Simon places his hand on my lower back as he pushes the restaurant door open for me and gestures for me to go inside.
A cool blast of air washes over us as we walk in.
“Hello, a table for two?” A young girl asks, smiling at us.
“By the window, if possible?” Simon says, sounding like a man who always gets what he wants.
It’s something in the way he speaks. He is commanding when he requests something as though he’s certain it will happen.
“Of course, right this way,” the waitress says, leading us through the restaurant. It’s early enough that it’s not busy yet. Music is playing softly from overhead speakers, and through the wide windows, the sun is starting to streak the sky with red and orange, as though the clouds are on fire.
“Wow, that is the most beautiful sunset,” I murmur as Simon pulls my chair out for me and pushes it back in behind me.
“Sunsets are often seen as representing the veil between the world of the living and the dead, or the world of darkness and light. It’s the time when almost anything can happen because the veil is the thinnest.”
I squint my eyes at him, surprised by the depth of his remark.
“Where did you hear that?” I ask, curious.
“I enjoy reading mythology, and often when I travel somewhere I’ll read up about the legends in the area. Just something that has always fascinated me.”
“Oh, wow, most people don’t have time to read these days,” I remark.
“That’s a bold assumption,” he chuckles as he sits down, closer to me than I expected. Our legs are brushing against each other beneath the table, sending currents of electricity shooting through me. He doesn’t move away as he gets comfortable.
Not that I want him to anyway.
“I work at a bookstore, so I do get to have an opinion on the matter,” I smile.
“That’s fair, except a lot of people read books on their devices these days. Not that I think it’s the same. There’s something magical about ink on paper, and that smell.”
My brows shoot up, my eyes widening in delight. “I say the same thing! I read all the time, and I insist on having an actual book in my hand when I do. I think it’s also to do with how attached people are to their phones lately. It’s nice to set it aside and totally forget about it for a while. My friends all know I’m hardly ever on my phone, so days can go by without me replying to them,” I giggle.
Simon orders us a bottle of white wine. I choose the lemon butter prawns, and he chooses the catch of the day. The night drifts past in a slow, beautiful flow of conversation that makes me forget about time or the fact that I hardly know him at all. It feels like we’ve been friends for years. It actually surprises me how comfortable I am around him.
We speak about traveling, and he’s been to so many places! All I can really do is tell him about the places I want to go. And he gets quite excited when we speak about food. It seems to be his passion to try the local food in different places.
“You make me want to get on a plane and go to Asia or something so that I can taste their street food,” I giggle.
“Maybe I will have to take you there one day. You seem like someone who would be fun to travel with.”
“I think I would be a slow traveler,” I remark thoughtfully.
“How so?”
“I would want to spend my time looking at things. Really taking it in. Some people rush through places and only do the very adventurous things, but I would want to see the details.”
“Well, then I would definitely enjoy traveling with you. But we would have to sneak in an adventurous thing now and then,” he laughs.
It’s late when Simon’s phone rings. He glances at the screen and pulls his mouth to the side. “I’m so sorry, it’s my brother, I won’t be a moment,” he says, excusing himself from the table.
I watch as he stands a little way off and speaks in a quiet tone. Even the way he stands makes him more attractive. His easy-going nature and the lighthearted conversation—everything has been so perfect, I’m not sure I want it to end.
I find myself smiling at him while I watch him on the phone, and this makes me blush.
Luckily, by the time he walks back to the table, my cheeks have calmed down.
“I’m so sorry, Blair. I have to go. This has been amazing, though. I hate to cut it so short,” he says, sounding genuinely upset about it.
