She’d never dyed her hair in her life. The last time she was getting her hair cut at The Last Tangle, her stylist Brianna told her that her hair was what the industry called virgin hair because it had never been treated with color.
Even her hair was virgin.
“Welcome to Dining in the Dark. I’m Kenna, it’s Vivien, correct?”
“No. Actually, I’m Audrey. Vivien is my sister, but she got stuck in traffic. So, I’m here instead.”
“Oh, okay. And have you ever dined at a blackout restaurant before?”
“No.” Audrey shook her head.
“Do you want to wait for the rest of your party, or would you like to be seated?”
“It’s just me, so I guess seated.”
“Oh, I have a reservation for two.”
“My sister was probably going to meet someone,” Audrey guessed. “But now it’s just me.”
Kenna smiled and went through the menu that had been preselected to make sure that Audrey didn’t have any allergies or dietary requirements. She asked Audrey to place her cell phone in a small locker and explained what she could expect from the experience. “Guests find that dining in the dark can feel a little overwhelming at first, but once you get acclimated it’s actually very enjoyable. When you take away one of your senses the others compensate, your sense of taste, touch, smell, and sound enhances, creating a unique and pleasurable experience.”
Audrey nodded with a grin that dropped when she saw Kenna pull out a long piece of black material. “What’s that?”
“It’s a blindfold. I’ll put this on you and then place your hands on my shoulders and I’ll lead you inside the dining room, sort of like a conga line.”
“Oh…I thought…I just assumed the room would be dark.”
“It is, but we also blindfold our diners just to ensure that they have a completely blacked out experience.”
“Oh, okay.”
For some reason a blindfold made things feel much more serious to Audrey, even though she knew that at any time she could take it off. Her heart was beating a little faster as Kenna wrapped the material around Audrey’s eyes and secured it behind her head.
“Does that feel comfortable.”
“Yes.”
The next thing she knew her hands were on Kenna’s shoulders, and she was escorting her to her seat. Audrey lowered down carefully, making sure that she could feel the seat beneath her as she did, so she didn’t fall on the floor. When she was safely in her chair, she put her hand on the table and felt the prongs of her fork press against her fingers as a clanking sound of silverware bumping together sounded.
She pulled back her hand like she’d touched a hot stove. “Sorry.”
Audrey wasn’t sure what she was apologizing for, but she felt very out of her element.
“No, that’s good. You should get familiar with the landscape of the table. Where your plate and silverware are and your glass of water. And there is a bell in the center that you can ring if you need me. Normally staff would be in the room, and you would be able to call them over but since this is a private dining experience, just ring the bell and I’ll come in. Would you like a drink before I bring out your salad?”
The way Kenna asked the question made Audrey think that it was more of a suggestion to take the edge off since she was jumpy. If she couldn’t read, she might as well have a glass of wine. “I’ll take a glass of wine.”
Kenna listed Audrey’s options and she went with the house white. “Great, I’ll be right back with your drink.”
Audrey tried to put herself in the shoes of one of the singles who might be coming to this experience. She wondered if it would be more or less nerve-wracking to not be able to see your dates. As she sat waiting in the dark for what felt like a lot longer than it should take to get a glass of wine, especially considering she was the only guest in the popup restaurant, she did notice that her sense of smell seemed to be heightened. There was a faint aroma of something floral in the air. Maybe there were floral arrangements as centerpieces.
Would there be centerpieces in a restaurant that you couldn’t see?
She heard the sound of the curtain that led into the dining room being opened and she sat a little straighter expecting to be receiving her wine.
“Okay, right this way.”
Audrey heard Kenna say, obviously leading someone into the restaurant and what sounded like two pairs of footsteps. It was so strange not being able to see who had entered.
“Here we are. You can sit.”
“Here?”
Before her brain caught up with the information her ears were telling her, her entire body responded to the familiar baritone voice. A tingling sensation spread from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, her heart sped up and she found it difficult to breath. She started to reach up and take off the blindfold but stopped herself as she said, “Josh?”
“Audrey?” Josh sounded just as surprised to hear her voice as she’d been to hear his.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Nonna asked me to come because Viv was in a car.”
“Yeah, she’s stuck in traffic.” As soon as she said it out loud, she realized this was a setup. It had to be.
Kenna went through the same spiel that she had with Audrey and took Josh’s drink order. “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”
Audrey couldn’t believe that her sister had done this. Actually, yes, she could. She absolutely believed that her sister did this.
“I thought you would be at Golden Years tonight.”
Audrey smiled to herself. She knew it was silly, but she loved the fact that Josh knew her schedule. “I was. Viv called and said it was an emergency.”
“Ahh.”
Audrey’s heart was pounding in her chest. She’d eaten with Josh a lot of times before. They had movie nights where they ordered pizza. They’d had lunches at Sue Ann’s. And shared wings at JT’s.
But this felt different.
And not just because she was wearing a blindfold. Although, she had to admit, she did like the element of the blindfold. It definitely heightened things. She wondered if it would do that in the bedroom as well. She remembered seeing a movie, that she was much too young to see, with Kim Basinger called 9½ Weeks where she was blindfolded by Mickey Rourke. And she’d read quite a few romance novels where blindfolds were incorporated in the bedroom. It had always intrigued Audrey and been something that she hoped, if and when she ever had sex, she could try.
“So, this is...different,” Josh voiced exactly what she’d been thinking before her mind trailed off in a more adult-themed direction.
“Yeah, it is.”
“I bet you’ve never been on a date like this before.”
“I’ve never been on any date before,” she chuckled. Audrey wasn’t sure why she’d revealed that to Josh. Maybe it was because he’d referred to what they were doing as a date, and it had made her nervous.
“You’ve never been on a—”
The rustle of the curtain moving, followed by footsteps, cut off Josh’s question.
“Okay, here are your drinks.” Audrey heard the sound of the drinks being set down on the table. “They are on your left and I’ll be back with your salads.”