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Trisha Bentley
“How’s your lobster, Trisha?” Mavin asked as we sat outdoors underneath the umbrella.
I looked up, holding the empty claw in one hand, and the sweet meat in the other. “Delicious,” I said, dipping it into the melted butter before popping the tasty morsel into my mouth. A little bit of butter ran down my chin and I quickly grabbed my napkin and wiped it. “Might have been a poor choice for dinner. A little messy,” I said, feeling slightly embarrassed at the mess I was making. There was no easy way to eat a lobster unless you had it prepared for you. But Marvin had ordered lobster for himself, and insisted I do the same.
“It is one of my favorites too. And good thing they come with the adult lobster bib as well, so we’re not drenched in it,” Marvin responded.
“So true,” I said as I started my attack on the second claw.
I had to admit, I’d been skeptical about accepting his dinner invitation, but this wasn’t so bad for a first date. Marvin and I had met several times before at professional seminars for educators. I’d found him pleasant enough to talk to, even if I wasn’t attracted to him physically. But when you’re fast approaching fifty-five, does one really have a lot of options? It wasn’t like men were knocking on my door begging me to go out with them. I dealt with the parents of students who attend my school. Even if they were single fathers, they were usually at least twenty years younger than me. I had no issue with women who chose the cougar lifestyle, heck I’ve had my share of fantasies about it myself, but I could never act upon them. Not even if one of those men were interested in me, because that wouldn’t be ethical. My students came first.
Marvin didn’t face the same issue. He was a college professor. The parents were closer to our age. He just needed to find one that liked…boring. The only thing we seemed to have in common was education. Outside of that, Marvin was not my type at all. There wasn’t even a physical attraction. Yet here I was, out on a date with him.
I’d have thought that me declining his offer the first three times would’ve been enough, but his persistence wore me down and damn it, now I was stuck. Even thinking of this as a date made me feel uneasy. I don’t know why. He was harmless.
This wasn’t the worst date I’ve ever been on, but it was far from being memorable. The food was great, the view of the ocean was spectacular too. Just the conversation, which was so important to me, was lacking. If he talked to me one more time about his pencil sharpener collection, I wasn’t sure I would be able to hold back my laughter any longer.
The waitress walked over and took our plates from us. “Did you save room for dessert?” she inquired.
I shook my head and so did Marvin.
Good. Now we can go home.
He paid the check and we headed out to his car. As he pulled the keys out of his pocket, a prescription pill bottle fell out of his pocket. I bent to retrieve it. When I handed it back to him, he didn’t release my hand. Instead, he looked me straight in the eye and asked, “Do you think I should take one now?”
I wasn’t a doctor. “I would say, take it as prescribed by your physician,” I instructed him.
He said, “It usually works quickly on me. So, it depends on if you wanted to go for a walk on the beach first or go straight home.”
I replied, “Please, take me home.” A smile crossed my face just thinking about this date being over with.
He said, “Damn, I knew I should’ve taken it at dinner. If you don’t mind waiting here for a moment, I’ll go back inside and ask for some water. Then this little blue pill can start working on the drive to your house.”
Marvin kissed me on the cheek and went inside.
Little blue pill? Viagra? Oh hell, no!
This was our first date and Marvin was already planning on getting into my bed. I don’t care if we’d been dating for months. I wasn’t interested in him and I was about to make that very clear.
I saw a taxi parked across the street and I made a mad dash for it. Once inside, I gave him my address and he started to drive away. Just leaving Marvin without letting him know that everything was okay, wasn’t right. That didn’t mean I had to do this to his face.
Thank God for technology.
Pulling out my cellphone I sent him a quick text.
THANK YOU FOR DINNER, BUT I DECIDED THAT IT IS BEST I GO HOME ALONE.
That was clear as far as I thought. There was no need to be blunt or hurtful.
I ALREADY TOOK THE PILL. NOW WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?
In the back seat I snickered to myself. I had a few suggestions, but nothing I would put in writing. Cold shower. Masturbate.
SORRY.
It was the only thing I could say, and really mean.
