Chapter 2 - sarah�s side

Sarah had not thought much about Adam at the start of the week. He was a young, skinny, lanky country boy, new to the city. He'd studied a bit, but this was his first real job and it showed. He was clumsy and nervous, yet keen to fit in and learn. His fashion sense was at least two years out of date. He said he had been home schooled, so he was not used to being around so many strangers.
Well home schooling has a lot to answer for! The poor boy was as old fashioned as the hills! Nevertheless he was a hard worker and I did not pay him much attention - other than being professional, until Friday when he asked me out! Well! You could have knocked me down with a feather! He was at least five years younger than me. I was a woman, not a girl!
But then again, I was still upset about my break up with Graham. What harm could a brief liaison with a teenager do? It could be fun! I knew I was on the rebound, but I didn't care. It was mud in Graham's eye!
Later that afternoon, I noticed Adam more. He had short mousey hair in a style more suited to a man thirty years older. He had no visible tattoos, no jewellery other than a plain watch. Yet, there was a little sparkle in his eyes that I found appealing. His face lit up when he smiled. He was a bit shy, but so would anyone who had grown up on an isolated farm.
He'd actually done well to get this far, I realised. It must be difficult for him. I might not be his girlfreind for very long. I did not plan to be with him longer than a fortnight, but, I could certainly modernise him in that time!

He met me after I had been to the gym. He wore a black dinner suit, bow tie and had slicked his hair back for the occasion.
I thought it was a bit over the top, a bit formal for a standard restaurant meal, I felt very underdressed in comparison, although he said I looked beautiful.
No man had ever, EVER told me that!
They'd say I looked nice. They'd say they liked my dress, but beautiful, no!
I never got the romantic types. I had to walk my boyfriends to the bus stop. The only flowers I had ever received from a boyfriend were daffodils picked from the centre of a roundabout, planted by the local council.
Yet here was Adam, greeting me with a single rose and a kiss on the cheek. He walked me to his car, opened the passenger door for me. I wasn't used to this kind of attention. I had to stop myself reaching for the car door to close it.
Sitting waiting for him getting in the driving seat, I thought the car was awfully posh for his age... as was the suit, but I should not pre-judge, I told myself. The date was only five minutes long and he had already surpassed all of my expectations.
We arrived at our destination. I opened the door and had a leg out, before I remembered Adam was running around the car to hold the door open for me. I thanked him and apologised for being so unladylike. Then, after securing his car, he took my arm and led me into the restaurant.

The restaurant was not anywhere I had been before. It was certainly no fast food joint. Nor was it a bog standard pub or greasy spoon caff. This was fine dining. I found myself questioning Adam's finances once again. If he could afford all this, why was he a clerical assistant for a boring old law firm?

We were just about the only customers, so we got a secluded table with very soft comfortable dining chairs. I was nervous. There looked to be far too much cutlery on the table. I didn't know what to do. Did you go from the outside in or from the inside out?
Adam asked me if I wanted anything to drink. I didn't know. My mind was spinning. I would have been happy with a coke. Adam looked more comfortable here than I had seen him. He ordered a glass of champagne. Champagne! Not just Prosecco! And here was I thinking I was going to have to show Adam a thing of two about living in the city! My impression of him had not just gone up a notch, or had gone up half a dozen. He was about level pegging with Graham now.
He ordered from the menu for me because it was all in French. I didn't understand a word of it. As long as I didn't have snails, I didn't mind what I ate. This was a special night. I'd already been to the gym. I was not going to let a few calories spoil my enjoyment tonight. Anyway, I had to get Adam"s money's worth. It would be a sin to waste anything. I suspected the bill for the two of us would come to around 100 pounds... and that might not include the drinks!

We started the meal with a salad with tuna, olives and tomatoes. Adam reliably told me it was called salade nicoise. I was none the wiser. I'd only had fresh tuna once before but it had not tasted as exquisite as this!
That course was swiftly followed by mushrooms in a garlic butter sauce. I had never eaten mushrooms that had as much flavour as these did. Adam told me the restaurant grew their own mushrooms in a dark hut in the back garden. They grew a variety of edible fungi that you could not buy in the local supermarket. I finished my second glass of champagne. At first, I thought the sparkling wine was too dry for my taste, but now I was more used to it, I quite liked it.
I thought the dinner was over, but they came out with a Coq au vin. Adam ordered a bottle of Merlot to go with it, which I learned was a red wine. I was already quite tipsy and I'd eaten plenty, but for Adam, I was prepared to take it further.
The wine was very smooth, but tasted quite different to the sauce with the chicken, which had a sweeter, spicier taste. It was all very delicious! The vegetables too were all cooked to perfection. This was going to go down as the best meal I had eaten... ever!
Adam kept topping up my wine. Anyone would think he wanted to get me drunk! Well, I was well on the way by now. I'd reached the chattery stage. I told Adam everything I hated about Graham and all my other boyfriends, for that matter! Men were scoundrels! It was hardly the best chat up lines for a first date, but Adam did not criticise. He knew I had to let my emotions out. He listened and poured more wine. That is exactly what I wanted!
I asked him why he was not drinking as much as me. He reminded me, he was driving. That was a good enough reason, I thought, as the dessert arrived.
It was a chocolate fondant with a chantilly cream.
By now, I did not care about which spoon I ate with. I did not care about who was watching me. I did not care about how much I had already eaten. My emotions poured out. Tears steamed down my cheeks as I dug into the chocolate sponge with the molten chocolate sauce inside. I hardly noticed the waited switch my empty plate for another full one.

After three courses and two desserts, I felt as full as if I had eaten a giant Christmas dinner. Oof! I leaned back in the chair. The skirt on my dress was feeling considerably tighter than it had been when I left the gym. I was too drunk to do anything about it. Adam had to bet one of the waitresses to make sure I was all right when I went to the ladies' room.
He must have paid the bill when I was otherwise engaged, because he was ready to leave when I got out. He had to help me into the car.
We had hardly driven out of the car park when I fell asleep.