:: So You Think You Can Impress?

After a relatively long time of low profile and semi-dating a nice guy; I was invaded by the meeting-new-people desire. Randomly chatting with potential people; I narrowed down the possible people to meet to one guy: Seth.

We talked for a while over MSN followed by a couple of phone calls. He sounded balanced, human. He had his own way of talking, his own personality and hazy pictures. He was rather calm yet pushy. I just wanted to get into the scene again. I wanted to feel the rush of meeting someone new: anticipation, curiosity and the usual sex or no sex followed by the fading and no contact fact.

We agreed two days earlier meeting on a Friday at 10 PM. I arranged my day so I’d finish gym and pending work early in order to have a free evening. After my nap; I found a text from a friend who was hosting a house party. That was even better! I decided cancelling my date with Seth and rather buy a Black Label and hit the gig.

“Sorry Seth. I’ve got sudden work commitment. I have to cancel tonight” – a lie. Who cares!

I got ready and felt the partying pulse invading me as I was picking the right shirt-pants combination. It was a cold night; however the night owls, midnight wolves that we are always wear light and open shirts to show off the hardly earned body muscles.

I passed by Albert in Heliopolis for my alcohol gift and drove to Mohandessin. As I stepped into the house; Seth called me. As I was busy at work; I couldn’t answer him.

The next day I got a text:

“I’ll wait for you tonight”. I called Seth as promised:

“Hey! What’s up!”

“Cool. How was your night?”

“It was alright”, I answered.

“Cool. You know that I placed a sea food order for you so we’d have dinner? I forgot cancelling it and I just got fucked with the whole order”, he said; in a harsh tone.

“That’s very thoughtful but I think I cancelled with you early enough to…”

“Yeah I forgot cancelling it. It was so annoying preparing all this for you and you just don’t show up”

“Seth, dude, you’re freaking me out here. It’s not my fault!”

“Never mind. You owe me. Bring me a Toblerone bar. That’s how people make it up with me”

I felt a bit unsecured but just said:

“Well I’ll be coming over tonight.”

“You’d better. I’ll make you eat yesterday’s order”

I smiled. That was freaky.

I drove to Mohandessin again as agreed. I parked and called Seth:

“So which building are you?”

“Turn around. Walk towards that restaurant. Now get into this building. Go to the 7th floor”.

I went as guided and found his flat’s door open. Since he wasn’t there, I rang the bell. I heard him yelling from inside:

“Come in!”. I didn’t. I just stood there. At least he should be having the courtesy of greeting someone properly for the first time.

He suddenly crossed infront of the door, without stopping; wearing a white t-shirt topped with a light blue open shirt and dark blue jeans; and said:

“Come in, Digg. Come in!”

I was astonished. He looked uglier than the hazy pictures; a lot slimmer; bad hair cut and, above all, no proper host manners.

I walked in. He guided me to his room. There was a plasma TV infront of the bed. A mini fridge nearby and lots of candles. I sat on the bed, as I didn’t have any other option, and uncomfortable smiled. I lit a cigarette and said:

“Sorry for yesterday. I couldn’t make it”

“It’s okay. Got my Toblerones?”

“No”, I answered, clearly.

“I expected that”.

I held my tongue. I had a thousand and one answers that rushed into my head; but I couldn’t act mean in his place, first visit, sitting on his bed.

“Let me introduce myself”, he started. “I am Seth; you might know me from media”

I looked at him, no emotions, no comment.

He continued: “I am quiet known in the artistic field. Due to the nature of my work, my name and work appear in TV, newspapers, meetings”

Void. Who the cares what the fuck is he!

“Anyway; I had a previous relationship with someone great but had to end it for his own good”

“How come?”, I asked.

“He had to relocate his life in Egypt for me since I decided moving back here. He was suffering; couldn’t get adjusted in here; so I broke up with him in order to be able to go back to his country”

I had my eye brows raised in amazement. So far; all what I had in my head was a growing “EWWWWW!”.

“You know Digg, I wanted to meet you because I loved your mentality; your way of thinking. I was us to talk. I’ve got ID, want a bottle?”

I said yes. As he was going to the mini fridge, I started talking briefly about myself. All what I wanted that night was just talking to him and leave. He was freaky, looked bad and totally not my cup of coffee. I just don’t have the power yet of saying that out loud to someone; I just go with the flow, tam the conversation and crash.

“Sorry, I ran out of IDs, only this last one”, he opened it and started drinking. “I’ll place an order”.

He opened it and started drinking without even inviting me to have it.

He called Drinkie’s and asked them to hurry. He then asked me:

“What is your birth date?”, I answered.

He then said: “You’re a Leo. Interesting!”. He slowly picked up a marker then went to the wall behind his TV and wrote my birthday on the wall, right there, in black permanent maker.

“I know you understand this gesture. I want to keep your birth date infront of me. I know what that means to you.”

Yes. LOCO!

I smiled. A cold smile. His wall. His life.

We kept talking for 40 minutes. He shared his life while I was giving only the major headlines in mine. He was getting light headed with the one bottle of unshared alcohol and had the guts of kissing me on the cheek without any reason. I froze for a second then said:

“We agreed that this shall be a nice conversation.”

He then answered: “Well I was testing you. I want to see if you’re really into that or just sex”

That was getting even more and more awkward. I was feeling totally uncomfortable. We then started talking about how sexual gay people are and only caring for the outer looks. Amen to that, it’s true; who would care about the inner content if the outer package is fucked up?

He then sat next to me on bed and said:

“So if I asked you to hug me”. I tilted my head a bit then said: “So?”

He then added: “Just a hug. It’s harmless. What do you think?”

I replied: “Well it’s meaningless. Why hug you? There is no reason for that.”

He then smiled again and said: “You’re right, I like how you think.”

Ten minutes later I found myself talking about how important one’s look is. How wonderful it is to form a perfect inside out balance that isn’t fake or shallow. How important to be unique and different. I then said that I was doing my best to actually achieve something like that.

He suddenly changed his tone:

“You think you’re a good shot?”.

“Well I am just a normal person who is trying to be himself, not a copy”

“Let me tell you; you are nothing. You are not a big shot. You are not someone that people might look at”

I didn’t have any expression on my face.

“There is nothing special about you; that’s what I think”

I smiled then stood up.

“Well, Seth, I think that my time’s up in here. I have to go”

He stood next to the room’s door. I thought he’d close it; since he hadn’t opened it. I walked towards my jacket, wore it slowly while keeping the same cold smile on my face. I then said: “Enjoy you’re IDs, they’d go perfectly well with the left over sea food meal”.

He kept looking at me. I was worried shit. I opened the room’s door and I was stepping out he said:

“I won’t stop you; you can go if you want to”

I WAS going in case he hadn’t understood already. I went to the main door and as I was opening it, the Drinkie’s delivery guy was standing infront of me. I just went out and took the stairs till the car.

The funniest part was next day; I received a text from Seth:

“Hey Digg. Will you come tonight?”