Chapter 3: The Dinner

Jennifer and Terrance arrived in the kitchen. Terrance admired how beautiful Jennifer's kitchen looked.

"Is every place in this house this spotless and beautiful? I feel like I'm in heaven being in here.", he said.

"Thank you. I make sure to always keep this house in the best shape. If I notice something I do not like, I must get rid of it.", she responded.

"Well, you certainly went above and beyond getting this place cleaned.", he replied back.

"Enough talking, lets eat before the food starts getting cold.", she told him.

Terrance pulled up a chair, so that Jennifer could sit in it.

"How gentlemen-like of you!", she complimented him.

Terrance took his seat and sat down towards the table. They were sitting across from each other. The food was steaming in front of their faces and the smell enticed them to eat. Jennifer made a Duck Breast with Pomegranate-Citrus Glaze and Smoked Paprika Steak and Lentils with Spinach. For the drink, she prepared a Mango Passion Cocktail.

"Wow, you did all this? What other talents do you have that I do not know?", he said in amazement.

"Yes, I do everything all by myself. Also a woman can't give away her secrets, what's the fun in that?", she responded.

"That is true. Life would be boring if there were no surprises. But every since I step inside your house, I learn a new discovery about you that was not mentioned before.", he responded back.

"Isn't that what first dates are for? To learn more about the person you are dating. Also why are you so worried about me keeping secrets when I barely know that much about you?", she exposed.

"Well.... My life is not as interesting, exciting, or glamorous as yours.", he confessed.

"Come on now, at least tell me what you do for a living? You don't have to tell me your whole life story.", she curiously asked.

"If I tell you, would you promise that you won't make fun of me?", he asked nervously.

"I promise I won't make fun of you. Just tell me already.", she responded.

Terrance took a deep breath before he confessed to Jennifer.

"I am a poet and I mostly write love poems.", he confesses.

"I love romantic poems!", she replied.

"You do?", he asked in confusion and shock.

"Yeah, I think romantic poems are the sweetest things ever and I get emotional anytime I read them.", she replied.

"This is like the 4th or 5th shocking information I learned about you.", he said.

"Can you share with me one of your romantic poems? That would make me so happy right now.", she asked with joyfulness.

"Alright, here is my most recent poem called 'Beautiful Life.'", he said while about to share.

"Beautiful Life"

by: Terrance Smith

"Today is your day, tonight is your night.
I make sure that you live a beautiful life.

I loved you from the start.
I will always love you with all my heart.
You are the one that I will love forever.
Only our love will get better.
It doesn't matter what people say about us.
All we need to worry about is our love and trust.
Forget about the guys who caused you fuss.
All you need is me and that is enough.
I will always be here to make things right.
But for now, let's live a beautiful life.

Today is your day, tonight is your night.
I make sure that you live a beautiful life.

Every time I think of you,
You make me feel like I'm not solo.
You are my twinkle to my star,
I understand who you really are.
I know I am not famous,
But you make me feel like a superstar.
Your love is making me go crazy.
You are beautiful like a daisy.
I know life is scary and you can't handle that.
But I always got your back.
I love you because you are true
And I love everything that you do.
You always surprise me,
Which makes me smile.
Let's be together for a while.
I hope this relationship turns right.
But for now, let's live a beautiful life."

Tears started dripping down Jennifer's eyes after she heard the poem.

"Wow, that was really beautiful!", she said while being emotional.

"You actually liked it? I was afraid that you might find it simple and cheesy, especially that Twinkle Twinkle Little Star reference.", he pondered in shock.

"There was nothing basic or corny about that poem. Everything was lovely. The Twinkle Twinkle Little Star reference was my favorite part of the poem.", she explained.

"That means a lot, because not that many people take my poetry seriously.", he responded.

"Fuck those people who are hating on your work! If they don't appreciate how talented you truly are, just know I will always be your number one fan.", she told him.

"I do not know how I ended up with a woman like you. Not only you are beautiful and full of surprises, but you make me feel like I belong in this world. Like literally, everybody thinks my poetry is not good and for so long I thought my poems weren't worthy enough.", he confessed

"Well, I am not everybody. I think your poetry is outstanding and you should not let other people get you down.", she told him.

