First dates are great ways to see how someone acts when putting his best foot forward.  —Amy Leigh Merccree

The sun shone brightly on a Tuesday, a week and a half later. Tara clicked away on her laptop. Her brows furrowed as she concentrated on the banner of a bakery she was designing. Too engrossed in her work, she didn’t hear her door opening.

“Hiya, Queen T.” The enthusiastic voice of her friend drew her attention. 

She looked up with a wide smile. “What’s up, Jay?” 

“Living the good life.” He grinned and slumped on the chair in front of her medium-sized desk. 

Tara laughed and asked, “And what is the reason?"

He chuckled as his eyes sparkled. A slight tinge of red crossed his cheeks. 

Tara giggled as she gave him a knowing look. “Tatiana is the reason, right?”

He beamed and nodded his head. 

Tara smiled and asked, “How is she?" 

“She is wonderful, loving,” He chanted. “She is simply one of a kind,” he added with a huge smile. 

Tara gave her friend an elated smile as she watched love shimmer in his eyes. A bit of envy seeped into her mind. She wanted someone to speak about her the way Jay spoke about Tatiana. She wondered if one day she would enjoy the love people like Jay enjoyed.

Oh, why was she so wounded? She questioned herself.

As she recounted the beautiful attributes Jay mentioned about Tatiana, suddenly Philip’s smiling face flashed through her mind. 

Alice’s words rang in her ears. “You like him and he likes you too.” 

Tara’s cheeks turned pink as she shook her head to clear her thoughts.  

“Ooh, what a surprise! Queen T is blushing,” Jay declared, “And what is the reason for the blush?” he asked and leaned forward with a smirk on his lips. 

Tara shook her head and produced a coy smile. “Nothing is the reason.” She averted her eyes and fidgeted with her fingers. 

“Hmm, that’s hard to believe,” he stated and leaned back in his seat. “However, I won’t prod you for information today, and that’s because I am a wonderful person.” He grinned. “I came to tell you something else.”

“Oh? What is it?” She arched a brow.

“I would love for you to meet Tatiana after work today, if you can.” 

“Oh my gosh, I would definitely love to meet her.” She beamed at him. 

“That’s great! We will meet at Brown’s café at 4:30 pm."

Tara nodded. “I will be there.” A smile formed on her lips.

“Anyway, I gotta go.” He stood up and adjusted his black and white zigzag tie. “I have a meeting with the marketers on strategizing ways to gain new customers.”

“Ah, that’s great. Have fun,” Tara said with a smile. “See you later.” 

Jay nodded and proceeded towards the door. However, he whirled around with a playful smile.
“Tell your eccentric friend I said she can tag along.” 

“Okay. I will tell her Mr. Arrogant wants to dine with her,” she responded with a playful grin.

“Good,” Jay smirked and sauntered out the door.

The door clicked shut, and a daunting silence loomed over the room.

As the minutes passed by, Tara struggled to concentrate on the design she was creating. 

She realized she had not seen Philip in three days and their last meeting ended abruptly when he was called away after one of her rejections.  

A groan left her lips as she made a mistake on the design. After three more failed attempts, she sighed and rubbed her forehead.  

Her head fell into her palm as she pondered on her feelings. 

Why did she feel like she lost something precious? She asked herself in dismay. 

“Because you like him,” said a small voice. 

No! I do not. 

As she battled with her feelings, a knock on the door startled her. She took a deep breath and swallowed.   “Come in!”

The door opened to reveal Alice’s blithe face. “Hey, Tara!” Alice sashayed into the room and her big, long braids bounced. 

Tara sent her a slight smile and averted her eyes. She watched as Alice took a seat in front of her. 

She wrung her hands together. “I haven’t seen Philip in three days,” Tara blurted out. 

Alice’s eyes bulged. “Oh, I see. Do you know the reason for his absence?”

Tara shook her head and fiddled with the pen she held.

“Did you guys fight?”

