THE MOMENT
Justin didn't know where to look. Staring at Susan's cleavage wasn't an option; but, meeting the gaze of her bright pink eyes also felt inappropriate somehow. It didn't help that one of her eyes really stood out. What did help was that she was a beautiful, funny woman whose eyes sparkled when she laughed. Justin was able to play off his nerves as wittiness and by the time their food arrived, the pair felt comfortable in each other's company.
He'd never met anyone like her and he was nearly smitten in a short time. The only thing keeping him from falling completely was the one eye. He tried to look at the situation from an objective perspective. Objectively, it looked like any other normal eye. Her pink irises was unusual; but, none of her eyes appeared sickly. The pink color was bright, almost vibrant with life and energy. If he had to decide what it was that left him unsure, Justin decided it was just ever-so-slightly larger than the others. He knew all kinds of people had different sizes of eyes; but, this particular eye on Susan felt larger than normal somehow. Maybe it was the position or angle. Or, some other made-up reason that Justin couldn't justify.
They kept up comfortable small talk as they ate and learned about each other. As the date progressed and their plates grew emptier, Justin had a minor epiphany. Susan was embarrassed. He'd been focusing so much on that one eye that she had to have noticed. She began to look away and stare at the decor of the red and gold restaurant. He felt like a heel for making her feel uncomfortable. Despite her beauty, he got the instant impression that she was insecure about her eye. The eye, the one he'd been staring at all night.
"Well, congratulations," she gave him a wistful smile as she set her fork down. "You're the first one to make it through a meal without asking me. But, you probably have some questions about my eyes....," she said.
"Now that you mention it..., I do," Justin nodded at her. She sighed and focused on the messy dishes between them. "How'd they get so beautiful?" he asked. The decision was made before he realized it. But, as he asked his question he realized two things. The first was that Susan was absolutely gorgeous and he wanted to spend much more time with her. The second was that he would never make her feel comfortable about her eyes again. He knew it took a certain amount of courage to put yourself out there like she had and that only made him appreciate her more. But, he wasn't prepared for the reward he got when her eyes lit up at his comment.
Even that one big eye sparkled pink; Justin could only describe that moment as magic. He knew his future had just changed course for the better. Justin paid the check and the pair made their way out of the restaurant. They began to walk toward the downtown area with no particular destination in mind.
"Oh! Do you like roller derby?" Susan asked as they taveled down the sidewalk. They'd been discussing their likes, dislikes, and hobbies.
"I haven't paid attention really, but I'm open to it," Justin nodded at her.
"Great! There's a big match happening in a couple of weeks,... we should go...," she said. She looked at him with her pink eyes and Justin tried his best to not stare only at the one that stood out.
"I don't know...," he shrugged. "That's an awful long time to wait to see you again, how about a date or two before that?" he grinned.
"Yes!" she said. "Definitely, there's a lot of other things I want to show you too," she smiled.
"Oh yeah? Like what?" he chuckled. "Hopefully it's as beautiful as your eyes," he grinned again. He wasn't actually trying to be flattering; but, the more time he spent with her the more he realized how attracted he was.
"Stop...," she blushed with deep red cheeks as she grabbed his hand. Then, she focused her gaze on him. It was at that moment that Justin was finally able to look away from that one eye. He realized he had options and he could spend all day staring at any one of her eyes.
"...do you really think my eyes are pretty?" she asked.
"Of course!" he grinned. He felt comfortable after their interactions. He was overcome with a sudden boldness that he didn't have time to consider. He leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, just above that one eye. "...all three of them."