Love In The Wild West

“I have never thought about it like that,” said Kurt. “That is a very interesting way to put it. I guess I thought that truth would always be more important than kindness because I have lived a very privileged life. I am white, good looking, rich and a male to boot. I am the most privileged that anyone can be in the world. And this makes a difference, I think. I have never really been in a situation where kindness would have been preferable over the truth. In most of the situations in my own life, I have felt like being truthful would have been the best option for everyone involved. I am really glad that you told me this, Lila, because it allowed me to see a point of view that I had never really considered before.

Lila smiled and said, “It really is quite cool that you were open to this point of view. I guess that I do not want you to feel like you are being attacked. I do not want you to feel like I am challenging you or anything. It’s important to see other points of view.

“Of course,” said Kurt. “I have recognized the importance of this over the course of my life. I am really grateful for all of my privilege, who wouldn’t be? But at the same time I feel like I should be open to as many other viewpoints and opinions as possible, because there are a lot of people in the world that are not as privileged as I am, and these people will have seen a lot more than I have as a result of their lack of privilege.”

“Yes,” said Lila, “that is very true. Most rich people would not feel this way. They would feel like any differing viewpoint is hostile towards them because it challenges their view of the world.”

Lila looked at Kurt and said, “You are really amazing, you know that?”

Kurt laughed and said, “Thank you. I… I am not really used to being nervous around women. I mean, you said it yourself I am a good looking guy and I know how to be charming when I have to be. But at the same time, I can not help but feel a little… self conscious around you. Or maybe that is not the right word. I feel comfortable enough to be me around you, but at the same time I feel like I want you to like me a lot. I would be willing to change my personality in order to make you like me, and this is honestly something that I am not at all used to feeling.”

Lila laughed and said, “Yes I know exactly how you feel. I think that personality is very important to me, and as a result of this I am very surprised that I would be willing to change my personality as well to get you to like me. I am glad that I do not have to, of course, because I would never want something like that to pass. You are too nice a person to make me change anything about myself. I guess that there are people that we come across that we are willing to compromise for. Real feelings are when you meet someone that you are willing to compromise for who does not require you to compromise at all.”

Kurt looked at Lila intently. She realized what she had just said and was, for perhaps the thousandth time, extremely glad of her gorgeous black skin because it prevented Kurt from seeing the embarrassed flush creeping up her flesh. She had just told Kurt that she had feelings for him. She had said it in a rather roundabout way, and she was ready to make him feel like it was how she felt in real life, but she had to be careful as well. She did not want to rush into anything. She did not want to make Kurt feel like she wanted more than he was willing to give her right now. She had to be careful, otherwise she might end up making him run away from her.

Lila cleared her throat and said, “Shouldn’t we go to dinner?”

“Yeah,” said Kurt. “I booked a restaurant outside of this hotel. It’s a really lovely place, just outside the city. It is a kind of barbeque joint, but at the same time it has a very authentic vibe. The owner of that place was able to pull off something that I had never managed to do. He was able to pull off something that reflected his cowboy roots and at the same time appealed to people in such a way that his business started to thrive. I am quite jealous, I must say, of how successful he has been so far in making his business all that it is. Would you like to go there now?”

“Yeah,” said Lila. “I would. I think we should shower first, though. We are really dirty after all of that riding.”

Kurt looked at his scruffy and dirty self and laughed, saying, “Right you are. We are quite scruffy, it’s true. I think that we should go and shower. I will pick you up in the annex in… how about forty five minutes? Would that be enough time to get ready after showering?”

“Yes,” said Lila, “that would be more than enough time.”

*****

Lila was ready. She had worn a pretty dress that was somewhat short. She had wanted to show skin but had not wanted to appear too sl*tty, at least not on the first date. Rather, she had wanted herself to appear a little more relaxed because she wanted Kurt to be comfortable around her. This was an important occasion, and the conversation that she had just had with Kurt had made it so that this was definitely a date, there would be no doubt about it.

She headed down to the annex and smiled when she saw Kurt there, waiting for her. He was wearing a nice blazer over a blue shirt and cream pants. The result was rather confusing for a moment, but after a little while Lila realized just how good he looked. It was a bold look to attempt, but she had to admit that he was pulling it off spectacularly.

“Wow!” said Kurt. “You look absolutely incredible!”

Lila smiled shyly and said, “Thank you. You look really good too. That is a pretty crazy outfit to try and pull off, I appreciate the effort you put into it.”

Kurt laughed and said, “Well, I really like to try new and different things. Besides, I didn’t want you upstaging me on our very first date! I knew that you were going to look fantastic, and I didn’t want all of the people seeing us to think that you were out of my league, no matter how true that might actually be.”