Literotica #4
'David'
I was in my mid-twenties when I met David, the sound/tech guy at Church. It was around the time I had in my mother's words, 'gone completely off the rails.' Church was apparently the answer to all of my problems and, because I was feeling so guilty for putting her through so much heartache and worry, I agreed one Sunday morning to accompany her.
I wasn't hungover, I was actually still drunk and I was still in the clothes I'd worn the night before. I hadn't even brushed my hair. Luckily I was youthful and relatively attractive, so with a pair of oversized sunglasses and a coffee, I could get away with it.
David was the eligible bachelor in my mum's Church at the time, he was a little older than me, had a very well-paid job in IT, his own flat and a very nice BMW. I had gleaned all of this information by the following Sunday when I again accompanied my mother to Church.
She thought it was remarkable that I'd asked to come again and glowed with pride introducing a now sober version of me to all her friends, over their decaf coffees after the service. My eyes however were on David and a petite South African woman with a short black bob, whose eyes I noticed were following him as much as mine were.
'Who's that?' I asked my mum, nodding toward the woman sitting at the back on her own.
'Ah, that's Nadia.' My mum whispered, spitting bits of digestive onto my baby blue jumpsuit, 'David's ex'
'Interesting.' I said, staring at David to see if he looked over at her, which he didn't, not once.
'He broke her heart, honestly, we were all expecting an engagement announcement but it never came.' My mum said, dunking the rest of her digestive into her coffee and waving down the pastor's wife.
'That is sad.' I said, not wanting to get webbed up in a conversation with Patsy with the rosy cheeks and scarily toothy smile.
'Desperate for a wee, mum. Be back in five.' I made my excuses.
I ducked away just in time as my mum became embroiled in a deep conversation about who knows what. I made my way over near to where David was putting the sound equipment away and slowed down, hoping that he would notice me.
As I got closer to him I realised just how much he was not my type. For a start, the 'eligible bachelor' thing in and of itself was a turn-off for me but also he was the same height as me and had the smallest hands and feet I've seen on a man.
'Hello,' he said, looking up and smiling, 'You're Dawn's daughter, aren't you?'
'Hey. Yeah, I am, and you are...?' I said, stopping to talk to him.
I didn't dare to look in my mother's direction who I knew would be planning our wedding if she saw me interacting with him.
'I'm David, the tech guy.' He reached out a hand for me to shake, which I looked down at, nonplussed.
'I'm a bit rubbish with human interaction!' He said, withdrawing his hand and laughing, 'Which is why I hide in the corner fiddling about with computers and the like'
God. He was so fucking odd, so dull, that it was unbelievable. Everything that came out of his mouth was so cringeworthy and awkward, I had no idea what this Nadia woman saw in him. And who the fuck tried to shake a good looking woman's hand?
'I see. Well, I was just heading out for a cigarette, so I'll leave you to it.' I said, smiling politely.
I made my escape through a side door so I didn't have to walk past my mother or the spurned ex who no doubt had seen us conversing. I just needed some fresh air, to organise my thoughts and get away from this other world I had avoided since childhood.
I had barely sat on the cold concrete step when David appeared with a boyish grin, running his hands through his already thinning hair.
'Such a rebel!' He said, chuckling to himself.
'How so?' I asked, my insides recoiling from this oddball.
'Smoking at Church! Hey, no judgment at all, we all have our foibles!' He said, winking.
I couldn't believe that he'd said the word 'foibles' and winked at me simultaneously, two things I never wish to experience again in this lifetime. God, the sound guy wanted to fuck me.
'Will you be coming back next week?' He asked, putting his hands into his jeans pocket, in what I assume he thought was a cool stance. It wasn't.
'Not sure.' I replied, not making eye contact, focusing on the entrance where I was praying my mother wouldn't come out of.
'There's a home group breakfast thing tomorrow if you fancy it. It's really chilled, everyone brings a dish, you'd be very welcome.' He said, eyeing me hopefully.
'Will Nadia be there?' I asked, exhaling smoke in his direction.
'Nadia?' He asked, batting my smoke away, looking confused, 'She doesn't usually-' he flustered, 'do you know Nadia?
'Nope, I was just wondering.' I smiled, flicking my cigarette butt across the car park, enjoying his discomfort.
'Oh, okay. Well, I'd best get back in there and finish packing everything up, it's pie and pint for the men's group in an hour.' He said, still stood there despite the fact I had already 'switched off' and was checking my Instagram notifications.
'Right, bye then and nice to meet you!' He said cheerily, walking briskly back into the centre.
Nadia didn't come back to Church after that Sunday, I wasn't sure if it was because of the interest David so blatantly showed toward me and I know women don't miss a darned thing. It was a shame, really.
I quickly learned the culture of this world my mother was immersed in, and so began to understand what it was that Nadia had seen in David. At least once a month there was an engagement announcement from young adults in the Church's Youth Group. It was crazy to me that eighteen and nineteen-year-olds were making such life-changing commitments.