When The Sun Sets In The East

013| The wrong date

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Elliot raised his hand, his knuckle close to the door to place a knock, but doubt grasped onto him and he dropped his hand back to his side.

What am I doing here? He queried himself as he barely walked away from the door, but then; he stopped and had another doubt with regard to walking away. He felt the need to check up on her and a simple hello wasn't such a bad idea; so, Elliot turned and returned to where he'd stood in front of her door. He raised his hand to knock; suddenly, the door opened and there she stood.

She stared at him, a little wide-eyed for a second, surprised by his presence.

"Hi." Elliot greeted, trying anything to ease the strange awkwardness.

"Hi." She returned his greeting while she made her way out of the apartment and he took a few steps back to give her the needed space. One good look at her, he realised she might go out.

"Are you going somewhere?" He asked as he wondered where she was off to this night.

While locking up the door, Gene had thought about telling him the truth regarding her setup dinner date and the fact she thought about that baffled her.

"Um... a dinner. A dinner with, um..."

"A date." He stated as if reading her mind and his expression was blank.

"I... I won't call it that. It's just, my mum planned it and..." Gene paused and a thought crossed her mind. Why am I explaining myself to him? In truth, she owes him no explanation. There's nothing between them and yet, for some reason, she's worried about him getting the wrong idea. She shut her eyes, and she lightly shook her head to push away the irrelevant thought.

Elliot knew he couldn't stop her and, he wished he could. Perhaps his curiosity had gotten the best of him and he'd forgotten for a while their reality.

"Alright." He stated, and she lifted her eyes to him. A warm yet wide smile appeared on his face.

"I'll have to leave you, so you don't run late." He expressed bubbly as he began his steps back and she watched him with every second.

"Have fun and I wish you good luck." He added last, alongside a thumb up, flashed her a broader smile before turning away and headed down the stairs.

Only after he was out of sight did she lower her eyes, releasing a sigh. It's fine. Everything is fine.

Unfortunately, that was a crappy attempt at easing up her mind. Barely fifteen-minutes into her date and Gene seemed lost. She hadn't spared the man in front of her a good glance, and her thoughts seemed to be occupied with the wrong person.

"Genevieve. Genevieve." The man in front of her called before snapping his fingers in front of her eyes. Only then did he get the movement and reaction he needed.

Now, her eyes were on him and it would seem he'd lost her a long time ago. She gave him the attention he requires but not the full concentration.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" She had to ask, as she wasn't sure if she got his name.

Yes, they exchanged pleasantries and names when she came in, but, looking back, she struggled with recollecting.

He stared at her, trying to understand what was going on with her.

"I said, you have a nice haircut. Most women are not too keen on simple." He commented, but she'd lowered her eyes and stared at the glass cup of water on her table.

"Are you okay?" He asked as he delicately placed a hand on one of hers. She lifted her eyes to him.

"You seem... dazed." He added, and she gently withdrew her hand from his and tucked both hands under the table. She painted a faint smile.

"I'm okay. I'm fine." She convinced both him and herself.

He'd noticed how she withdrew her hand, but he wasn't upset. He leaned back in his seat and spared the woman in front of him a good look.

"I'm sorry; this dinner must have been sudden for you. A relative brought you up and I felt it was right to get to know you. I don't very much prefer to leave things to fate. Therefore, I hope you're not upset." He explained, and Gene simply nodded.

"Let me start. A few years ago, unfortunately, I lost my wife and I've raised our two kids alone ever since. I'm telling you this because... In honest, I'm not after falling in love or anything of that sort. I simply want a good wife. Someone who'll love my kids and..."

Suddenly, Gene's sense of smell took notice of a powerful scent. She inhaled a little deeper and rapidly, an attempt to decipher the exact scent, but it simply irritated her so she wrinkled her nose. The scent grew stronger and sharper, so much that it made her nauseous and threatened to force her into throwing up.

Gene brought her hand to her nose and barely covered her nostrils with them, but nothing seemed to work. It only made her upset.

Suddenly, she stood to her feet and his eyes followed her.

"I'm sorry; can we do this some other time? I think your perfume is too strong, and it's making me a bit nauseous."

He furrowed his brows at her words.

"I'm sorry." She added once more before she walked away as fast as she could.

He felt loss for words as he simply stared at her go. Perfume. He repeated in his mind. He has never been told his scent was overwhelmingly strong, but he has been told he smelt nice. How could it upset her? He wondered.

Genevieve released a sigh once she was outside and sucked in clearer, fresher air. Only after then did she look back to spare the restaurant another glance. As she looked away from it, she bit her lower lip in regret. What have I done?

~ ~ ~

Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock...

That was all Elliot could hear. The sound of the clock on the wall ticking away, nudging at his nervous, desperate attempts to not think much about what was happening with her. He turned on the couch in which he laid and took preference to stay in the dark. He shut his eyes and tried to get some sleep, but her face was all he could see. Finally, out of frustration, he sat up.

Why am I so uneasy? He questioned, but he had no answer to the question. Yes, something happened between the two of them, but that was unplanned. He never knew who she was, but he felt a connection to her. As fate would have it, they had a simple connection tied to his friend Victor, but something was changing. He realised he was developing a fonder interest in her and not based on being his friend's sister.

Elliot lay back on the couch and spaced out. I wonder if she's having fun.

A knock came through his door and he carefully sat up. For a moment, he worried if he heard anything at all. He couldn't think of anyone that would knock on his door at night. In silence, he listened for it again, but nothing. A sigh left his lips as his mind echoed, 'I thought so.'

The moment he was about to lie down, the knock came through once more and he sat up properly. It came through again, and this time, he got up and made his way to the light switch on the wall. He flipped the switch on and once illumination came through, he hurried to the door.

The moment he opened the door, his eyes dilated.