Get your own
 diary at DiaryLand.com! contact me older entries

2013-08-20 - 7:28 p.m.

May 30, 2013 at 7:46pm

How often can one experience a chick-lit/chick-flick moment? Most importantly, how does that work with a romantically-challenged skeptic?

Picture this:

You hadn't been feeling well lately. In fact, you were rather gloomy. After work that Thursday night, you decided to wait for your brother at 7-11.

Surprise, surprise. That was where it all took place.

You'd been waiting at the far corner of the room, sitting with a bottle of mineral water and charging your phone. The AC was pretty cold, but you didn't mind at all.

Inside, you were feeling much colder.

Then suddenly, you heard another chair creak behind you. You half-glanced back without real interest.

An average height, burly-looking guy was sitting there. He was bald, with a faint stubble and a dark brown complexion. He was shivering.

You were secretly eyeing him as he asked a 7-11 staff whether he could smoke indoor or not.

The staff answered no as she shook her head and smiled politely. You silently praised that sweet-looking girl for her assertiveness. You felt slightly annoyed with his lack of tolerance for non-smokers indoor.

After that, he was mumbling to himself about 'not being able to smoke indoor'. He was speaking your language. Pretty fluent, despite the peculiar accent.

When he noticed you were sitting nearby and alone, you sensed that he was expecting your confirmation about the smoking prohibition.

"No," you told him seriously as you shook your head. Then you turned back to the window, waiting for your brother. However, you could sense that he was now staring at you. That was when you suddenly realized what you'd done.

Big mistake. It was after 10:00 pm and you were alone. If you'd wanted to be left alone, then you shouldn't have said anything earlier. In fact, you should've ignored him earlier.

Too late. He was now clearly taking an interest in you. You felt your knees going weak like jelly. Your fingers were growing colder, and it was obviously not from the AC in the room.

Not tonight, you fearfully pleaded. Please.

"Are you waiting for someone?" Obviously, yeah. Duh. "Your boyfriend?"

"No." You found yourself quite taken aback by such a direct assumption. You looked back at him. "My brother."

"Oh, is he coming here anytime soon?"

"Yeah, he's on his way." Somehow, your short, rather cryptic responses didn't stop him. The next thing you realized, he got up and moved to sit...right next to you!

Gulp.

Panic rising within, you realized that you had to keep your cool. You'd never let him see that you were somewhat intimidated - or even scared - by him. After taking a long, deep breath - you managed to answer most of his intrusive questions. Good girl. You didn't tell him exactly where you lived, only naming 'Kebayoran'. (And yes, there are two Kebayorans in this city.)

Then he asked about your age. Feeling like throwing him off even more, you challenged him to guess. He said: "Twenty."

What? He was joking, right??

"Thanks." You grinned. "What makes you think that?"

"I don't know." He smiled and simply shrugged. "Most Asians tend to look young."

You felt yourself loosen up a bit, although you were still unsure whether he was being serious or that was just a pick-up line. You smiled warmly at him.

"Thirty-one."

"Oh." He seemed surprised at first, but then nodded as if glad of the confirmation. "You don't look thirty-one."

"Thanks." You smiled at him again. Not everyday you get such a compliment from a total stranger, so you might as well enjoy this one.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked again. "Are you single?"

Dude, that wasn't smooth! you'd wanted to tell him. Your smile faded.

"Why do you want to know?" You sounded defensive. Once again, you found yourself surprised that your cold response didn't throw him off. In fact, he just shrugged.

"I'm just curious," he said. "I'm single too, so I want to know if you are or not."

"I am." You decided to tell him the truth. If you had no interest in him whatsoever, you could always say no and walk away.

Another sporty-looking guy interrupted your conversation by saying hi to him. They talked briefly before Mr.Sporty left. (You quickly assumed that they must be friends.) Then the guy turned his attention back to you.

The next thing you knew, he told you his name - so you felt compelled to tell him yours. (Fair play.) You learned that he was part French, part Turkish. (Well, that explained the accent.)

Then he asked you to save his number on your phone. (Based on your past experiences - which weren't that many - that was unusual. Mostly it's the guy asking the girl's name first.)

You did, of course - mostly out of courtesy instead of personal interest. After that, he asked you to text him your number as he got up to leave. He told you he was going to smoke outside. You nodded absentmindedly. When he asked you to join him, you showed him your phone - still plugged in, waiting for the battery to be fully-charged again.

He nodded and then waved goodbye as he exited the room. You nodded back and looked down at your phone.

Would you do it? a voice inside your head challenged you with glee and mockery. Would you just do it?

Fair play, you silently convinced yourself as you punched the buttons. Then, one...two...three...you silently counted to five before you finally hung up. Click! After that, you just sat down, waiting. For your brother - and other possibilities? You were unsure yourself.

From the window that night, you could watch him sitting outside - alone in the crowd. He was smoking. You saw him looking down at his phone and gave a curious frown. Not wanting to get caught spying, you quickly looked back at your phone. All the while you were thinking just how weird the whole situation was.

A few seconds later, his text came:

"Is this you?"

"Yes."

"You can join me here."

I know, you thought sadly. Instead, you gave him a lame excuse:

"Sorry, but I'm an ex-smoker."

Ha-ha, what a joke! A menacing laughter rang inside your head. You grew up with smokers.

"Up to you," came his next reply. He didn't even look back at the window, even when he knew where you still were.

And by the way, it was almost midnight.

