Chapter 3

It was a fine Saturday morning. Sun peeked through my room window. I opened my eyes and realized, I had nothing much to do today. I got up from bed and went straight to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and went downstairs to have breakfast. I saw my dad in the living room, reading something on his laptop and my mom cleaning dishes in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Dad" I wished him while walking to the kitchen

"Good morning, sweetheart" he wished me back

I sat on the kitchen cabinet (I love to sit here) and poured coffee into my cup.

"What's wrong with you Lara? Why can't you just shower before breakfast?" asked my mom.

"Well, the princess is in a lazy mood right now" I laughed.

She gave me a 'whatever' look and continued to clean the dishes.

When I was about to take a sip of my coffee, Matt's face popped up in my head which made me smile. I'm meeting him for dinner tonight.

"Thinking about something?" Mom's question brought me back to reality.

"Ah.. hmmm.." I was searching for words.

"Ah?? hmm? Is everything okay?" my mom asked.

"Yeah. Everything is perfect" I smiled.

"Trusting your words is the only option I guess" With that she left the kitchen.

I finished my pancake and coffee and I checked the time. It's 10 am. I still have more time. I decided to do my office work since I have no other works to be done for today. As I was doing my office work, my handphone rang. It was Barbara. I answered.

"Hey babe. First of all, please forgive me for disappearing in the middle of the party. I read your message and I tried to catch you before you leave, but it was too late." Barbara said apologetically.

"No problem, babe. I understand" I said.

"So, I heard Matt invited you for dinner tonight? Oh my god babe. Like seriously? I didn't know I'm capable of doing a good job like this. I can't wait to see you both together and thank me for..."

"Wow! Calm down, babe. We are just going for dinner. Now, can you please stop your imagination?"

"Haha. Alright, babe. All the best on your dinner date. Just wanna say, Matt is a very nice guy."

"Let me tell you that after our dinner tonight. Haha. Anyway, thanks, babe. See you soon."

"See you soon Lara. Update me if there is anything."

"Sure" I hung up the phone.

6.10 pm. I'm checking myself once again in the mirror. I'm wearing a cocktail dress and black Vincci heels. I told my parents that I'm going out for dinner. They don't ask too many questions because they trust me a lot. I have the best parents in the world.

I was on my way to La Cohina. I don't know what the hell is wrong with me. I feel all kinds of nervousness hitting me and I just don't understand why. I have gone on a few dates before but I've never felt this way at all. Maybe, it has been so long since the last time I went on a date. I reached my destination around 6.50 pm. Good. I have some time to calm down. I was listening to some music to remain calm. Suddenly, a knock on my car window made me jump. Matt waved his hand and said something. I couldn't hear what he said. I'm not sure if it's because of the closed window or the radio volume.

"Shit. It's him. Oh my god, I'm nervous." I spoke to myself. I turned the engine off and stepped out of the car.

"Hi! Ready to go in?" He smiled broadly.

His smile... Ok, forget about it.

"Yes. Of course." I smiled back.

He opened the restaurant door for me.

Ok. That's sweet. I smiled and said "Thanks." He returned a smile and said, "You're welcome." I sat at the table only to see him looking at me while he walked near the table. As soon as he sat, our waitress approached and handed us the menu books.

"I'll have a blue Hawaii and a classic spaghetti carbonara," I ordered.

"I'll have a martini and bolognese, please." He ordered for him.

The waitress repeated the order and then left.

"So, how are you doing today?" he started.

"I'm doing good and how about you?" I asked.

"Doing good too. So, I heard you are doing good business in the city, which is very interesting. Would you like to tell me more about it and also about yourself?"

"Well, I started my IT company nine months ago and coffee shop four months ago...." As I finished the story about myself and the business, the waitress served us our drinks and food. We began to eat. Then, he told me about him. He is also a businessman who has a large shoe-manufacturing company in the city which happened to be his father's. He took over the business 2 years ago. He is 34 years old. Lives with his parents and a younger sister. His parents are retired and his sister is a doctor.

After dinner, we were standing in the car park without uttering a word. Our gazes locked up for a split second.

"It was great meeting up with you Lara. I hope I didn't make you feel uncomfortable. Have a good night." he hugged me

The hug didn't last for two seconds. It was a gentle hug which made me feel warm.

"It was nice meeting you too, Matt. I had a good time. Have a good night too."

It's been some time since I did this. I don't know where this is going or what I feel from deep inside. But, I liked something about Matt. He is quite funny and I didn't feel uncomfortable with him. Something in me is ready to give it a try.

I texted Barbara before I hit the road.

Ok. You were right. He is a nice guy. But, don't ask me what happened. Because I'm not gonna story you anything now.

Hope she doesn't get mad. Haha!