"There you are, honey! I was almost ready to send out a search party!"

Suzi grinned, giving her mom a kiss as soon as she reached their table. Mom looked lovely as ever, the never-greying auburn hair tied in a neat side plait. Suzi herself had had a few silver strands lately. She blamed it on the multiple all-nighters she'd pulled when rushing her final year dissertation only ten weeks ago. Cassidy, her mom's water cooler bestie from work, rose to give Suzi a kiss on the cheek, too. They'd bagged Mom's favorite corner table right next to the music box where they could have first dibs on the next song. Judging from the crumbs and empty plates on the table, they'd enjoyed their way through brunch already. Suzi hadn't seen Mom in several weeks, having set herself this dating mission since the start of the month.

"You look radiant as ever, Suzi," said Cassidy with a smile that lit up her piercing blue eyes. "And that dress! Gorgeous!"

Suzi smoothed her polka dot swing dress, placing her scarlet purse on her lap as she sat. The halterneck showed off the x-wing tattoo on her left shoulder and her summer tan in all its glory.

"I hear you've finished college now, at last," said Cassidy, leaning forward. Her teeth gleamed white against her crimson lips. "Enjoying your freedom?"

"My last month of it," Suzi said honestly. Her mom flagged down a waiter. Suzi only ordered a cappucino; she still felt a bit hungover from the copious amount of wine she needed for last night after the date with the weird cosplayer. No amount of alcohol could wash the bizarre away -- nor the ick factor. "I've got some interviews lined up for August and September. Just hoping someone will take me. I'll do anything!" she added with a grin.

"You think Marcus can set Suzi up with anything?" Mom said. Suzi blanched.

"Seriously?" Cassidy snickered. "Are you looking for a date or a job interview for Suzi, Mara?"

Suzi pressed her lips together as Mom's cheeks reddened.

"I'm just--"

"There you are!" Cassidy's attention suddenly switched to behind Suzi. Suzi sucked in a breath, bracing herself for the twenty-fifth date. "What took you so long?"

"Had to tidy up some stuff at the shelter first, sorry," came a smiling voice. Suzi swivelled, turning her head up to meet the same piercing blue eyes as Cassidy's, framed with long black lashes. Thick, curly dark brown hair stuck up in tufts above his head. He wore a collared shirt, unbuttoned at the top, and simple jeans. The family photos Mom sent Suzi didn't do him justice. "Hi, Mom. Hi, Mrs. Sparrow."

Cassidy kissed Marcus on the cheek. Suzi's mom shook hands with Marcus. Finally, Suzi stood up. Marcus's grip was firm, his hands soft, and he met her eyes with steady confidence. He smelled faintly of cinnamon. His smile had a natural quirk on the left side and he had the faintest of stubble on his chin. Suzi couldn't convince herself she wasn't stealing second or third glances. Or fourth.

Cassidy introduced Suzi and Suzi's mom. Marcus ordered a latte and said he'd eaten earlier. Suzi had hoped he wouldn't be a coffee without milk and sugar kind of guy. Those seemed to bring the most arrogance and boring conversation. She leaned forward with anticipation when his coffee arrived to see him dump two spoons of sugar in his drink.

"What have you been up to this summer so far, Marcus? Work kept you busy?" Suzi's mom said.

"Well..." He took a sip of his coffee and gave a satisfied sigh before answering. "I'm an elementary school teacher, so school's out for summer vacation. It's just been planning lessons with next year's curriculum and some teacher training days. My days have been quite blissfully empty."

"He's so good with the children," said Cassidy with a beaming smile. "I'm sure he can't wait to have some of his own soon. He has such a natural father-like authority."

Cassidy might as well have written her demands in Sharpie for all the tact she displayed. Marcus looked more embarrassed than proud, his neck and shoulders stiff and his cheeks pink.

"So what have you gotten up to, so far?" Suzi changed the topic, feeling sorry for him.

He relaxed, turning to her with a grateful look. "Volunteering at the local dog shelter."

Suzi's ears perked up. "You like dogs?"

"Love them," said Marcus with a smile down at his coffee that warmed her heart. "Grew up with dogs. We've always had golden retrievers. Old Sally still lives with Mom. My apartment doesn't allow pets, but I do plan to get one in the future. Best I can do for now is volunteer at the shelter, hand out brochures and organise meet-and-greets, take the pups for walks, give them baths and so on. You've no idea the amount of poop they generate in a single day."

"Honey. Not over brunch."

"Sorry." Marcus flashed a cheeky smile.

"I've always wanted a dog," said Suzi mournfully.

"Never had one?"

She shook her head. "No. It was just Mom and me growing up. We didn't have much. It took up a lot of Mom's time just bringing me up and getting me to extracurricular activities and working two jobs, never mind caring for another mouth!"

"What about now?" he pressed.

