Crooked Smile

“Will you hold still?”

“It’s hard to hold still with you poking me in the eye.” Sunni whined as she tried to keep from moving. Sierra’s eyebrows were knitted in concentration as she tried to apply liquid eyeliner. Though Sunni complained, she was happy that her best friend and roommate wanted to give her the “Cinderella makeover”. Then again, simply mentioning a Disney princess was enough to get Sunni to go along with most of Sierra’s plans. She wasn’t sure if a blind date was a great idea, considering that she preferred to be comfortable with a guy before going on a date with him, but Sierra had gone through so much trouble for her already.

“All done!” Sierra took a step back and clapped her hands excitedly before picking up a mirror and handing it to Sunni. Taking an exaggerated deep breath, Sunni pretended to be afraid to see her new look. To her surprise, she looked really good. The gold eyeshadow didn’t stand out as much as she had imagined, and Sierra’s decision to go with clear lip gloss was clearly a winner. Even if her date didn’t think the same, Sunni felt she looked gorgeous.

“Thank you!” Sunni hopped up from her chair and pulled Sierra into a quick tight hug.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now get dressed! He should be here any minute.” Sierra turned Sunni around and pushed her towards the bathroom. She quickly stripped down and tugged on a yellow halter dress with white flower sandals. Not knowing the guy made it harder to pick the right dress, so she decided to be formal yet casual. No sense in killing her feet for someone she might not even like. The knock on the front door made her jump, and butterflies immediately filled her tummy.

“Oh, geez...” She muttered to herself as she ran a brush through her hair and put it into a high ponytail. Brushing aside second thoughts about her recent choice of hair color, she picked up her clutch that sat on her bed and headed for the living room. “I’m ready!”

She expected some stranger to waiting for her along with Sierra, not Aaron. Her pace slowed to a stop as she looked at the two of them, confused and nervous. “Hey, Sunni.”

To his credit, Aaron’s cheeks had a tint of red to them as he ran a hand over his head. “Aaron... What are you doing here?”

In answer to her question, he revealed a bouquet of blue roses he had hidden behind his back. “I’m your blind date.”

She was speechless. Her eyes went back and forth between his hazel eyes and the blue roses he held. They had been friends for two years, adding casual sex to the mix roughly six months ago. A date seemed so... Serious. She looked at Sierra and saw the hope in her eyes. It as obvious that Sierra and Aaron had worked together for this. Despite her reservations, Sunni bit the bullet and smiled brightly. “Thank you!” She reached for the flowers. They were real roses, dyed to be her preferred shade of royal blue. The thought of watching them wilt and eventually die added to her worsening mood. ‘Nothing lasts forever...’ “They’re beautiful!”

“I’ll take these and put them in water.” Sierra seized the bouquet and pushed Sunni towards Aaron. “You two get going!”

Aaron offered his hand and Sunni took it, surprised by its coldness. Though it was Fall, Texas was normally a warm state. Aaron had a habit of driving with his air conditioner on. “Come on, lady.”

“Maybe I should grab a jacket.” She hesitated and attempted to pull her hand free.

“Here you go!” Sierra lifted Sunni’s button down sweater from a dining chair and handed it to Aaron, who held it up for Sunni. With a grateful smile, she put her arms into it and once again took Aaron’s cold hand. Maybe she could warm it with her own? As they stepped outside, a breeze hit them, scattering a few fallen leaves around their feet. Sunni gasped with delight and sent a pile of leaves flying with a kick of her foot, dancing as they were picked up by the wind and circled her feet.

“Sunni, come on.” Aaron tugged her hand as he lead the way to his car, and she followed obediently. She wasn’t sure this date would work - Aaron was so different than she was. When they first met, the whole “opposites attract” saying seemed stupid. However, she had to admit that he was nearly as close to her as Sierra was. He was very wise in comparison to her naive mindset. He was very patient were she was often impatient. Becoming friends with benefits had been something of an accident - a night of drinking gone wrong - but she didn’t regret it. He was very caring and supportive of her wishes. “Guess where we’re going.”

His smile was bright, but couldn’t chase away her nerves. “Some fancy upscale restaurant?”

He laughed, a loud barking sound that often annoyed her. “You make it sound like a bad thing.”

She shrugged. “You know I really don’t like them, Aaron.” She looked out the car window as it pulled away from the curb.

“I know, but I’m sure you’ll love this place, Sunni.” His tone implied that he was confident about his choice, so she promised herself that she’d give it - and him - a fighting chance. Out of habit, she reached for the radio and turned it to pop station. Big Bang’s “We Like 2 Party” played in English. She waited to see if Aaron would object before she sat back and relaxed, enjoying the ride and the song. “You like this song?”

