Late

Michael leaned against the wall outside of the movie theater, trying not to glance fervently at the watch on his wrist to check the time once again. He knew it was getting close to half an hour past when they were supposed to meet for their date. Everything had seemed to be going good up until an hour before their date was supposed to start. They had been texting, the conversation had seemed to be going good, but when he had told her he couldn't wait to see her that night, she had simply never responded. He had tried not to let it get him down, and had arrived as planned regardless. And he had waited. And waited. And waited. He probably should have stopped waiting a while prior.

It wasn't the first time he had been stood up. It probably wasn't going to be the last, either. But everything about this one had seemed to be setting up extremely well. He had never had so much of a vibe going on with any of the other girls he had tried to date, so much chemistry. They had so many things in common, and the things that they didn't certainly weren't things that he didn't feel they could work on. Nothing had been a deal breaker between them. At least, not on his end. But then again, with all of the experience he had had, he supposed he couldn't really tell what should be a deal breaker and what shouldn't.

He watched a large group of people exit the theater, and knew that that meant the film they had come to see would be starting soon. He had two tickets sitting in his jacket pocket, and though they were virtually weightless, he felt as though they were weighing down on him like stones on his chest. If she didn't arrive soon, he wasn't sure that it would even be worth going in to see the movie on his own. He would just feel too crushed.

Couples walked past him frequently, as though rubbing it in his face just how unsuccessful he was. He didn't want to sneer in their faces in anger, or curse the heavens that they should be so lucky when he was not. He felt no anger towards them, nor frustration towards himself that he could not be where they were. Just sadness. Sadness that this was evidently something that he would not experience.

When he succumbed to his watch and saw that his movie had just began, he called it quits. She wasn't coming. And he began to shuffle off, dejected, when he heard the pounding of feet on stone from behind him.

He looked back to see Jessica running up to him, face flushed red, and breathing hard. "Michael!" she cried out. "Michael, I'm so sorry!" She stopped just in front of him, leaning down to rest her hands on her knees and catch her breath. "I dropped my phone and it broke, so I couldn't respond, and I had been counting on that to have directions to get here, so I had to find some online, but the ones I found didn't take into account the road construction, so I was trying to find a way around and got lost, and..." She had to stop to breath, and that was when she saw the time. "God, I didn't even make it in time for the movie. I'm so sorry. I ruined everything, Michael."

But his arms were around her, pulling her tight to his body in a hug. She was surprised, but hugged him back, almost without thinking about it. "It's alright, Jess," he said. "I'm just happy you're here."