"I could, I suppose." Suzi sipped her coffee. The bitterness lingered at the back of her throat. "I'm sharing an apartment with some friends. I think the previous tenants had dogs, judging by the amount of hairs that still show up from nowhere. I think I'd like something small. Smart, but not too yappy. And preferably doesn't shed a ton."

"Got a couple of toy poodles in the shelter right now. They're not babies, so they're fairly chilled. You should come see some time."

"I'd like that." Suzi met his eyes -- such a crisp steel blue -- and they shared a smile. The tension she didn't know she had in her shoulders eased.

"Well, now that the ice has been broken," Cassidy said, elbowing Suzi's mom, "I think us girls better go get our shopping done. You two young 'uns have your chat. Let's go, Mara!"

They dashed off. Their winks couldn't have been more obvious.

"Sorry, my mom's a bit of a handful," Marcus said with an embarrassed smile. He rubbed his forehead. His arms were tanned, covered with a thin layer of black hair. Not particularly bulky or muscular, but not spindly either. "And not the most tactful, either."

"Same." Suzi grinned. His frank manner made all her earlier anxieties disappear. "Earlier, she'd asked your mom if you could get me a job! I think moms just never realise we've grown up. They want to do everything. And I've got my own plans about getting a job, by the way," she added, suddenly aware her words might make her come across as pushy. "I don't want to work with children. Not that there's anything wrong with kids. I'm just not a big fan. Germy. Noisy. But, eh, cute. I'm more of a freelance writer, myself."

She was blabbering. Forcing her hands to pick up her cup of coffee, she took a slow sip to calm her hammering heart.

"It's all right. I didn't pick this job. It kind of fell in my lap when I was applying everywhere after I came back from boarding school."

"Oh?"

"I've been in Kent in England since junior high. I was going to get a job there but then my grandma fell ill so I came back."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

He shrugged, taking another sip. The glow in his eyes dimmed for a fleeting moment. "She passed away a year later. I figured, seeing as I'd actually sent out letters everywhere during that time -- there was a period when she seemed like she was stabilising and I might have to stay with her as her part-time carer -- I thought I'd go to one of the interviews. Then another, then another. And then suddenly the primary school offered an internship and I thought, why not? Grandma used to be a teacher. I didn't really like kids but they grew on me. They can be pretty smart and funny at times. Kind of like dogs. But less poop. Sometimes."

Suzi chuckled. Under the guise of swirling her drink and admiring the slivers of pale cream contrasting against the dark coffee like streaks of acrylic paint, she sneaked peeks up at Marcus. He took another sip of his coffee at that exact moment, catching her eye. She looked away.

"So, a freelance writer," he said suddenly. "What kind of writing? News articles? Blogs? Short stories?"

"Right now I help write for this international news blog, mainly covering humanitarian issues." Suzi paused, eyeing Marcus. Usually, here, the assholes would either raise their eyebrows (god forbid a woman be involved in politics) or make some mocking comment about being a social justice warrior -- as if that term should be an insult. But Marcus only leant forward with an expectant gaze, so Suzi continued. "I don't get paid, but I'm really into it and it's a good experience. Currently, I'm covering issues far east about the civilian protests in Hong Kong about the extradition law and how the government is using propaganda and the police force to crush the peaceful marches with brutality, tear gas, and pepper spray. How the police stood by and did nothing as literal gangsters stormed up to protestors and hit them with metal pipes and bamboo sticks."

"That's awful. A police state." His brow furrowed, his eyes darkening. "Those poor people."

"The even more awful thing is the western media haven't really picked up on it until now. The protests have gone on since mid-June. Two million people took to the streets. Out of a population of seven million! And people have died. But it just keeps escalating."

She waved her hands, suddenly aware of her raised voice and hot cheeks. She reclined back on her seat, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. It's bad taste to talk about politics on a first date!"

Marcus averted her gaze for a split second before grinning. "But these are important topics. Not every country is as free as ours; folks speak from a place of privilege when they say they're 'not political' when it has everything to do with everyone."

"That's not necessarily true, the privilege thing." Suzi sat forward, locking her eyes with his. "I try to get Mom to go vote, at least, but she's one of those who gets so depressed when it comes to political injustice that she just doesn't want anything to do with it any more. But at least it makes her aware. I don't expect her to come with me to protests and rallies but I know she cares, in her own way."

He gave a sheepish smile. "Same with mine, actually... I went with some buddies on the Black Lives Matter marches and Mom didn't even know what they were about until I told her. I lost some acquaintances along the way -- I didn't quite realise how many closet racist neighbours Grandma had."

Suzi nodded with enthusiasm. "Exactly. I wrote some articles on this a while back. People tend to think they're the minority in being racist just because they have friends or family who are that minority, therefore they can't possibly be racist. There must be another reason they dislike the stigmatised group of people. Surely! But they're just in denial."

They both sighed together and then chuckled as they locked eyes again.

"I always feel my friends' attention spans waning when I talk about politics. They're less... enthusiastic."

