Only fifteen minutes after being picked up, Lucia already found herself bored nearly to tears by her thin and awkwardly-tall date Mitchell. She was begrudgingly giving him a second date only at the behest of her mother, who was good friend's with Mitchell's parents through the church. On their first date, Mitchell (never Mitch, as he had felt the need to explain to her) had taken her to an unfunny PG-rated movie, and then made awkward small talk with her on the way home. The date had left her feeling tired, bored, and somewhat hopeless of ever finding a good man if this was what she had been reduced to. It wasn't that Mitchell wasn't a nice guy; frankly it was just that he was too nice, and without any character that would make him either intellectually or sexually appealing to Lucia. Coupled with his bland personality, his physique did nothing for her either; to Lucia's sardonic eye, his narrow and emaciated frame promising only a night of awkward and uncomfortable sex, bereft of any hint of excitement or pleasure.
Now they were headed out to dinner, a prospect that filled Lucia with a mixture of mild dread and crippling apathy. She had resigned herself to the displeasure of this evening ever since the conversation in which her mother convinced her to go out with him again, with the promise that he would "grow on her". And all this after Lucia had spent over an hour extolling his lack of virtues to her mother. If she didn't know better, Lucia thought, she would swear her mother must of Mitchell's mother money from some bridge games to be pushing her so hard take the second date. Lucia turned her head and looked up at Mitchell as she walked; suddenly realizing that he had stopped talking and was now staring at her awaiting a response. Hoping that the flush of her cheeks from the chilly air would disguise her embarrassed blush, Lucia struggled to remember what he had been talking about before she tuned out.
"Ummm... I'm not too sure?" she settled on as a reply, hoping it would make sense.
"You're not too sure how you feel about the government defunding agencies that work to prevent the spread of AIDS in Africa, because they also offer abortions?!?" Mitchell demanded, incredulously.
Geez, talk about your light conversations for a second date Lucia thought to herself.
"Oh no, I just meant. I'm against it. Not the agencies! I mean the government thing. Right?" Lucia stammered, feeling like an idiot, and knowing she looked it to.
"I know! It's unconscionable!" Mitchell stated with finality and feeling. "I hope somebody does something about it."
Lucia sighed to herself. Just passionate enough to care, but not enough to do anything about it; typical, she thought. As he went on to discuss the economic standing of a variety of African nations, Lucia found herself tuning out again, being sure to pay just enough attention to know when to nod or shake her head and say something agreeing with him. Mitchell liked to be agreed with, she noticed. He also liked to talk. And talk. And talk. Which he did, for the entirety of the rest of their walk to the restaurant, never again asking her opinion, so as to not embarrass her obviously inferior intellect in his eyes. Fine by me, Lucia thought, as long as he pays for dinner and a few bottles of wine, he can lecture me as long as he wants.
They entered the restaurant, a middling-expensive Italian place with a reputation for good Alfredo sauce and bad breath. Mitchell gave his sport coat to the waiter, revealing a wrinkled t-shirt underneath, while removing Lucia's jacket revealed a tight halter top over tight black dress pants that hugged her curves. Mitchell didn't even blink to take her in as he continued his lecture all the way to the table at the back of the room. The hostess looked at Lucia with a mixture of sympathy and disbelief as she left them to their table, and smiled when Lucia rolled her eyes in response. Settling in, Lucia resolved that she would need an entire bottle of red to herself tonight, just to survive.
As she anxiously searched the room for a sign of their waitress, Lucia was shocked out of her trance as her eyes locked with those of a man three tables away from her. His gaze was intense, and oozed an inherent danger and sexuality that instantly caught her attention. Though he was sitting at the table with a woman, her back was to Lucia, much like Mitchell's back was to him. Lucia glanced at Mitchell to make sure he hadn't noticed anything, and saw that he was busy staring off into space as he waxed philosophical about the inherent strengths and weaknesses of the Canadian parliamentary system. Looking back again to the brooding stranger, Lucia was pleasantly surprised to see that his eyes had never wavered, and still took her in with the look of a starving man eyeing a steak. She felt herself begin to blush, although her cheeks were not the only place she felt her temperature rising.