Sunni glanced at Aaron and nodded. “Yeah. A lot of their songs are pretty decent, if not outright awesome.”

“Have you listened to any of them in Korean?”

She nodded, “Most of them.”

“You’re the only girl I know who’s into things like K-Pop and anime.” He laughed, and it made Sunni blush. “I love how you’re true to yourself.”

“Is that why we’re going on a date?”

He turned his head to look at her briefly, “One of the reasons, yeah. What? You don’t think it was about time that we did something like this?”

She lifted one shoulder in a non-committal shrug. “I don’t mind going out.”

His hand found hers and gave it a squeeze. “Good.” It wasn’t long before his car pulled into the parking lot of an upscale restaurant downtown called Pescado’s. Sunni let out a squeal of excitement - she’d wanted to come here since her sister first mentioned dining there with her husband after their daughter was born. Sunni reached for the door handle, but Aaron gently grabbed her arm and shook his head. “Please, wait a second.”

Sunni frowned and put her hands into her lap, waiting for Aaron to get out of the car and come around to her door and open it for her. While the gesture was cute and definitely romantic, it was also a waste of time. She could have been out of the car already, walking through the front door. He gave his keys to the valet and offered his elbow to her. “Why, thank you.” She smiled and slipped her arm under his.

Inside, the restaurant had a suave and laid-back atmosphere. The tables were spaced evenly and the lights were dimmed, giving the patrons a true sense of privacy. Music played softly as waiters and waitresses danced in between the tables, taking orders and delivering food. After the hostess found Aaron’s name under the reservation, they were led to a booth in a corner near the biggest window. As Sunni took her seat, she glanced outside and gasped with delight. There was a perfect view of her favorite building, the green outlined skyscraper that was iconic to Dallas’ city skyline. “Oh, my God!”

Aaron beamed with pride. “I know you wanted to try the food here, but I really thought you’d get a kick out of being able to see the Bank of America building up close.” He dipped his head a bit and added, “Since the last time we were downtown, you stared up at it until you made yourself sick.”

Sunni laughed and bowed her head in shame. “To be fair, I was standing directly underneath it. I got dizzy so fast!”

They shared a laugh as they picked up their menus. A waiter greeted them and asked if they’d like anything to drink. Seeing Sunni lost in the choices, Aaron casually ordered Sprite for her, mentioning that she’d also get a strawberry margarita once she figured out what she wanted to eat. Sunni looked at him in awe.

“You knew what I’d get?”

He shrugged, “You normally get the same thing, and you never pass up a margarita when one is available, especially if it’s something fruity like strawberry.”

“Aw, thank you.” She smiled brightly and reached over to touch his cheek with her fingertip.

“Oh, pffft.” He waved her off, blushing once again. “Are you done looking at the entire menu yet?”

She laughed and covered her face with her menu. “You say that like I have to check every choice before making a decision.”

“You do.” His tone was serious, but his eyes seemed to dance with laughter. She felt her cheeks warm up, so she put her menu down.

“Fine, I’ll order now.” Though he was skeptical about her being ready, Aaron waved a waitress over and placed their order. Though she was nervous, she had to admit that she really appreciated his efforts.

“Thank you, Aaron.” She touched the back of his hand and withdrew it quickly, looking down at the table in front of her. “I think this is the nicest thing any guy’s ever done for me.” She looked out the window. “I absolutely love the view."

"I'm glad to hear it." He smiled.

For a brief moment, she wondered if maybe there could be something more between them. "Aaron, do you... Do you like Disney movies?"

"Hm? Yeah, I like some of them."

"Who's your favorite character?"

"Hm... I was a huge fan of Stitch, the little blue experiment monster." He smiled brightly.

"What about the princesses? Do you like any of them?"

Aaron frowned. "Not really."

Sunni's smile dimmed. "Why not?"

"It's so unrealistic. I hate the way Disney reinforces the idea that a woman needs a man in her life."

"Not all the movies are like that - Brave addressed that issue directly."

"One movie out of how many?"

"And Frozen even made fun of it."

"Even still, out of how many movies? They can change their tune now, but it doesn't hide the fact that for years brainwashing they've been doing."

At a loss for words, Sunni sat back in her seat. She respected his opinion and would let him have the last word, but in her heart, she knew he wasn't the prince she was looking for. She wanted someone she could daydream with, someone who could go along with her imagination. She wanted someone who'd pretend to be her prince, and her let her pretend to be his princess. Their plates were set down on the table in front of them, and Sunni busied herself with eating. Though the food was delicious, she got little satisfaction out of eating it. She just wanted this night to be over.