"It's depressing talk," said Marcus with a shrug. "And I know plenty of folks in this place won't talk about something so heavy. Mom is such a frequent customer here because this place reminds her of the simple old days -- whatever that means. Say--" His gaze sharpened in on her and Suzi sat up a bit straighter. "--wanna get out of here? We could go for a walk in the park or something. Get some sunshine."

"Sounds good. I love walks." Suzi almost jumped out of her seat. Marcus let her pay for her own coffee without making a big deal of it. As they left, Suzi felt like a dozen pair of eyes were fixed on her and Marcus's backs. Her body hummed with excitement. Maybe this was the one. The twenty-fifth time was the charm.

The first few minutes were spent in silence, each quietly appreciating each other's company. The sun was soft, warm, and sent pleasurable shivers down Suzi's spine -- although it might not solely be due to the sunshine. A soft breeze sent her dress hem fluttering at just below her knees. What a perfect day for a walk. Maybe she should ask about his hobbies. Perhaps he appreciated art -- he wore an intricately-woven bracelet on his left wrist and his hand swung by his side. Their knuckles brushed past a few times, sending tingles up Suzi's arm.

Ashley, her ex, had chided her for not taking the initiative, not wanting to try new things. Well, Suzi would take the initiative now. Suck on that, Ashley. Taking a breath, Suzi slipped her hand into Marcus's.

As if given an electric jolt, Marcus jumped a mile away from her, his face turning white with shock. Such a raw, automatic response was like a thousand cold icicles spearing into her fluttering heart, which raced at a thousand beats per minute.

She wanted to bury herself in the ground right there and then.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry--" she burst out, horrified.

"Oh, god, no, I'm sorry. I didn't--I mean--" Marcus's stunned expression was replaced by mortification, a blush seeping over the white of his cheeks.

"We can take it slow if you want. I'm so sorry if I offen--"

"It's not you--" Marcus's words tumbled over each other; his previous warm and confident demeanor vanished like the last traces of smoke after a cigarette was stamped out. "I'm really sorry."

They stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. Suzi's face was scorching; she could swear steam whistled out of her ears. Was she too upfront? Too much political talk? Was it the dress? Oh god, was it that onion bagel she ate this morning?!

"You seem such a nice girl. I'm so sorry." Marcus's eyes dropped to his hands, gripped so tightly before him that the knuckles turned white. "I would have said something earlier, but that cafe is filled with folks Mom knows because she goes so often, so I didn't want it to get back to her."

"Oh my god." It dawned on Suzi. Of course. The weird reaction when she said they were on a date. The aversion to having biological children when Cassidy openly hinted at it.

"I just went out with you to please Mom. She's been so upset I haven't brought a girl home yet. And I haven't told her yet -- I couldn't. I'm really sorry to string you along like this."

"You're gay."

Marcus pulled a face; his hand-wringing stopped.

"I'm not... either?"

"You're ace."

He gave a brief, non-committal jerk of his head. "I'm sorry. But honestly, everything else I told you was true. I really am an elementary school teacher and I do work at the shelter. I did march for BLM. And I'd love to continue this walk if I haven't completely scared you off."

Suzi's mouth opened and shut like a goldfish. Marcus's brows furrowed, his eyes sincere, his mouth downturned at the sides in genuine apology.

"Oh my god," she said again, her mind swirling at a thousand miles an hour. Her skin was on fire. A heavy beat drummed in her ears. "And I thought -- oh god -- I mean, it's not you. I'm just -- so stupid--" She cringed so hard her orifices involuted. How mortifying. Why wasn't the ground swallowing her up?! Her eyes prickled at the edges and her voice became nasally. "I'm just so embarrassed. You're like, so sweet, so attractive, and the stuff we talk about -- you're exactly my type yet -- oh my god--"

His face blurred. Was she crying?!

He rubbed her hands. She blubbed like a first-grader, her mascara running like clown makeup down her face. A strangled laugh escaped her mouth, sounding like a dying cat.

"It's OK, I'll c-c-call a friend. She'll p-pick me up." Shaking fingers stabbed at the frequent contacts list. Through blurry eyes, Suzi called her rescue. The longest ten minutes of her life later, Amy's little beetle screeched to a halt in front of Suzi.

A tissue came out of nowhere, dabbing at her eyes. She took it and mopped at the tears, snivelling like a child. Soft hands grabbed Suzi's elbows and guided her into Amy's little beetle.

"Oh, my god." Amy's lilted voice couldn't have been more welcome. "It's okay, baby. I got you. I got this."

The car door slammed and they sped off.

"It was that bad, huh?"

"It was..." Suzi hiccuped. "It was, and it wasn't."

Amy gave her a sideways glance. "Uh-huh. Tell me all about it, honey."

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Author's Note: This one-shot is part of the 31 Blind Dates anthology from more than two dozen Wattpad writers including members of the Stars program, published authors, Ambassadors and Wattys winners. If you want to start at the beginning, go to the profile of rskovach. You will find the next story in the collection on the profile of kriskosach. Just look for this sticker: