Wednesday evening could not come soon enough. I was actually looking forward to my date with Cole. Yes, I had accepted that I was going on a date, and you know maybe I really was interested in Cole. Just because I had accepted that I was going on this date didn't mean that I would be telling everyone, or anyone, about it.
When classes finally finished for me I found myself standing in front of my closet contemplating what to wear. I didn't know where we were going, I didn't even know where to meet him. Now I began to realize that I knew nothing about tonight and of course this got me a little nervous. I liked to know as much as I could about most everything. I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice Kyle standing next to me.
"What are we staring at?" Kyle was looking into my closet too.
"We are staring at the manifestation of my confusion," I replied.
"Just looks like clothes to me" Kyle left.
As I was about to reach a decision I received an alert on my phone. It was a text from Cole.
Cole: Hey I'm running kind of later than expected, want to meet me at my apartment? (Address)
Me: Ok sure
I decided to just wear a pair of jeans and a deep green button-down shirt. My mirror confirmed that I looked presentable but that didn't stop me from messing with my hair for five minutes. With that I put on my shoes and headed to Cole's apartment.
Walking to the apartment I swore to myself that I would not give in to any sort of advance or whatever else Cole might try. I was merely going to his apartment to wait for him to get ready since he was running late. At this point did I even know what qualified as an advance? Was I even capable of flirting with a guy?
I knocked on the door to his apartment and took a step back. Cole opened the door a few moments later. I was a little shocked by his current state and attire. He was wearing basketball shorts and a black tank top. It was clear that he was sweating as his skin had a slick glisten to it. There was this aroma about him that reminded me of summer and dirt and the ocean.
"Hey, come on in," He opened the door for me to enter.
Immediately I began to evaluate the apartment. It was furnished rather nicely for a college living space. There was a leather couch and two armchairs of a different material in the living area along with a TV set nicely on a stand. A variety of lamps adorned most of the rooms as there were no overhead lights. Off of the living area was a kitchen and a hallway leading to two other rooms, the bathroom was behind a door on the other end of the living room.
"This is a nice place," I decided it deserved a compliment.
"Thanks. My roommate is out now so you won't have anyone to talk with while I take a shower quickly. I just finished a game of basketball," Cole moved off towards his room.
I decided to take a seat on the couch. The walls had some interesting posters on them. Some of them were art prints from impressionists and abstract artists, others were of tennis players and race cars. The one which really caught my attention was a print off of the cover of a Green Lantern comic book. I wasn't an avid comic book reader but I did enjoy Batman, the Flash, and Green Lantern.
Cole emerged from his room a few minutes later. He only had a towel about his waist as he moved to shower. I could now confirm that physically I found Cole attractive. He had a little bit of body hair dusted about his chest and stomach but not at a level which I found unattractive. He was slightly slimmer than I estimated earlier and while his chest wasn't very broad it was certainly muscled. His stomach was flat but not at the point of a six pack. It was almost as if my body had been fused with Kyle's.
"Does your roommate like Green Lantern?" I asked.
"I like comics," he answered plainly and disappeared into the bathroom.
I heard the shower running a few moments later and decided now would be a fine time to have a look around. Cole's room was the first place I wanted to explore. His room was arranged rather simply. He had a desk in front of his window and his bed beside it. His only other piece of furniture was a small set of drawers. The closet was surprisingly neat and had an interesting mix of the clothes I was used to seeing him in and athletic attire, but none of it seemed to be school sports related. His desk just had a few notebooks and papers spread around and his laptop, thankfully he had a PC. Then I saw what confirmed the statement he made earlier, a small stack of various comics.
"Want to watch me get dressed too?" Cole was behind me.
"Huh? No that's fine, I'll just, I'll go inside," well great, he caught me looking around in his room.
I sat on the couch scolding myself and dealing with my own silent crisis. How could I have been so stupid? Now he must really think that I'm a creep. A few minutes later he was out of his room and dressed similarly to me but had on a pale purple polo. His glasses were also missing.
"You wear contacts?" I asked.
"On certain occasions," he gave me a smile.
"Oh. So, where are we going for dinner?" I wanted to know what was in store.
"Hmm. Let's have this coin decide for us. Heads we go to Noodle Bowl and tails we go to Bona Note," He produced a quarter.
"Alright two-face," hopefully he enjoyed the comic reference, both restaurants were nice places to go for a date in town.
He flipped the coin and it landed heads up. With our decision made we got to walking to our date destination. The temperature outside had dropped slightly to a comfortable level as the sun was setting. Our destination was only about a seven minute walk from Cole's apartment. When we arrived we were seated pretty quickly considering it was the dinner hour.
"So do you like comics too?" Cole asked as I glanced over the menu.
"Yeah I read a few of them. The Flash, Batman, and Green Lantern," I answered.
We discussed each of the mentioned superheroes as we decided on what to order. I decided on some pho noodle dish and Cole did the same.
"Do you play basketball for the school or?" I never did get to ask him about his earlier state.
"Nah I just play with a few friends around here," he answered.
"So why have I never really seen you around campus? You would think maybe I would have noticed you by now," yes that was my lame attempt at flirting, he smiled a little at the comment though.
"Well I transferred here last semester. Plus I'm only a sophomore and you must be what, a junior?"
"Yeah. Are you liking it here?"
"Yeah I am," he smiled at me, curse him for being good at this.
Soon enough our food arrived and it was definitely more than I remembered them serving here before. As I drifted off into thought, enraptured by my noodles, Cole was eating them with an almost enthusiasm. He must have been hungry after basketball. Cole managed to finish off all of his food but I didn't feel like eating it all.
"That sure was good," Cole did seem satisfied with the meal.
"It served its purpose," sometimes I can't help but sound like a robot.
Most people were generally weirded out by my behavior. Truthfully I would act purposefully odd around most people to deter them. Sometimes it was for my own amusement to just freak people out by acting overly rational, other times it was just how I was. But it really did seem like Cole enjoyed my occasional odd behavior, a response I never experienced before.
"If you mean the general nutritional and satiating capacity of food, then yes I suppose it did," Cole said with a little laugh.
Then there was the dilemma, the waitress returned with the check. I wanted to pay for the dinner. Why did I want to pay, probably to prove my worth or usefulness or something to that effect. In my mind Cole was clearly the catch in this arrangement, and I don't have any confidence issues when it comes to that sort of thing, I was just weighing it from a stereotypical social perspective.
"Hey let me pay for this," Cole said almost immediately as I reached for my wallet.
"No no, I got it," I wouldn't relent.
"Come on man, I'm the one who asked you out. I can pay for this," Cole was having none of it and I just sort of gave in.
As soon as he got change and left a tip we were heading back into the evening. I was not one to give in to anything on the first date so I was expecting to kind of just say goodbye and be on my way. After a few minutes we were at the corner to turn down to Cole's apartment.
"Well this was a good time I think," Cole said as he slowed down to stop at the corner.
"Yeah I enjoyed myself, you're a good person," well that was awkward.
"You too," he smiled and then it happened.
I wasn't really sure how it happened. One second I was delivering an awkward compliment and the next he was kissing me, and I was kissing him. Never did I think I would kiss another guy and actually feel something. But now I knew, Cole was special.