Your phone had finished charging. Your brother hadn't turned up yet. Now what?

Wait, who are we kidding here? Of course, in the end, it was the curious cat of an artistic author in you that made the final decision. It wasn't out of boredom; just an impulse. If you were to become a professional author later on, this would be one of the many ways for you to study human behaviour and characters.

Okay, fine. That wasn't entirely true. There was a growing interest in him too.

Happy now?

You gathered all your things and walked outside. He spotted you and called out:

"Is your brother here now?"

"No," you told him truthfully. Somehow, your instinct had told you to relax and not be overly suspicious. You saw him drag a chair nearby, clearly inviting you to sit with him.

You did, of course. Surprisingly, that was a decision you didn't regret.

It turned out that he was quite nice. You had an interesting conversation with him - and a good laugh too. You were still wary, but you found yourself wanting to trust him too - even just a little. Why?

One of your best friends used to tell you just how difficult it was to make you believe that people actually cared about you too, that some guys were also interested in you. It was hard to gain your trust, especially since you'd been hurt way too much and often in the past. Not to mention that your father had taught you well - not to trust guys easily, especially those you'd just met.

When you told him about what your father had taught you, he simply nodded in agreement.

"Your dad is right."

Thinking of your father sick at home saddened you. You tried to wash those thoughts away but barely succeeded.

When he offered to buy you a drink, you hesitated for a moment.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." He nodded as he got up. "What can I get you?"

Okay, when was the last time a guy had treated you this cordially?

Still, you didn't want to make him wait. You ordered only a bottle of mineral water you'd just had earlier, which surprised him.

"Are you sure?" When you just nodded and smiled, he shrugged. "Okay."

"Thanks!" you called out to him as he went back inside 7-11. You looked at the table and found his I-Phone there.

Oh, wow. He trusted you this much?? (Unless he were Paris Hilton, who could always afford another phone or more.)

He returned with your order. You accepted it gratefully and thanked him again. The he sat down and started lighting another cigarette. (Ugh.)

"I don't normally do this," you started, then wished you hadn't. Very smooth, clumsy girl. You may kick yourself under the table as you please.

"Why?" he asked you seriously. He seemed more than interested now; he was genuinely curious.

"I'm shy." Ha! Your friends might have laughed their heads off at this. "Aside from what my father has taught me, it's practically midnight and I'm all alone." When he nodded with understanding, you went on - apologetically: "That's why I was rude to you earlier."

"That's okay," he assured you lightly. "First of all, I like shy girls. And no, you weren't rude. You were just plain sensible."

Cool.

Pretty much a lot you'd traded with each other that night. You told him about your job and where you worked. He told you he used to own a restaurant in Bali for four years and now was looking for a new place for that here. (Uh, good luck with that.)

"So, when was your last relationship?"

"Err...don't remember."

"God, I hope your last boyfriend is still alive."

That did it. You burst out laughing. He just grinned with amusement.

"That was good," you told him, still giggling. "You're lucky that I'm a horror film fan."

But then again, you realized that both of you were from two very different worlds. He was into night-clubs, you preferred rock concerts.

According to him, you were someone rare. He'd never met an Indonesian girl who preferred staying home to compose a writing or two over the weekend to hanging out in the night-clubs or shopping at the malls.

"My turn," you said at last. "How old are you?"

"Why?" Now he seemed a bit taken aback. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because I've already told you my age," you reasoned. "Now it's your turn to tell me yours. Fair play."

"People say I look much older than my age."

"Really?" Cocking your head to one side, you shamelessly studied his dark, round face. "I can't really tell."

"Try me," he challenged you. "Guess."

"Twenty-five?" It was a random shot. A small smile was playing across his face. His dark eyes were twinkling.

Would you like another drink?" he suddenly offered, gesturing at the half-empty bottle in your hand. You shook your head and smiled.

"Nah, I'm fine," you assured him."Thanks."

"You were nice to me, so that's why I offered," he told you seriously."I'm twenty-eight."

"Ah." You nodded. "You're still younger than me."

"It doesn't matter." He still kept his small smile on his face. "Asians still tend to look younger."

At last, your brother arrived. He was signalling to you that he wanted to buy something to drink first. You nodded as you introduced him to the guy sitting in front of you. Why? Again, you still needed to feel safe. You silently wished your brother would remember the guy's face.

Once your brother disappeared inside 7-11, you held up your hand.

"Sorry, I don't want to reveal all my cards in one night," you told him at last. "Better save the rest for next time."

"Does that mean you want to see me again?"

"Sure." You shrugged. "Why not?"

So, that was - at last - the end of your unusually long night. You bid farewell to him and left home with your brother.

�Someone at work?� he asked curiously. You shook your head and told him the truth. He went wide-eyed.

�Oh, wow!� he exclaimed. �Honestly, his face reminded me of an assassin in B-rated action movies!�

�That spooky?� You�d been in such a good mood that you cracked up laughing at that. �Dude, I�d almost bolted right out the door the first time he came to me.�

�You handled it very well.�

�Yeah, I suppose so.� Silently, you congratulated yourself.

After that night, who knows? Maybe he�d call. Maybe not. Perhaps you�d be friends, more, or even none at all.

Still, that was the longest night worth cherised...

R.

 

 

previous - next

about me - read my profile! read other Diar
yLand diaries! recommend my diary to a friend! Get
 your own fun + free diary at DiaryLand.com!