“No.” Tara's wrinkled. “But I have a feeling he is upset with me,” she muttered after a moment of silence. 

“And why do you feel that?” Alice tilted her head.

“Because...” Tara paused and took a deep breath. “Because I repeatedly rejected his offer to have lunch with him.”

Alice shook her head. “Why would you do that?” 

Tara stared at her friend with sullen eyes as she tried to find an answer to the question. “Because there is no point. Nothing can happen between us.”

Alice gaped at her and exclaimed, “You have to be kidding!” She narrowed her eyes. “You are lying to yourself. I don’t know what happened to you in the past. But you have built a shield around yourself and you are adamantly refusing to let anyone in.” 

Tara reeled over what Alice said, and her eyes glistened with tears. She knew what Alice said was true.  

She sniffled and said, “You are right,” she admitted. “My heart is bruised and I cannot give it to anyone, including Philip.” Her voice cracked as she clutched the pen tight. 

Alice rolled her eyes and hissed, “You are simply being stubborn. And I don’t blame Philip for letting you go. He really likes you, but he is also human and is tired of your persistent rejection.” 

Drops of tears slipped out of Tara’s eyes as a barrage of emotions hit her. Opening an office drawer, she took a sheet of tissue and dabbed her wet cheeks. 

Alice opened her mouth to continue but Tara interrupted her. “Jay has invited you and me for lunch this afternoon.”

“What?” Alice glared at her. “We are talking about you and Philip and you are talking about Jay and dinner. What is wrong with you, Tara?” Her eyes gleamed with shock and wonder.

“I don’t want to talk about that anymore.” She squeezed the used tissue and threw it away. “Jay wants us to meet his girlfriend.”

Alice sighed and snorted, “Of course, you love shying away from everything.” She rolled her eyes and continued speaking, “Anyway, I will surely go to see the lady who could get that arrogant guy to settle down.” She giggled. 

Tara relaxed and smiled. “Yes, I would love to meet her. So we will meet at the reception after work, right?”

“Yeah, that’s alright.” Alice stood up and straightened her periwinkle-colored flared dress. 
“I guess I will see you later,” she said and left Tara with her thoughts. 

                ★★★★★★★★★★

Two hours later...

The two women walked up to the steps of Brown’s café. The familiar faded cream-colored walls engulfed them as they stepped in. It had been a frequent hang-out spot for the three friends. 

As they surveyed the room for Jay, the sweet fragrance of the cinnamon swirl of bread wafted through their nose and made their mouths water. The fresh bread was the specialty of the owner, Mrs. Aduke Brown, which was only available on Tuesdays.

“There they are,” Tara announced as she pointed to a table by the left window where Jay sat with a caramel-skinned lady.

The young ladies trudged forward and arrived at the table where both Jay and Tatiana were munching on an egg sandwich and a cheese sandwich, respectively.

Jay looked upon hearing their footsteps. “Great! Queen T and the eccentric lady are here.” He rose to greet them with a cheeky grin. 

Tara chuckled while Alice narrowed her eyes at him and muttered under her breath, “Say that again and I will show you how crazy I can be.”

Jay cleared his throat as he wrapped an arm around the smiling lady beside him. “So guys, meet my beautiful girlfriend, Tatiana.” He beamed as he spoke. “And Tati, meet my colleagues and friends—TaraOluwa and Alice.”

Tatiana stepped forward. “I am glad to meet you guys. Jaybird always talks a lot about both of you.” A huge smile graced her slim lips as she spoke.

The three women exchanged hugs.

“It is so nice to meet you as well. Jay doesn’t talk about anything else except how wonderful you are,” Tara said.

“True!” Alice agreed. “I believe being with you has made him more arrogant.” Alice stuck out her tongue at Jay, who pretended to sulk. 

Tara and Tatiana giggled at their childish antics.

“Anyway, please have your seats,” Jay told Tara and Alice as he and Tatiana returned to their seats.

Alice took the chair next to Tatiana, and Tara took a seat next to Jay.

