Kieran had arranged dinner for seven o'clock, and finally gave me more details about this guy. His name was Elijah Doyle and he was twenty-three. He didn't work in the hotel exactly, he worked in the head office but often came in, which is how he met Kieran. He informed me Elijah had booked a fancy restaurant, something uptown and said I could get a lift with him, but I knew if I was going on a blind date it was best to wait til the restaurant.
So I took the subway, wearing this wavy loose short blue dress, with a black coat pulled around me, and my favourite pair of black heels, because nothing could wrong once I was wearing them. I got to the restaurant a little late in the end, something Kieran told me was always good on a date. I gave the waiter Elijah's name and he told me he was already here. He took my coat and then led me to the table.
Elijah immediately stood up when he saw me, and it allowed me to get a good look at the guy, and first impressions weren't bad. He was tall, something Kieran knew I liked, had dark hair which was styled like it was messy but somehow still neat. He had soft brown eyes, but then a strong jaw line and a clean shaven face. He stood strong, but I didn't look like he had too much muscle under the navy jacket he was wearing.
"Aurora, hi, so nice to meet you," he said immediately, smiling at me.
"Just, Rory, please," I insisted, cringing at my own name. I was hoping Kieran hadn't told him. "Sorry I'm late."
"No, not at all, it's fine," he insisted, rushing around to pull the chair out for me. I smiled at him and sat down and he pushed me.
Elijah then sat back down in his chair and the waiter made eye contact with him.
"Would you like anything to drink, sir?" he asked politely.
I realised the wine menu was sitting in front of him and he must have already read it.
"Do you prefer red or white?" Elijah asked.
"Either is fine," I shrugged slightly.
"Please, I am terrible at picking," he said leaning forward slightly.
I smiled a bit at him. "Well I do usually drink white."
"White it is then," Elijah smiled back at me, picking up the list then pointing to bottle.
"Good choice," the waiter commented, taking the list from him. "I'll be right back with it and then I'll read you the specials."
Once the waiter left there was a moment for silence, and it was a moment of awkwardness. It was bound to happen on a blind date because it was literally the first time we were meeting each other. It had happened more than once and I could usually tell how well the date would go by the way he broke the ice.
"So does Kieran do this to you often?" Elijah asked me, still a little awkwardly.
"All the time," I rolled my eyes. "Does he set you up often?"
"Oh, no," he shook his head. "I only see him occasionally anyway, if I need to go in to do work. To tell you the truth this is my first blind date."
"No way," I commented. "Well, you my friend, are in for a night of maybe awkward moments when you're not sure how far to take a joke, or if they're even joking because you don't know their sense of humour. Silence if there's nothing to talk about it."
"How many of these have you been on?" he asked me.
Too many. "Like four. Kieran thinks my love life is sad, but I'm only twenty-one. I've got time."
Elijah laughed a little. "True. All those things you said though, that's only if it's a bad date right?"
"Well, yeah," I shrugged a little.
"So have you ever been on a good blind date?" he asked me.
I found myself shaking my head and it made him smile.
"Well, maybe this could be a good one."
The waiter came back with the wine and I found myself agreeing that it was a good choice. He read us the specials and they all sounded way too fancy for me, so instead I started inspecting my menu.
"What are you thinking of getting?" Elijah asked, glancing up from his menu.
"Definitely not any of the specials," I said immediately.
"Oh, thank god," Elijah breathed out. "They all sounded super fancy."
"Oh, I know," I agreed. "I actually thought he was speaking another language."
"I think he was honestly," Elijah smiled.
I smiled back as I realised the awkwardness was slipping away.
"I think I'll have the salmon," I said to him. "I can never go past salmon and some good crispy skin."
"Hmm, that does sound good," he nodded, "but I'm thinking steak."
"Oh definitely my second choice," I echoed. "There is something about the way they cook steak in New York, it always taste good."
"Yes, definitely," he agreed. "I take it that means you're not from New York originally?"
"Oh no," I shook my head. "I'm from Ohio originally, I moved here when I was eighteen. What about you, you from New York?"
