HOW BAD CAN A FIRST DATE GET???

She smiled at me again as the Waiter brought over our bottle of wine.

Yep!I thought.She was a beautiful woman.

"So how come it took you this long to accept my Friend Request online?"she asked as the Waiter opened the bottle.

She had a warm and very seductive way about her that I found irresistible.

" Well....."I said as I enjoyed the music and the company of this goddess.

It was turning out to be a very lovely evening.I thought.

"....all you had on your profile was just that one picture"I said.

She snickered and put her hands over her lovely face, feigning embarrassment.

"...I've been meaning to take down that picture like forever......"she giggled.

".......I mean who takes a selfie hanging from a tree?"

We both laughed at this.

"Anyway.....,"I continued as the Waiter poured some wine into our glasses.

She had really nice eyes.

"...I wasn't really sure what to make of you.....so I decided 'what the hell?'This was about....a month...?

"....A month and Two weeks"she corrected as the Waiter left.

I was a taken aback by this.

"...You were counting?"I asked

"Yep!"She said sipping from her glass as the music switched to a softer tune.

"......Why do you seem so surprised?"She inquired.

"I ...I mean, it's not everyday a beautiful woman sends me a request online and then COUNTS the days till I respond."I said shaking my head.

She placed her fingers on the back of my hand.

"Well,...I just took one look at your profile and knew I had to meet you"She said softly.

I was in seventh heaven.

The dinner was fantastic,the conversation seemed more intoxicating than the wine.

It seemed we talked for hours.

We had so much in common and I simply didn't want the night to end.

Time passed.

The restaurant was slowly thinning out(crowd-wise)but I didn't care.

Maybe if I did, I might've noticed the men entering the restaurant.

We talked a little longer about sports, books and movies.

I was having a fantastic time.

All that changed moments later.

Ib suddenly gasped as she stared behind me.

"What is it?"I enquired turning around to .......

"Don't turn around!!!"she urged in a hushed tone.

The once smiling Woman now had a terriffied expression on her face.

"What???"I asked clearly alarmed.

The look on her face was unsettling.

She leaned forward against the table as if to tell me something grave.

"Listen,...Lawrence!"she began.

".....I wasn't lying when I told you I was single....The thing is,...my Ex still wants me back....!"

I sat there processing  what I'd just heard.

It was a huge detour from the fun evening we'd been having.

"...so......?"I began.Not certain of what else to say.

She stared over my shoulder nervously for about a minute or so and said;
"He and some of his friends just entered the restaurant"

"So?"I shrugged.

"Didn't you hear a word I just said?"she stared at me incredulously.

"......my ex is a very dangerous person....and he wants me back....I thought he would leave me alone after a while but...."

She never got a chance to finish that sentence.

I felt a huge brick-like hand on my shoulder.

"Oh my God!"I heard her gasp.

"So...is this your new boyfriend?"I heard a deep masculine voice say.

I looked up to behold a mountain of a man.

This dude was easily above 6'5(and I'm not exaggerating)

He was built like an armoured tank (on steroids),with enough bulging muscles to intimidate a seasoned weight lifter or bouncer.

I gulped.

This guy could literally murder me in his sleep.

"..Teks....I...."Ib began in a shakey  voice.She seemed terrified.

"I told you ..... I would never let you go"The giant boomed.

"Em...your hand...it's on.."I started saying.

"If I hear your voice again...."came another deep voice from behind me.

"....I'll smash that bottle of wine on your head"The voice said plainly.

Long silence.

Teks.. (or whatever his name was) still had his monstrous hand on my shoulder.

His fingers felt like small steel rods on my skin.

At this point, prudence dictated that I either;

a) make a quiet exit,

or

b)keep my mouth shut.

Between the Leviathan by my side and the Bottle-Smashing Baritone(and who knew who else behind me)a hasty exit wasn't practical.

 I decided to go with option b).

"Now..."Teks was saying to Ib.

".....Ib I want us to be together..."

"...I c..cant be with you...you've hit me too....."Ib's voice tremored.

"I only hit you because I thought you were leaving me"He said.

Long silence.

Tears began leaving Ib's eyes in slow streams.

"...Teks please...(sob)....I can't be with you,.....you scare me..and...and you're a drug dealer....."Ib sobbed.

"....Give me a chance to show you that I've changed..."Teks pleaded.

From the corner of my eye,I could see some of the restaurant staff looking our way....curiously.

"...(sob)...Please Teks...I..I can't..."

"...If you don't come with me,....."He said going round the table towards her.

"....I'll hurt your boyfriend"He said coldly as he turned to me.

That was it.I thought.

No one threatens me.

No matter how big they are.

I got up.

"Don't threaten me,..."I began.

"Lawrence please..."

"Shut up!!!"Teks' Voice boomed at her a split second before I felt something blunt and hard crash into the back of my head.

The last thing I remembered was Ib's shocked expression before I blacked out.

"Is he dead....?"came a female voice.

"Are you okay sir..?"I heard a male voice say as the darkness slowly lifted.

My head hurt and the faces looking down at me were blurry.

"Sir....?"

I felt hands trying to help me up.

For a few seconds,I couldn't remember where I was or what I was doing on the floor.

Sir....?"The male voice repeated.

The fog finally cleared.

It was the waiter who had served us the wine.

He looked scared.

My head still felt like it had been hit by a bus....twice.

Then it all came back to me.

"Ib!!!"I said out loud as I looked around for her.

She wasn't there.

Neither was Teks.

Oh God!I thought.They had taken her.

After a while,I was informed by the waiter(whose name was Timothy by the way) that my "date" had left willingly with the Large man and his friends.

Apparently after I'd been knocked out, there had been a lot of shouting and commotion.

Eventually, all the disturbance died down and the young lady left with the men.

There was a large gash at the back of my head that had needed stitches.

Well,.......all that was about 3months ago.

I haven't seen or heard from Ib since then.

I've tried to put the incident behind me and move on with my life.

Of course the entire thing put me off online dating.

I decided to focus on my job.

Love can wait.

This morning,I woke up to find an SMS from a strange number that read;

"I know you probably don't want to speak to me again, but if you give me a chance to explain, I'll be grateful.I really want to be with you.
Let's meet at that same restaurant tomorrow by 5pm.....Please.
Ib.

Do you think I should go?

LIFE IS A CHOICE MY FRIEND
SO CHOOSE WISELY
ENOUGH SAID.