"I know. But it's so hard to find confidence in myself when so many people told me I'm not good enough to succeed or live life the way I want to.", he responded.

"Well... having a first date with woman takes a lot of confidence and you accomplished that. So do not say you ain't got any confidence, because you certainly do.", she explained.

"Don't you get nervous when you are around people? Also you must be insecure about something? No human being cannot perfect.", he questioned her.

"I used to be shy, since so many people took advantage of me and treated me like I was nothing. Of course, there were a lot of things that I do not like about myself. But once I got older and wiser, I stopped giving a fuck! People used to push me away, now I'm the one who takes control and punish those who messes with my life. There are some moments where I don't feel comfortable in my own skin, but that only happens when I done something terrible to myself or others. But for the most part, I always look at the brighter things in life and don't let anything get in my way.", she revealed.

Both of them started to eat to break up the tension.

"I got a question to ask you Jennifer?", he asked.

"Ask me anything!", she insisted.

"Why did you choose a guy like me? I'm not rich and famous. I don't have the best confidence in the world and I don't have a body of a god. Out of all the men, what makes me the right choice for you to date?", he questioned her.

Jennifer observed Terrance's body and thought about all the reasons she liked him.

"Terrance.... Do you remember when we first met?", she asked.

"Yeah, we meet at a smoothie shop.", he replied.

"Do you remember the first thing you said to me?", she asked.

"I remember saying, 'Excuse me miss? I know this will sound cheesy, but when I first saw you walking inside the smoothie shop, you made my day better. My whole day sucked and I thought smoothies would make my day better, but it made me feel drained. But when I saw how gorgeous you looked and how independent you were, the depression I had went away. Seeing your presence made me feel empowered. Even though we never met before, I want to thank you for existing and making me feel this way.'", he explained.

"When you told me all that, I thought it was cheesy, random, and a bit desperate. But I never had any guy greet me in such a grateful, emotional, and thoughtful manner. I wasn't even planning to meet and talk to men, all I wanted was a mango smoothie and relax at home. But you came at me in such a unique and graceful way that I wanted to get to know you better. That is the reason why I chose you and invited you to my house for a date. Plus, you have some thick muscles and I love me some thick men.", she said with a smile on her face.

"Are you calling me fat when you referred to me as 'thick'?", he questions her.

Jennifer bursted out in laughter after Terrance asked her that question.

"No, you are not fat! Plus 'thick' is the new way to call someone 'sexy' and I think you are a sexy thick man.", she replied.

"Oh. Well... Thank you. I never met a woman who called me 'sexy'. Mostly, women refer to me as cute or alright, but never sexy.", he said.

"Fuck those other women, I think you are sexy. Not only by your looks, but the way you treat women. You are always honest and treat me like I'm some type of goddess. I find that equally as attractive as your good looks.", she responded back.

Jennifer and Terrance got done eating their dinner.

"So.... Did you enjoy what I cooked for you?", she asked.

"I never had a meal like that in a long time. The steak was immaculate and the Mango cocktail brought me back to the first time we met and we both ordered Mango smoothies. Overall, that was a great meal.", he replied.

"I'm glad you loved my cooking, because I watched a lot of cooking shows to perfect this dish.", she said with joy.

"That dinner was the definition of perfection.", he said.

Jennifer glanced at Terrance and started thinking about getting him closer to her.

"You know Terrance, since we got the whole night to ourselves, how about we go to the living room and watch a movie?", she asked.

"I don't mind watching a movie with you.", he replied.

"Great. Let me clean up this table and then we could start watching the movie.", she said.

"Okay. Do you want me to help you clean?", he asked.

"Aw, that's generous of you. But I got this. Just wait for me at the living room.", she responded back.

"Alright. Also thank you for the dinner!", he said.

Terrance got out of the chair and walked towards the living room. Jennifer looked at Terrance walking by and licked her lips. She got off her chair and started cleaning the kitchen.