Opening Line: First Date

Discover Challenge
It was the first time, and it wouldn’t be the last. Here I was, sitting across a guy whose company I enjoyed more than anything in this world. We were laughing over a table of guava juice and pizza. And oh, there was kebab and kelewele* as side dishes, my favorites. All these came as a surprise as I was lured into this place. This Akwasi guy eh.

I can’t wrap my head around this whole thing or how I fell for him. For twenty-something years of my life, I’ve mostly been picky.

“He’s too short”
“He talks too much”
“He’s too forceful. He’s clingy”
“He smiles too much”
“He’s too stingy”

And the list could go on and on. I suffered my first heartbreak at the age of fifteen years and since then, kept making excuses just not to date anyone. I also refused all efforts made by my friends to link me with other guys. I had in mind, the ideal person; and I kept waiting because to me, he was going to walk into my life. Literally!

And so I had it! He walked up to me one day after work.

“My name’s Akwasi. You are…?”

I was bent over my phone, trying to catch up with my girls. I found that interruption quite rude and looked up to see who dared to distract me. There he stood, smiling coolly with his hand extended towards me. Something sparked up in me and the scowl on my face vanished.

“Lynne” I answered refusing to extend my hand to greet him. Yeah, that pride!

“I’m one of the new employees here. I’ve noticed you around but you never stop to say hi. I’m making the first move” he said still smiling.

Naturally, I’d just roll my eyes after that comment, probably give a cheeky answer and walk away but he had an aura around him which I simply couldn’t resist.

“Uhmm yeah. My bad. I honestly have no excuse for not welcoming you and the others” I said.

“No problem”

I don’t remember how I put my phone away and got engaged in a conversation with him. Or how I ended up giving him my cell phone number. That was something I never did, no matter how much people begged. I enjoyed my privacy and hated having pointless conversations with random people.

The following days saw us talking about everything we could think of. We had a mental connection. Akwasi was a great person and we just clicked. It was after several weeks of getting to know him that I realized that he met most of my criteria, both physically and character wise. He was tall, dark, muscular, gentle and very thoughtful.

That’s how come I was sitting across him with all the junk food I loved in this world. It was our very first date and I knew many more were yet to come.

Kelewele – fried ripe plantains which have been spiced