Until You...

“How many?” a hostess asked Darren as they entered a small restaurant in downtown L.A.

“Two. Patio, please.” Darren told her and grabbed Nicole’s hand as the hostess moved through the restaurant to their table outside.

Darren knew that if they had sat inside he would have to finally take off his sunglasses giving Nicole a chance to recognize him. Then she would give a squeal and act like a fan instead of a girl out with a guy. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that he couldn’t wear sunglasses every time he saw her but he would deal with that problem when it came up.

“Is this table fine?” the hostess asked waving a hand at a table outside.

“Yeah.” Darren said not really caring but hurried over to Nicole who was pulling out a chair and helped her into it. To his delight she gave a small blush that made him forget about what would happen if she knew he was lying.

“Thank you.” Nicole said with a small smile and squinted her eyes against the bright California sun.

“No problem.” Darren smiled back.

“I can’t believe your name is Henry. It’s such a coincidence that we both the lead names from Ever After.” Nicole said incredulously.

“Yeah…” Darren said lamely as his stomach gave another lurch.

Thankfully, the waitress chose this moment to approach their table and Darren was able to drop the subject of names as they ordered. When the waitress left, Darren knew he had to seize the control of the conversation to avoid any unwanted subjects.

“So you said you were an intern at a counselor’s office. Is that what you want to be, a counselor?” Darren asked smoothly while flashing another smile.

“Oh, yes! I just want to help people really. Any way would be great though. Doctor, teacher, vet…” Nicole shrugged offhandedly.

Darren was impressed if not completely smitten with Nicole now. Not only was she pretty but it seemed as if she really wanted to help people in general, a rare find in today’s society. He felt as if he could talk to her for hours and still want to know more about her. The dirty streets of L.A seemed cleaner around her, the café seemed fancier because she was in it, and Darren felt special because she was talking to him.

“What about you?”

“Me?” Darren asked lamely, thankful that she couldn’t read his mind and know he had been deep in thought.

“Yeah, what do you want to do?” Nicole asked curiously.

“Uh…” Darren trailed.

He hadn’t thought of a full cover yet, just a name. Would he just tell her half-truths or would that give her too many hints? But he was already feeling guilty lying to her about just a name, a full identity would just be wrong.

“Can I get you two anything else?”

Darren looked up at the waitress who had saved him from answering a tough question once again.

“No, I think we are ready to go.” Darren said hastily now ready to get away from Nicole as fast as possible before she asked anymore questions.

“Oh, okay. Here’s your check.” The waitress told them and while laying down the bill.
Darren snatched the check hurriedly and pulled out his wallet to pay.

“Thanks for lunch.” Nicole said and from the tone of her voice, Darren knew she was smiling but he didn’t look up. He knew that if he did he would be mesmerized once again and be vulnerable for questioning.

“Uh-huh.”

“Oh. Well, uh I guess good-bye.” Nicole said rather disappointingly.

“Right. Bye.” Darren said to his feet.

When he finally looked up, he saw a fleeting glance of the bottom of a yellow dress disappearing through the restaurant door. Only then did Darren realize what he did. Not only did he lie to her, act like a total jerk towards her, and rush her through a lunch but he didn’t even ask her for a phone number. He had no way of contacting her or finding her once he had a story. Darren Criss had totally blown it with the girl he thought could be the girl of his dreams.

One thing was for sure, this waitress was going to get a very nice tip.