Hi everyone. This is my first story, so any constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! All characters are over the age of 18.
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I sat by myself on a bench in the large pavilion of the performance venue, waiting for the doors of the theatre to open so that I could find my seat and get comfortable before other attendees filed in. The Performing Arts Center at my university was putting on a performance of a musical that I had heard so much about. I hadn't listened to the music and only had a general idea of the plot, so I was going in blind not knowing what to expect.
As I sat, I looked around at the people standing in the pavilion, drinking and talking, their voices echoing off the high ceiling above. I was looking at two friends talking animatedly to each other, peering at the bright screen of one of their smartphones, when a tall figure approached my bench and sat down. I usually dislike when strangers come and sit next to me at such close proximity, especially when there are other open seats around. I looked over to the man who had sat down and smiled one of those smiles you smile to be nice before looking back down to fiddle with the ticket in my hand and then unlock my phone.
"What show are you seeing?" he asked me.
Ugh, small talk.
"The musical," I replied.
"Really? Me, too. I hear it's supposed to be very good."
"Yeah. I heard that, too."
"Are you a student here?" he asked.
"Mmm hmm. I'm a senior."
"Oh. So you're almost out. That's exciting."
"Yep. It is," A pause. "So, what do you do? You don't look like a student," I asked, reciprocating the niceties.
"I am an artistic director the Capricorn Dinner Theatre in the next county over. I am actually here looking to hire some new talent. Have you seen any of the students who are on the playbill?"
I flipped through the playbill, and noticed that I had seen a few of the students in prior shows.
"These two are really good," I said, pointing at a girl with dark chocolate skin and curly hair past her shoulders, then a guy with a round face, short hair, and freckles.
"Okay. Thanks," he smiled. "I'll be on the lookout."
There was a short pause before he asked, "Would you like to sit with me? I was supposed to come here with a friend of mine but he bailed at the last second, so there's an empty seat next to mine."
I thought about this. The guy seemed nice and nonoffensive. And he was kind of handsome. It would also be nice to have somebody to sit next to and talk to during the intermission.
"Sure," I replied. "That'd be nice."
At that moment the ushers opened the doors, and we walked in.
~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~
The show was incredible- I don't even think the hype lived up to it. The scenery was spectacular, intricately made with many moving pieces that seemed random until they came together to produce a new visual. And the music was catchy, with great lyrics to complement it. As we left, we discussed the actors and actresses. It turns out there was another star of the show- a small Asian woman, with light brown skin and dark round eyes, who could sing and dance like you wouldn't believe. He mentioned he would come back to campus the following Monday and talk to the students he was interested in recruiting.
As we exited the venue, he asked me if I would like to go get something to eat. Initially, I had just planned on going back to my apartment and getting some work done before going to bed, but I was feeling a bit hungry now. I agreed and we went down to Route 17, a street across from my campus that was lined with different shops and eateries. We settled on Nando's, which never disappoints me, and talked for hours about the show, some of our other favorite performances, and what our lives looked like at the moment.
As the evening went on, I began to notice little things about him. The way he threw his head back when he laughed. How his dark brown irises had little flecks of gold in them. How long his legs were because they kept bumping into mine under the table throughout dinner. I knew he was tall, but only then did I really realize it. I was already 5'11 with no heels, was wearing 3 inch heels that night, and he was still an inch or so taller.
His hands and fingers, slender, but not too skinny, navigated the utensils in front of him in a very deliberate and careful manner. It made me wonder if he treated everything like that. Sometimes I could feel his eyes looking at me while I ate and I wondered what he was thinking.
After finishing our meal, we got up to leave. As we walked outside of the restaurant and down the street, there was a moment when a group of students, obviously a little too drunk, turned the corner up ahead and came down the sidewalk we were walking on. In an effort to avoid them, I scooted a bit closer to my slender-fingered companion. That failed immensely when it was obvious that the group of students took up way too much space. As a result, he ended up grabbing my hand and pulling me in front of him.
In that moment when our hands met, my heart started beating faster. In an effort to calm my nerves, I told myself it was only acting like that because I almost collided head on with a group of drunk people.
In an instant, the moment was over, and I quickly composed myself. He released my hand and we continued walking side by side. Upon reaching the corner, we stopped. There was an awkward pause as we looked at each other, our eyes shifting from the other's face to the ground to the street on either side of us.
"I'm going that way," I said, pointing behind me.
"I'm going that way," he said, pointing further down the street.
"Okay," I said. "Well, have a good evening."
"Let me give you my number. I had a good time tonight."
"Yeah, okay." I smiled. "Me, too."
We exchanged numbers, then headed our separate ways.
~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~
After that night, we continued talking to each other. We went from texting a few times a week to texting everyday. Before we knew it, we were calling each other almost everyday- him asking me about school, my day, and how my medical school aspirations were going; me asking him about working at Capricorn, his search for new talent, and his improv classes. After several weeks, we started dating more seriously.
He was funny, and it turned out we liked many of the same things. He was also sensitive and thoughtful, his words and conversation matching the movement of his fingers that day at Nando's. We would end up having some deep conversations, talking about our views on certain issues, life, and everything from our deepest fears to what we want to do most in life. But we would also share the dumbest jokes that made us both laugh until we cried. I had always desired this type of intimate relationship with someone, being able to tell them anything and everything. The emotional intimacy was definitely there, but the physical intimacy was a bit harder to obtain.
When we were able to see each other, which was difficult since he was a 40 minute drive away, we had gotten into hugging hello and goodbye, with some kissing and makeout sessions sprinkled in between. His body was firm against mine, his large hands and long fingers pressing into my back and wrapping around to my sides. He always had a sort of minty fresh smell to him.
We also started holding hands more and when we would sit next to each other, I wouldn't hesitate to make sure our legs were touching. I loved the way his fingers felt in mine, curving and reaching around to tickle the back of my hand. I couldn't help but wonder what his hands would feel like on my body, tracing circles up and down my legs and abdomen, running along the curve of my breast, delicately navigating the folds between my legs.