12 YEARS AGO
"He's a sadist."
Aurelai looked up from the condiments counter, surprised. She often overheard strange conversations but this one was unexpected. Only when her eyes met someone else's did she realize that the statement as directed at her.
She gave the strange man a funny smile. "Oh...?"
Aurelai had noticed him earlier when she and her friends entered Nandos. He had been sitting with a group of university students. She'd assumed that they were a study group, but judging by their open laptops and their facial expressions, they didn't look like they were working well together. They, the man and herself, had made eye contact when she passed by, and upon instinct she gave a polite smile.
She hadn't expected much from her evening. It was a double date. Technically a blind date for her, since Katy, her best friend, had set her up with her boyfriend's best friend. Aurelai hated Andy who was Katy's boyfriend. He was a complete ass to Katy. Though she never did voice her immense dislike, she had repetitively pointed out Andy's nasty behaviour. Her words were constantly dismissed though.
Chuck wasn't much better. She was stuck with him for the evening due to Andy's apparent pact to set his best friend with one of his girlfriend's friends. If Andy was an ass, Chuck was the hole. All Chuck did was make crude opinions and then, with an overbearing stare, expect her to agree. She had managed to get through most of the evening without saying a single sentence - she just had to smile and show interest. Chuck only wanted sounds of affirmation or disapproval. All Aurelai needed to do was follow his queues.
She was the one who volunteered to collect the condiments for her table. It gave her an opportunity to escape and calm herself down. She loved Katy, but allowing herself to be pressured into doing a double date was ridiculous. And to top off the lovely evening, there was now a curly haired man talking to her about sadists.
"The way he leans over to you is not in the manner that one would so do during courtship. His shoulders are hunched over yet he still ensures that he is at his optimum height with a rigid back while sitting. The way his chin is in a permanent state of being parallel to the ground and his inability to show any other facial expression other than a smirk are clearly signs of egoism. He is establishing control by posing as a strong individual next to smaller framed individuals, mainly you, as you are his partner of the evening and the focus of his attention. I'd say that the relationship you have selected will not be continuing in a positive manner. Same for couple you are with as well. The other male clearly displays traits of an egoist who feeds on nothing but the fawning of others - which that girl is clearly providing."
It didn't take long for her to realize that the curly haired man speaking to her was talking about Chuck.
Aurelai laughed. She wasn't interested i her date in the first place. Her only intention was to be civilized and keep Katy happy. And to keep Katy happy, that meant pleasing Andy by showing at least a little interest in her own date. Even though she already knew that Chuck wasn't particularly up to any good, it was nice of someone to warn her. "Thanks."
She started grabbing some napkins.
"That's all?"
Aurelai looked up again. This time, he was frowning at her. "Hmm?"
"Aren't you going to defend your partner?"
"Nope." There wasn't anything to defend.
There was a pause. Aurelai didn't look at him while she tried to figure out how to carry everything back to the table without dropping anything. "I'll be alright. You should be warning my friend instead. She's not listening to me. Maybe she'd listen to you."
"People usually don't listen."
"That is so true," she shrugged, "but what can you do? Katy's pretty alone now. Most of her friends have given up trying to talk her out of this stupid relationship. She's only got me and him, now. I don't want to give up and leave her all by herself."
"Your partner's not any better." The attention was now diverted back to her. She was starting to wonder if this man's face ever changed from his stoic one.
"He's not my partner. It's just a one date thing. My friend set me up with him."
"He's expecting more than a 'one date thing.'" Something in the manner in which he said it made it sound more like a positive statement than an assumption.
She dramatically shuddered and feigned a look of intense disgust. Aurelai could have sworn that she saw the strange man's lips twitch up a little.
She would have preferred to start flirting with this statue rather than with the stout man who sat next to her this evening. Unfortunately, she figured that she better return soon before they had reason to question why she was taking so long.
"Thanks for worrying about me." Leaning over as flirtatiously as she could, she lowered her voice, "but I've always been able to charm myself out of troublesome situations."
The man in front of her stiffened, unfamiliar with such close proximity.
Grinning, Aurelai stepped around him and began heading back to Katy. A couple meters away she stopped, "Oh! I'm Aurelai. Nice to meet you, by the way."
He nodded at her, "Sherlock."
Her interaction with him was the best part of her whole date. An hour and a half later, Andy and Chuck were in a heated discussion about the philosophical meaning behind the rap lyrics to a certain song.
She'd seen Sherlock leave Nandos about an hour ago. He had looked over at her table when he was near the entrance and gave her a curt nod. At that moment, Aurelai wondered what would've happened if he had approached Katy to insult Chuck. The thought made her frown. Katy would cry and go to Chuck for consolation. And any explicit insult to Chuck often didn't end well for the speaker.
