First Last Date (Day 3)

Gabriel pulled into a parking spot and used the rearview mirror to quickly fix himself up. He rustled his hair, rolled his sleeves halfway up, and pressed all the possible wrinkles out of his shirt. He quickly scanned the parking lot before getting out of his car. No sign of him yet. Stepping through the door, he was hit with the smell of maple syrup and perfume.

"Welcome! Just one today?" The peppy hostess beamed, grabbing a menu.

"Uh, thanks. Two though, please. I'm waiting on someone," he stated, taken aback by the girl's morning energy.

"Absolutely! Table, or booth?" She asked, a bit softer this time as she grabbed an additional menu.

"Booth, please," Gabriel replied. He glanced down at his watch to check the time. Ten more minutes until nine. He was always fifteen minutes early to everything, especially dates and especially first dates at that. Taking a seat at the booth, he glanced out the window to see if the silver 2014 Chevrolet Volt that had been brought up by his date. No sign yet. He turned his attention now so the menu, drinks specifically.

"Can I get some coffee, ma'am?" He asked after flagging down one of the two waitresses walking around the dining room with a carafe in hand.

"Of course, darlin'," she flashed a soft smile. "Want me to fill the cup across from you too?" She asked. Gabriel took a moment to think before shaking his head. He had never bothered to ask if his date liked coffee or not. "No," he said, finally.

Nine o'clock became nine-fifteen, and his date still hadn't shown up. Gabriel tapped his fingers on the smooth tabletop and let out a heavy and annoyed sigh. He decided to pull his phone out just to see if there were any messages he'd missed. There were none to be found, so he decided to message himself.

Hey, I got here early and saved us a table. Just tell the hostess when you get here and she'll bring you right here. You did remember us settling on breakfast at nine, right?

Ten more minutes went by, and Gabriel's tapping fingers balled up into fists. Just as he was about to stand up to leave, his date walked in. He had somehow missed the car, still not seeing the vehicle outside. He unfisted his hands.

"Okay, thank God you're still here. I am so sorry about that!" The tall, tan-skinned man quickly plopped into the other side of the booth and smiled meekly.

"I was just about to leave, glad you showed up when you did. Nice to formally meet you, Kevin." Gabriel took yet another look outdoors before speaking again. "Where's your car? I was looking out for it and I must've missed it."

"Oh, that's actually why I was a little late. It wouldn't start, so I had to take it to the shop, so I just called a taxi. I swear I wasn't trying to blow you off!" Kevin exclaimed, a bit too loudly. People from other tables were looking at the two now, and Gabriel felt his face heating up.

"Well, I hope things work out with it. I just thought you'd overslept when you didn't respond to my text. Glad that you made it, though," Gabriel smiled as he opened his menu. Kevin followed suit.

"Ooh, the banana pancakes look delish!" Kevin pointed at his menu with enthusiasm. "I'm starved!"

"I am too, I was hungry when I got here, now I'm about the same as you," Gabriel chuckled, flipping the menu over.

"You two ready to order?" The same waitress that got Gabriel his coffee seemed like she must've been listening in with how fast she showed up. It took Gabee and Kevin by surprise.

"Such quick service! I'll have the banana pancakes and just water to drink, please," Kevin looked down and pulled out his phone, seeing the old message from Gabriel now. He glanced back up before putting his head down once more.

"I'm going to do the meat lovers omelet with hashbrowns, and can I get a refill of my coffee?" Gabriel smiled as the waitress finished scribbling on her pad and took the menus under her arm with a smile and a nod.

"So I w-" Gabriel turned to see Kevin looking down and his face lit up by the screen below. He decided not to intrude. Maybe it's about the car.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Go ahead, I'm listening," Kevin replied, looking back at his phone just as fast as he'd looked up at Gabriel, who was now holding his head in one of his hands. He remained silent, waiting for Kevin to get off the phone.

"I don't want to distract you, might be about your car," he replied, finally.

"Oh, no, I'm just checking social media and messaging a friend back," Kevin chuckled, not taking his eyes off of the device. Gabe sighed a breathy sigh and went back to looking out the window with furrowed brows. Kevin didn't seem to notice or care otherwise, and the two sat there in silence until the food arrived. A bad start.

When the piping hot breakfast landed on the table, the two looked like they had stars in their eyes. Kevin put his phone to the right of his plate and began digging in, the same as Gabriel.

"Want to try some of mine?" Kevin smiled, mouth full with crumbs flying.

"Uh, no thanks." Gabriel said before shoveling more food into his mouth. The silence between them felt uncomfortable to Gabriel. He wanted to talk, but every time his mouth opened it seemed like Kevin got back on his phone. He was ready to call it quits when he noticed the final straw that made him stop eating halfway in and finally speak up.

"Hey, are you going to be on your phone all morning? I wanted to actually talk." Gabriel spoke flatly, his anger showing ever so slightly.

"Oh, no I can stop, I guess. You don't have to wait until I'm done to talk," Kevin chuckled with a straight face. He, too, stopped eating then. His lips still smacked as he chewed.

"I don't like speaking to someone that's too distracted to fully listen. I could let the tardiness slide because accidents happen and we can't control our vehicles, but between you not looking up from your phone and then talking with your mouth full-" he paused and rubbed his temples. "I don't think this is going to work out." Gabriel flagged down the waitress to ask for a box, which she promptly went to the back to retrieve.

"You don't have to be a jerk. I guess it wouldn't work though since you're so certain," Kevin spoke softly. He wasn't as hurt as he thought he would be by the rejection. Instead, he continued eating as Gabriel paid for his half of the meal, took his box, and headed out to the car.