying you presents, remembering special days, you know things like that.”

“That’s not as bad as I thought it would be. I could handle that stuff.”

“Really, that’s something I be your sister would never believe.”

“Yeah well, you don’t choose your siblings do you?”

“No you never get a choice.” Considering I have two younger brothers.

“So, do you want some company?”

“Sure, I’d like that.” We started to walk down my street. He had such nice cologne on; I can’t believe I’ve never smelt it before. It smelt musky but not too bad and it had some nice spice to it I can’t explain. He was in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. My street was all dark; there were no lanterns in the street. So, it was just me and Zach in the street completely alone. “So how’s hockey going?”

“It’s good; I have a tournament this weekend.”

“That’s fun; can I come and catch a game?”

“Sure, I would love that, thanks.”

“No problem, maybe I’ll bring a couple friends.”

“Sure, the bigger the better right?”

“Totally.”

“Julie?”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“Well, I was just wondering if maybe you would want to go on a date with me sometime, maybe a movie and dinner.” Had he really just asked that? I think he did. Wow that caught me off guard. Maybe it would be fun to do.

“Zach, I don’t know if your sister will be okay with that.”

“I know, but do we have to tell her?”

“I guess not, okay I’ll go on a date with you. When do you want to?”

“How does tomorrow night sound?”

“Sounds good I don’t have anything going on then, so sure, I’d love to.”

“Okay dinner and a movie. Eight o’clock.” We were almost at my house now. It was so dark outside. We walked up my steps to my front door and I turned around to say goodbye to Zach. He was right there, I almost hit him, and he had this look in his eyes. He leaned in and kissed me! I would never think of kissing Zach but now that I was I didn’t mind. His lips were so moist and smooth, wow, he was one good kisser. After, what seemed like five minutes, he pulled away, looked at me and smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, can’t wait.”

“Yeah, I can’t either, see you then.” And I walked inside and shut the door. What a night that was. I went from a horrible blind date to a kiss from my friend’s brother. I walked up to my room and went on my computer and on Facebook. My friend Sam, the one who set me up on the blind date, was online. I clicked on her name and got a chat box and told her all about the date. She was so sorry, and she should be, he was so bad. I told her never to give me a blind date again, she laughed. There was a pause, I was deciding on whether or not I should tell her about Zach. No, I told him we would keep it quiet, maybe in time if anything happens.

It was almost midnight so I signed of my computer and got ready for bed. I was so excited for tomorrow night I could barely sleep. When I woke up the next morning I went downstairs for breakfast, my mom was making pancakes. My sister was sitting at the kitchen table eating; I walked over and sat down. She said, “Hey sleepyhead how was the date?”

“You were right; I was wrong, nothing else to say.”

“Aw come on Julie, tell me about your night. I want to hear all about it.”

“Fine, we went out to dinner and I saw how disgusting he was. He talked with his mouth full of food and chewed with his mouth wide open. It was horrible. And, we had nothing in common at all. I can’t believe I didn’t listen to you and not go. But, it’s too late now.”

“Oh that must have been miserable. I’m sorry you had to go through that kiddo. But, there are more guys in the sea.”

“Yeah, I figured that out.” And right then, it struck me that I had a date that night with Zach. There really were more fish in the sea, and Zach was a big fish I never saw. So that means the kiss actually happened too.

“Are you okay?” I must have been looking weird because I realized I was day dreaming.

I cleared my throat, “Yeah, I’m fine, I was just thinking.”

“Honey, come and get a couple pancakes, they’re ready.” My mom said and put two pancakes on my plate. I put on the maple syrup and sat down next to my sister again. I didn’t know how hungry I was until I tasted the first pancake, they were so good. I finished them and put my plate in the dishwasher.
“Mom I have a date tonight with someone. Do you guys mind?”
“No honey, that’s fine your dad and I have a work party to go to and your sister is going to be at her friends house, I was actually worried you would be alone. This is perfect.” I smiled at her and walked upstairs to do my homework and pick out an outfit for my date tonight.

I chose a jean skirt and a dark green v-neck sweater. It was almost eight and I was finishing my make-up when I heard a car in front of the house. It’s a good thing my parents had to go to some work party and my sister was over at her friend’s house. I went down the stairs and opened the door. And standing there was Zach. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a blue polo shirt. There was his cologne again. He smiled at me and grabbed my hand. He led me out to his car. It was a red Jeep and I thought it was so cool. He brought me to my side of the car and opened the door for me. Then he went over to the drivers side, got in, smiled at me, started the car, and we were off on our date. I could feel this weird feeling in my stomach. I think I was actually nervous.

We arrived at the restaurant and he came over to my door to get me. We walked in and told the receptionist Zach’s name for two and she escorted us to our table. We sat down and got our menus. I looked over at Zach, he was looking down at his menu and he looked up at me, he smiled. Gosh I just love his smile. I decided on a steak and put down my menu. We just got our bread so I grabbed a role and started to butter it. Then I took a bite and looked at Zach. He said, “So, how’s school going?”

“It’s good; I’m having a little trouble with Science.”

“Really, science is my best subject. Maybe I can tutor you if you’d like.”

“That would be great, how’s school going for you?”

“It’s really good, I’m starting to look at colleges.”

“Oh right seniors do that ha-ha.”

“Yeah, it’s hard to find the right one though.”

“What schools are you looking at?”

“Well, there are three that I’m seriously considering, University of Vermont, Miami University, and University of Denver.” The rest of the dinner we talked about colleges and other stuff. We had ordered margarita pizza to share. When we both finished eating, we got the check and headed to the movies.

“What movie are we going to see?” I let him choose because he paid for everything tonight. He chose a romantic comedy, got our tickets, popcorn, and soda and walked into the theater. We decided on some seats in the way top corner, of the movie theater. When the lights went down, Zach took my hand and I looked at him, oh no, I think we might end up being one of those couples that kiss the entire movie instead of watching it. And of course, I was right. All throughout the movie we just sat there, doing our thing. When the movie ended, we stopped and got up. He was still holding my hand.
We got in his car again, and we were on our way. When we got to my house I got outside and looked around, none of my family is home yet. He walked me to my door, déjà vu all over again from the night before. He started to kiss me good night, I still didn’t want this night to end so when we finished, I brought him inside. I made us some hot chocolate and we turned on the TV. “What do you want to watch?” I said.
“I’m not sure, do you like CSI?”
“Yeah, that show is awesome.” I looked on the guide and found it; it was 10:30 at night now so it was in the middle of a show. All of a sudden, a car drove into the driveway. I looked at Zach, he was standing up, and I said, “Are you leaving?”
“Yeah, it’s getting late; I’m going to head home now.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
“I had a good time tonight.”
“Yeah, I did too, I’ll call you tomorrow.” I walked him to the door; he kissed me on the cheek and walked down to his car. My parents came up the steps and looked at me; I must’ve had rosy cheeks from all the blushing.
“How was your date?”
“Fine, we had dinner and a movie. I’m tired so I’m going to head up to bed.”
“Alright honey, see you in the morning.” I walked up the stairs and into my bedroom. I have a feeling Zach and I were going to last for a long time.