Blind Ben’s date

Feeling out of his depth, Ben struggles to plan a Valentine’s night to remember...

Agasp went round the room. Everyone turned to look at Ben. With her willowy figure, green eyes and long dark hair, Tania was the office stunner. He knew that all the lads would give their right arm to go on a date with her, but she was way out of his league.

“Nice one, mate,” Andy murmured. “Can I have another go?” Tania asked pointedly, examining her perfectly manicured nails.

“No, you can’t,” Jilly said firmly. “Your names were drawn together so you are going on a date. Don’t forget it’s for a good cause. All proceeds going to Children in Need. Now, let me see whose name comes out of the box next.” Tania turned to address a flustered Ben: “Okay, geek boy, you win this one – but this had better be a proper date. No way am I coming round to your place to eat a takeaway pizza and watch a Star Wars DVD.”

Everyone laughed. This was even more humiliating than Ben had feared. He managed what he hoped was a good-natured smile and laughed along with the others, praying for Jilly to move on and call out the next couple to be chosen. He was stuck with Tania and there was nothing he could do about it.

Tania reminded him painfully of the girls at school who used to ask him to dance at the prom just to win a bet with their giggling friends. Short-sighted, skinny and spotty, Ben had never been the heartthrob type. And when he’d told Andy that his only date up to now had been taking his cousin for a night out at the fair, he hadn’t been lying.

Ben sighed, knowing he couldn’t do anything about his physique, but at least he had outgrown the spots. It was true that he did love all things sci-fi, computer games and a pizza. He was a geek and Tania knew it.

In desperation, he searched the internet for dating tips, but it didn’t help. He just couldn’t imagine himself sayings those things to anyone, and

‘In desperation Ben searched the internet for dating tips, but it didn’t help’

definitely not to a girl like Tania. She didn’t even share his sense of humour – on the few occasions when he had made a joke, she just stared right through him.

How long did a date have to last, he asked himself? Two hours max? Even the thought of an hour in her company was unbearable and Ben had no idea how he was going to get through a whole evening. He began wishing for a sudden illness or a minor accident so that he had an excuse to bow out gracefully. He cursed Jilly and her bright

ideas for boosting office morale. Ben’s morale felt at an all-time low.

Valentine’s Day came round all too soon. From the moment he opened his eyes in the morning, his sense of dread mounted. At work he did his best to ignore the jibes about his date because Jilly’s scheme seemed to have worked wonders for everyone else.

The office buzzed with excitement. The girls eagerly discussed what they were planning to wear while the men kept up an air of studied nonchalance. As there had been a few jealous comments from people’s regular partners, a group had arranged to go to

‘He didn’t know what she was expecting but he’d done his best, booking a table for two at a nice country pub’

the same restaurant to reassure them it was nothing to worry about. Just a bit of fun in aid of charity, as Jilly kept reminding everyone.

Keeping his head down behind his computer, Ben managed to avoid Tania all day, but at five o’clock she strolled over to his desk and said curtly: “See you at eight then? Here’s my mobile number in case you need it.”

Ben took the piece of paper she thrust at him and mumbled: “OK, eight o’clock it is.”

He didn’t know what she was expecting but he’d done his best, booking a table for two at a nice country pub and doing a trial run in his car to make sure he could find it in the dark.

He avoided doing a trial run to her flat in case Tania thought he was stalking her. As a result, he ended up arriving early and had to sit round the corner fretting for ten minutes. The last thing he wanted was to appear pathetically eager.

Wearing his contact lenses, a new shirt and tie chosen by his cousin and with his hair actually behaving itself for once, Ben felt he looked quite presentable. He was still ‘geek boy’, of course, but there wasn’t anything he could do about that. A leopard can’t change its spots, as his gran was fond of pointing out.

When Tania opened the door, Ben had to admit she looked stunning. Her dark brown hair hung in curls round her shoulders and the scarlet dress showed off her perfect figure and amazing long legs.

“Top marks for punctuality, geek boy,” she said. “You do realise this is a one-off, don’t you?”

Ben thought ‘charming, as ever’ but out loud he said mildly: “Shall we go? I’ve booked a table for half-past.”

They walked awkwardly down the narrow front path together. Ben was horribly aware that in her heels Tania was a good six inches taller than he was. He remembered his manners and held the car door open for her. She surveyed the newly valeted interior of his Ford Fiesta with a disappointed air. Clearly, she was more accustomed to being driven around in a cool convertible or a sports car.

“Where are the flowers?” Tania asked, looking over her shoulder at the back seat. “Don’t you usually give a girl flowers on a first date?”

Bren flushed with embarrassment. There hadn’t been anything on the internet about bringing flowers. Was that really a thing? The evening had hardly started and he’d already earned a black mark.

“Sorry!” he stammered. “I didn’t think.”

Tania rolled her eyes. Settling herself into the passenger seat, she checked her lipstick in the mirror. “Okay, let’s get this over with, shall we?” she said with a loud sigh.

Grimly, Ben started the engine.

■ Can Ben and Tania possibly survive a whole evening together? Find out in the next issue, out on Feb 23.