Jay signaled for a server to come over.

“Good afternoon, Ma’am. What would you like to have?” he asked Tara and repeated the same question to Alice.

“Jam donuts and banana smoothie, please,” Tara said after flipping through the menu. 

“A hamburger and a bottle of mountain dew, please,” Alice said. 

The server nodded and walked off. Ten minutes later, he was back with their orders. And the group dug in.

After a series of light chatter and bouts of bickering between Alice and Jay, their meeting ended. 

The group paid their bills and headed towards the exit of the café. 

They exchanged greetings with the owner, who snuck a bag of the special cinnamon bread to each person in the group. 

The friends expressed appreciation and promised to come back soon.

As they neared the door, a familiar voice stopped Tara in her tracks. She whirled to the right side and looked directly into the grinning face of Philip, who chatted amicably with a male figure whose back was to her. 

She struggled not to squeal as she stared at the person who she had yearned to see for the last three days. 

“Philip,” she called out. Her voice alerted her friends to the recent development. 

On hearing his name, Philip looked up with surprise. However, a huge smile of recognition appeared as their eyes met.

“Oh my gosh, Tara!” he exclaimed as he dropped the fork he was using to eat his salad and leaped from his seat. 

“What a pleasant surprise.” He beamed at her as he reached her. He exchanged pleasantries with her friends.

She smiled and remained silent. Her eyes scanned his face, and she noticed the slight stubble on his jaw, which wasn’t there when she last saw him. She seemed to look at him in a different light.

In her opinion, his blue eyes looked bluer and shone like the ocean under the sun’s rays.

“Oh, my word! You are Tara,” the voice of Philip’s companion broke their trance. “He goes on about you every day,” the unknown guy said.

Tara blushed and toyed with the straps of the bag that contained the bread. 

Philip stepped back and pointed to the guy and said, “Tara, this is my best friend, Dennis. And Den, I guess you know who she is.” Tara smiled at Dennis, who whispered in Philip’s ear. 

Alice crept up to her and mumbled into Tara’s ear, “Oh boy, his friend is fine,” she gushed.

Tara nodded noncommittally as Philip faced her. “Could I talk to you for a moment, Tara?”

She stared at him for a moment and nodded. He sent her a smile and lead her away from listening ears.

As they faced each other, Tara blurted, “You haven’t come to the office since.”

Philip raised a brow as a smile crept over his face. “Aha, I knew you would miss me.” He grinned. Tara averted her eyes as her cheeks turned pink.

“Are you upset with me?”

“Oh my God, no!” He cried, “I went to South Africa for two days and I got back last night.”

Tara nodded and released the tension she didn’t know she carried. 

Philip’s voice drew her back. “Can I ask you for something?” He asked with nervous eyes. 

She nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Will you go on a date with me?” His voice shook a little as he rubbed his neck. 

Tara stood silently and stared into his eyes, which had shown her nothing  but kindness and gentleness. Something many haven’t shown her. Especially members of the opposite gender.

“Yes, I will,” she said. And much to her surprise, she didn’t feel weird saying it. 

“Great! Thank you so much, Tara.” He gave the biggest smile she had ever seen. 

She nodded silently as different thoughts raced through her mind. 

“I guess I will see you on Saturday afternoon.” He winked and sauntered back to his best friend.

Tara stood there with anticipation and nervousness swelling within her.

                              ★★★★

Snazzy! 

Tara and Philip are going on their first date. 😁

How do you feel about that? 

Moving on to Our Question Of The Chapter: What do you love about reading? And what do you love about writing if you are a writer?

And what do you love about reading and writing if you engage in both?

Hmm...

I love reading because it is relaxing and because I take to places through my imagination that I can’t physically go to. XD.

I love writing because I love the art of telling stories both with mouth and in written form. XD.

Anyway, thank you for reading ❤

I will always appreciate comments and votes.😉

Until Next Time, Enjoy reading and writing. XD