A Real Gentleman

When I walked into the restaurant, I didn't see Scott anywhere. I instantly remembered when Justin stood me up a few weeks ago and I got a sick feeling in my stomach. "You're not being stood up, Caroline," I said to myself. "Stop being paranoid." With that, I walked to the bar and ordered a Riesling. While the bartender poured me a glass, I checked my phone. No new text messages. I put my phone back in my wristlet and took a seat with a view of the door so I'd see Scott when he arrived.

Several minutes later, Scott walked through the door. "Hey," he said with a half smile as he pulled me into a hug. "You look nice."

"Thanks, so do you," I said as I pulled away from the hug. I was wearing jeans and a  blouse with a flower pattern. He was wearing a gray sweater and was also in jeans.

The restaurant was nice, with dim lighting and small tables that were clearly made for two people. We sat down at a table towards the back of the restaurant and as I passed all the other tables, I saw so many different entrees I wanted to order.

As we approached the table, Scott quickly stepped in front of me and pulled out my chair. I smiled and thanked him. As much as I tell myself that that crap doesn't matter to me, since I'm really into gender equality, it's still nice to see a man revert back to some classic chivalry. We sat down and he flicked his cloth napkin with such grace before placing it on his lap. He came off like an etiquette professional.

"So how has your week been?" He asked before he folded his arms in front of him and looked me straight in the eyes. I felt pretty comfortable around him at this point but we still didn't know each other that well. The date felt more intense and suddenly I realized why. This was the first time we were together without a football game on. There were no distractions. Just me, him, and conversation.

"Good," I said as I nervously played with my hands. I stopped myself after a few seconds. "How about yours?"

"Eh," Scott began as he opened the menu. "Things are picking up at the firm. I'm going to have to start putting in a lot more hours as the holidays approach us, but it's been good." Scott works at an accounting firm, so he travels into the city every day. I did not envy that commute.

"I don't know how you stare at those numbers all day," I joked.

Scott luckily laughed. "Yeah, well there's a lot more to it than that." Scott explained to me exactly what he does at the firm and while I understood most of it, a decent amount of it definitely went over my head. "But really, I love the people I work with. That's the best part."

We ordered a few minutes later. Scott asked if I wanted to split calamari as an appetizer and I happily agreed. He ordered a burger while I decided on a really delicious looking apple walnut salad.

"So, psychology," Scott began. "That must be a really interesting field of study. Are you analyzing me right now?"

"Everyone always asks me that," I replied with a smile. It's true; everyone always thinks that since I'm in psychology, I'm just constantly in therapeutic mode. "I actually don't even want to do clinical work."

"What do you want to do then?" Scott asked. I explained to him some of my research and overall career goals. "I want to get my PhD soon, but I don't know when."

"Wow, you're way smarter than me."

I insisted I wasn't as the waiter brought over our appetizer. "I didn't pass a CPA exam," I teased.

"Okay, okay, let's agree to disagree," he laughed.

We talked a little bit more about our work and career goals before moving on to the fun topic of friends. He was telling me about Martin's obsession with the Colts when our dinner was brought out.

"I heard him and Anna have a date tonight?" I innocently asked.

Scott nodded at me as he finished swallowing his first bite. "Yeah, he mentioned something about that. I'm surprised they hit it off so well."

"Yeah, me too," I agreed before completely processing what he said. "What do you mean by surprised?"

"I don't know," Scott uncomfortably began. "Martin's a pretty shy guy. Anna seems too outgoing for him, I guess."

I took a quiet, deep breathe as I tried not to curse Anna in my head. I knew Scott didn't mean anything by it, but I hated being reminded of Anna's inappropriate flirtation with the guy I was interested in.

We talked a little bit more about our friends and family. Before I knew it, dinner was over. I couldn't have asked for a better date night. I really saw a different side of Scott when a football game wasn't on.

Scott opened the door for me and as I walked past him he asked, "So, the night's still young. Do you want to go back to my house for a little?"

I felt my stomach flip. I was extremely tempted, but I didn't feel it was a good idea to jump into things too quick. Scott seemed like a really nice guy and I didn't want him to get the wrong impression of me. I told him I was tired.

"Okay, I understand," he genuinely replied. "I had a really great time tonight," he said as we approached my car. Once I was in front of the driver's door, he turned to face me. "I can't wait to see you again."

"Me neither," I said as my face broke out with a huge smile. I couldn't even help myself.

With that, he leaned in and gave me a soft kiss before saying good night.