Farren slurped the lone pasta noodle that had been drenched in rosemary tomato sauce with an awkward and uncomfortable look on her face. She stared across the table at the cloth that was draped over it, noticing the thin waves that caught onto the rugged wood beneath. They looked like white ripples in a linen ocean. There was not a sound coming from the man that sat across from her, except for the smacking and slurping of his chapped lips on the edge of the glass which held his cocktail. The girl started to become very impatient. They had actually been on several dates by this time. Farren and Calum were seeing each other for six months and everything had been absolutely exquisite- that was up until this night.
“Calum, I have a question,” said Farren, her face red as a cherry.
“Alright,” Calum burped, “I’m waiting,” he smiled.
“How do you feel about this thing.. that you and I are doing?”
“What do you mean,” he set down his third whiskey sour of the night, now empty.
“I mean, like,” she paused and then took a deep breath through her mouth and exhaled through her nostrils. Calum stared lovingly at her, fond of the way her face scrunched when her nostrils flared. He thought she looked cute. “How do you feel about our relationship Calum?”
“Well, I think I like you a lot,” he said quietly. Almost as if he were afraid.
Farren looked away. Her eyes averted back to the white ripples in the linen ocean and she tucked a strand of her chestnut hair behind her ear, cheeks still bright and flush.
“I see you hold your alcohol very well,” she mumbled.
“What makes you say that?”
“I don’t know, maybe the fact that you’ve already had three of those since we arrived here and you can still speak almost perfectly.”
“Farren,” Calum said in a stern tone, “are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, come on Farren. Tell me what’s on your mind, please?” He begged.
Farren sighed and then told him, “To be frank with you Calum, I don’t like alcohol. You know about my father, you know it makes me extremely uncomfortable, yet here you are tossing drinks down your throat as if you are in some sort of competition!” Farren had kept herself composed the entire time. When Calum ordered his first drink, she hid her discomfort well, but she was done being quiet. “Honestly, I expected more from you.”
The corners of Calum’s mouth were dimpled as he pursed his lips. His eyebrows inched the slightest bit closer toward the bridge of his nose and Farren noticed the light in his eyes drain. They held gloom immediately, and the girl began to feel sort of regretful with her choice of words.
“Farren, you’re right. And I am really so sorry.” The dark, handsome boy took a breath and placed his hand on the table, his fingers slowly crawling to meet the palm of Farren’s hand. He held hers loosely and beamed deeply into her bright blue eyes. “The truth is, I was extremely nervous from the beginning of this date. I thought a drink would help me let loose,-”
“You mean three drinks?” Farren barked, cutting him off.
“Yeah, three,” Calum whispered, breaking eye contact shyly. He started kicking his foot back and forth nervously. Farren knew he was skittish because he was one of those boys who could hold eye contact in the most uncomfortable moments, now he couldn’t even glance at her.
“I’m just going to say it,” Calum stammered.
“Say what?” Farren’s full, fluffy brows raised slightly with anticipation and her oceanic eyes were now wider than ever as she stared at him like a deer in the headlights.
“I think I’m in love with you.”
Farren looked away in embarrassment. Her cheeks grew hotter. She felt thousands of pounds of pressure pushing on her chest. The saliva that had collected at the back of her mouth was swallowed with a gulp, and when she had finally mustered up the courage, she told Calum, “I’m sorry.”
Then she left. And there the boy sat, alone in the dim restaurant with a heart that felt like it was being strangled, almost like he was suffocating. He thought for a moment if it was his fault. He was scared to look up from the table, in case the other people in the restaurant were staring. In case everyone had witnessed the whole occurrence. The waiter came by and dropped off the check. He paid for his and Farren’s meal and then walked out of the restaurant. His eyes were steady, following the path his feet made on the light-grey hardwood floors. As the doors of the entrance swung open, he was hit in the face by frosty night air. It gave him chills. He stepped out onto the pavement and then he started to cry.