Matt Addison's blog

It was a few minutes before six o'clock and the nerves were starting to set in. I was confident in the way that I looked and smelt, having doused myself in the latest Dunhill designer cologne just five minutes ago. I wore a black and pink pinstriped shirt with a pair of dark blue denim jeans. I could feel the rush of blood through my veins as my heart beat in rapid succession, the excitement building. A sharp tingling in my pocket alerted me to a message that had just entered my mobile phone. Slowly I drew the device from its position and flipped it open, revealing a familiar 'you have mail' message. Entering the message my eyes stared upon one sentence of text that bleeped before me.

T-Minus 30 minutes, and counting...

My heart fluttered a little, skipping a beat as a pebble skims across the surface of a pond a few times before sinking. But my heart was not going to travel on the course. I just had a feeling that this time, it would be perfect.

I had previously spoken to the guy for the last week on the phone, where he'd rung me out of the blue to chat after bumping into me in Woolworths. He claimed complete innocence at first and just generally chatted, however he began to insist on taking me out to dinner to amend for the mistake that he made in the supermarket that day. I was reluctant at first, wondering why he would want to take me for dinner - thinking that there must have been an ulterior motive. In the end though, I gave in because I just couldn't stand to be continuously begged. Besides, I was also under the assumption that he would be paying and who wouldn't turn down a free dinner at a classy restaurant?

As time began to march onward and I got to know him, I started to think that perhaps there was more to it than I thought. He was quite obviously gay, which was evident from the interest that he took in me - not to mention the fact that he was a flight attendant. However, people I knew warned me against entering into anything serious due to the reputation that people working in that industry held.

"They're all whores." People would say. But what did they know, I thought? I began to wake up to picture messages of the locations that his flight paths lead him to, followed with a brief good morning message. He even began to email me at work, cute little messages. This was all before he met me as me, without the iPod or the hangover. It was almost too good to be true. But soon I would find out, when the clock hands ticked over to six thirty.

I logged off my workstation and packed up for the evening, with a small smile upon my lips. With the knowledge that he would be waiting for me downstairs, outside my building I made a quick stop to the bathroom to freshen up and ensure that my hair was in place and that everything was immaculate. The quick checked cleared and I impatiently pressed the elevator button, eagerly awaiting its arrival.

The lift arrived at my floor with a distinct ringing that echoed out to the almost quiet hall. Quiet in the fact that there was no bustle of call centre noise to block out the chime of the arriving elevator. I stepped into the lift and firmly pressed the button for ground floor. With a whirr and a click the lift descended through the levels of the building until it reached my intended destination. My heart almost lurched into my throat at the building excitement that ensued when I stepped out of the lift onto the marble facade of the building. Walking with determination to the glass doors that shielded the foyer from the street, I pressed defiantly upon the metal handle and it opened with a click. Beyond the traffic groaned on, and the Town Hall clock struck its chords at six thirty on the dot.

Standing there, to the side of the terrace was the man that I had been corresponding with, with a goofy smile upon his face. His eyes seemed to scan me, giving me the once over and then returning to my eyes. I, in turn, responded in the same fashion and then he came up and placed his arms around me in a hug.

"So, the reservation isn't until 7:30pm, so why not go for a drink?"

He asked me. I nodded my consent and we headed off into the CBD where we could find a place to grab a drink and have a chat. The place that we chose, was a nice little bar elevated from the street by a clean escalator that ascended into a parlor styled in white marble and leafy green potted plants. I ordered a vodka lemon lime and bitters and he ordered a simple spirit of scotch and coke. We found a table and sat upon the stools and he just stared into my eyes for a few moments without really saying anything. But, for some reason it just felt right. We made idle chatter and finished our drinks before heading off to the chosen restaurant which was on the other side of town.

We walked through a construction site of a former square that was being rendered after a bus way had been built beneath it. I attempted to point out where I sat in my building; however it was to no avail considering all the brightly lit windows pretty much looked the same.

Making it to the restaurant in due time, we sat and ordered our meals. I could have sworn that his knee was touching mine, but I didn't mention it or move my leg as I ate a meal of salmon steak with a glass of wine, followed by a mint and mandarin sorbet dessert. I rolled the interesting flavor around on my tongue as he tilted his head and smiled, looking again into my eyes. The conversation over dinner had been small talk and didn't really mention anything too significant.

He called for the bill and paid with a flourish of his wallet. I was impressed. We left and made our way to the parkland beyond where I may have had a dizzy head from the wine that I'd consumed, although I sure as hell wasn't going to let that on. We came upon a place where there appeared to be only Asian couples sitting around which seemed very odd. We sat and I moved in closer to him. The stars lit up the night sky in an abundance of twinkling lights that radiated warmth and kindness. It all felt too real. Before I knew what I was doing, I leaned in and kissed him. He reciprocated straight away and after a moment where we each had to pause for breath he said. "We'd better be careful or they might throw sushi at us," Inferring that the Asians around us would abhor the act that we had just committed. I had to laugh as I thought that it was quite humourous. I had not really met a guy that was as random, and spontaneous as him. Almost when I thought I had started to figure him out, he stood and raised me with him with a followed hand.

He led me back to his car which he modestly said that I may have assumed that he drove a better vehicle. However to my surprise, he sported a new model Mazda 3 in black with chrome handles that looked very suave. I had to chuckle again at the irony of the situation. Who thought that it could get any better than it already was.

"Let's go," he whispered and we hopped into the car and he drove us out of the city and beyond.