The cinema seemed exceptionally chilly that night. Despite the large number of people in the cinema, the air-conditioner seemed to be set to the lowest possible temperature. Too effective an air-conditioner perhaps. Sensing that my date was feeling the chill, I reached out for my haversack. Fishing out a jacket, I handed it gently in the direction of my date. She was hesitant. Yet, smilingly, she held the jacket as she wrapped herself in its warmth. "Thank You" she whispered. I too, was feeling the chill. But the "thank you" warmed my heart. Surely she needed the extra piece of clothing more than me.
As the figures appeared on the screen, they were greeted with loud gasps of "so cute, so cute". I glanced around the dark cinema and noticed a number of young couples around me. Indeed, the animated figures were well designed and the movie seemed to have an excellent plot. Yet, I remained highly distracted. My attention was not on the movie, and my mind was in a whirl. From the corner of my eye, I realized that she was throughly enjoying the movie. "That's good", I thought to myself, "at least she's enjoying herself and not realizing how I distracted I am."
For the second time that night, my mind raced like a speeding bullet train. Thought after thought and ideas upon ideas came to me. Endless. Possibilities. What If. Fear. As I sat in the plush chair, while my eyes were seemingly focused on the screen, my mind was so far away. I so badly wanted to concentrate on the movie, but there were a million other things holding me back. "What it she says no"? "You would never know unless you try". "Maybe she's waiting for you to ask". "What if the feeling is not mutual?" The debate raged through my mind. Three months of daily SMSes had come down to this. There were too many unknowns, yet, I knew I had to try.
I closed my eyes to think. My mind was messing about with me far too much. There was a clear conflict between my heart and my head. Suddenly, I felt something grab my arm. Stunned. I was jolted back to my senses. "Its scary" was her reply. I held her hand and said "Not to worry, the bad guy's always lose". She broke into a wry smile.
I knew I had to take action. That night, over dinner. Enough suspense. Come what may, she had to know.