"No, but I'm not so far away, I'm from Connecticut," he told me. "Used to come here all the time when I was younger because it was a short bus ride away really. Got a job at the hotel three years ago and now I'm here."
"And that was the right choice?" I asked him.
He slowly nodded at me. "Definitely. Was it for you?"
"I honestly don't want to be anywhere else."
The waiter came back, took our orders and poured us more wine. We made small talk about our jobs for a little bit. I never really told him about Clarke, just what I did. When our food was served we had somehow managed to get onto the topic of college.
"Eh, I spent so much more time drinking than learning," Elijah rolled his eyes slightly. "Now I have this business degree and I'm honestly surprised I managed to get it."
I laughed at him slightly covering my mouth while I ate.
"What about you? Kieran mentioned you go to Columbia?" Elijah asked me, cutting into his steak.
I nodded at him. "Yeah, kind of felt like it was a miracle I got in sometimes, because I never thought I was smart enough. Glad I'm there though."
"You're almost finished, yeah?" he said.
"Almost, with college. Next year law school," I told him. "Literally eight years of school before I'm qualified and even then it'll still be years of hard work before I get to where I want."
"I know that being a lawyer is not easy," Elijah nodded. "Don't you have to do some test to even be considered for law school?"
"Yeah the LSATs. I took them last year, because they highly recommend you take it junior year," I explained to him. "You can take it again if you're not happy with your score, and trust me a lot of people do. You need a bit score if you want to get into one the ivy leagues."
"And you want to go to one of those schools?"
"I'd like to," I admitted. "I mean, you want to get into a decent law firm in New York you have to. Yale...it's always been my dream."
"Well what was you LSAT score? What did it need to be?"
"Well general rule of thumb is you need anything over a one hundred and sixty to be considered for places like that. Yale tends to be a lot higher than that," I shrugged slightly.
"And? I still haven't heard your score," he pointed out.
I sighed. "One hundred and seventy two."
"Holy crap," he said, surprised. "You've got in the bag then, surely."
I shook my head. "Just because my score was good doesn't mean anything. Yale law school acceptance rate is always the lowest of the schools. In fact last year it was only nine point seven percent compared to Columbia which has a twenty-one percent acceptance rate. I know its low because the score has to be so high but it doesn't grantee it for me."
"Rory, I have known you for all of...what, two hours now and honestly I think you are one of the smartest people I've ever met," Elijah told me calmly, leaning forward. "If anyone can beat the odds, it's you."
I paused for a moment as I looked at him. He was smiling now, like in a comforting way and I found myself smiling back.
"Thanks."
We finished eating and I found myself sipping wine as we continued to talk. I couldn't believe Kieran had found someone I got along with. He was smart which helped the conversation flow naturally. He talk himself up too much, which was something I dealt with on past dates. Kieran was good at picking guys on their looks, not so much their personalities, but for once, he got both right.
"So you moved here when you were eighteen because of college, or was there something else?" he asked me, as the waiter finished taking out empty plates.
"Well, college was the main reason, but I also wanted to get away from my home," I shrugged. "I wasn't exactly in a small time, but it wasn't big either and there was only so far you can go. My older brother is in the army, and he's currently posted overseas so being there without him sucked, and my mum passed away in a car accident when I was fifteen, so it was just me and my dad."
"Oh, I'm so sorry about your mum," he said immediately.
I shook my head. "Its fine, it was a while ago, but I know this is what she would want me to do. She always wanted what was best for me, what made me happy and she knows leaving that place was it. I was never going to go to a local college and I always loved New York so it made sense. Dad didn't love it, he got a little closer after she passed away, but he also knows she would want it because it makes me happy, so he supported me."
"Well, that good, that you didn't let it...stop you," he said a little awkwardly.
"Enough about me, seriously," I insisted, realising mentioning my mum put a damper on things. "Did you-."
I started to ask Elijah something but I was interrupted but a sudden change in volume in the restaurant. The front door had opened and it wouldn't be a big deal but there was some sort of commotion going on. I turned and so did Elijah to see flashing lights which I realised were from cameras and lots of them too. I thought it may be a celebrity eating here, and I kind of wanted to know who it could be, as living in New York they did pop up from time to time.
I saw two people being shielded by workers as the ushered them inside, shutting the doors behind them. This stopped the cameras flashing as they could no longer see in and I found my eyes adjusting to the normal light and that's when I caught a glimpse of who it was.
"Oh, no way," I said immediately. "You've got to be kidding me."
"What?" Elijah asked me, turning to look at me. "What's wrong?"
"That...guy," I gestured my head towards the two people now being led to their table, "is my boss."
"Wait, he's your boss, he's so young," Elijah commented. "Wait, you said you were an assistant, but what company do you work for."
"Watson International," I told him with a sigh.
"Wait, is that Clarke Watson?" he asked, turning again to look at him. "Man, I haven't seen him since he was on the news for getting arrested."
"Yep, that's him," I nodded. "Don't know why there so much paparazzi though. His bad boy reputation has settled a bit."
"Oh, I don't think it was all for him. Do you not know who his date is?" he asked me.
I had barely realised Clarke has walked in with a date. I looked around Elijah to see there was in fact a girl siting with him. She was tall, skinny, very skinny, with dark skin, long legs and long completely straight brown hair that had highlights through it. I could see she had large lips and nice eyes and great cheek bones, in fact the girl was just gorgeous.
"No," I said eventually. "She does look familiar though..."
"That's Alicia Moore," Elijah told me.
I frowned as her names sounded familiar too, and that's when it hit me.
"The model?" I asked him.
"Yeah," he nodded. "She's all the rave at the moment."
I suddenly remembered seeing photos of her online, and I had this image of her walking a runway flash through my head. She was the hottest new model on the scene and likely to be picked as the newest model for Victoria's Secret later on in the year, and now somehow she was on a date with Clarke.
"Could...would it be okay if we go?" I asked Elijah, leaning forward. "Honestly I see more of my boss than I would like at work."
"You don't get along with him?" Elijah guessed.
"Not so much," I shook my head slightly. "He's...improving but we don't agree on everything."
"That's must be hard considering your job," Elijah noted.
"You have no idea," I nodded. "I don't mean to be rude either."
"Oh no, you're not," Elijah said immediately, "I get it. Plus I never like getting desert in a restaurant. I'm more of ice-cream from the shop guy."
"Ah, yes, me too," I smiled. "A simple ice-cream in a cone as all the desert I need."
"Perfect," Elijah smiled back. "I'll just pay the check and we can get out of here."
"Oh no, I can pay-," I started to argue.
"Seriously, Rory, I insist," Elijah was shaking my head before I could finish.
I grabbed my coat and waited outside while he paid. I sighed as I realised I was kind of annoyed. Out of all the restaurants in New York how did he end up at the same one as me? I know it was a fancy one, but there were plenty of other upscale restaurants they could've gone too, why did we have to come to the one I was at whilst I was enjoying my date?
Elijah and I walked to the ice-cream place, he got mint chocolate and I got cookies and cream and sat on one of the tables outside the shop. I realised I had enjoyed my night. I was nice, pleasant, but nothing....outstanding. I know that sounded a little harsh but getting along with someone didn't mean romance. I needed more than that. I needed that spark that made me do something I would normally be afraid. I needed to feel passion, feel like I needed them. Maybe that would change with Elijah in time, but for now, I had nothing to really complain about.
I said goodbye to Elijah as we got separate cabs. We didn't kiss, I wasn't so big on going too far on a first date, instead just a kiss on the cheek was enough and the promise he would call me. I sat in the back of the cab smiling slightly but finding my mind turning to Clarke. The boy had been nothing but trouble and I thought he was improving, taking his job seriously, but now he's out with a model. How was I meant to have any sort of life when all I did was worry about him and how the company was? Henry's life was cut short, out of nowhere as his company was his life and I was starting to feel like part of my life belonged to it and I owed him to do everything I could to keep it going, and right now that meant getting Clarke in line...which I was realising meant my life wasn't going to come first for a little while.