to take a chance!

It had been some time since she had stepped out on a 'date'. She thought for many years that she would meet someone the 'old-fashioned' way, through friends, at a BBQ, or when she walked in a room and he would spot her from the other side and be mesmerised by her. But that was not how it worked in this day and age apparently. Even her Doctor had suggested she give that "RSPCA or whatever it's called a go. She had dabbled in it a few times over the years but nothing worth talking about had eventuated. She had heard of this new dating app called Tinder. She'd been aimlessly flicking through through it every now and then, mostly hitting the 'nope' button, especially for any that favoured pictures of cars, their naked torsos or their pets over pictures of their faces. One guy "J" caught her eye, so she flicked 'Yep"...It was a match straight away and almost instantly she got a message from him... they messaged back and forth for a while before exchanging mobile numbers. It took some time for their schedules to coincide to actually meet in person.. Over messages he appeared very confident, albeit a little cheeky, and she wondered how this would transpire in person. Finally Saturday night rolled around, she busied herself that day with bootcamp and moving furniture so as to not let her mind wander too much and freak out. As the afternoon dragged on she had no choice but to start thinking about it. She realised she didn't really look like any of the pics on her profile anymore, she'd made some pretty drastic changes to her hair and now wore her glasses a lot more than she used to. She wondered if she would be good enough, would he like her, would her amazing personality shine through her nervousness...Then she remembered the words of wisdom she had heard recently "What if he's not good enough for you?" and she tried to let that be the thought that sat in her mind. She had put some consideration into what she was going to wear and laid it out on her bed while she went for a bath, she couldn't shower because she'd already spent the best part of an hour straightening her hair. She put on the outfit but it just didn't quite work for her, it was an outfit she had worn many times before but she just wasn't quite feeling it, she wondered why outfits always look better in her mind than in the mirror. With 20 minutes to spare she quickly changed and went for a safe option of black pants, black top, dusty pink jacket and topped it off with a gorgeous scarf (of course). She had to decide how much effort to put in, heels or flats? She doesn't wear heels often and didn't want to give a false sense of 'heelness'..she opted for sparkly flats... how much makeup? she wears a little mineral powder, mascara and neutral lipstick to work...she decided she needed to go a little more than that but nothing overboard. Didn't want to give the impression that she was some sort of glamour queen. He was due to pick her up at 7. Seven o'clock rolled around, then 7:05 and he still wasn't knocking on her door. 7:06 and her phone buzzed to life, a text message, nervously she opened it, could he be about to blow her off... "I'm here " it read..."Where?" she replied as she opened the front door, "Out front" came the reply... was this how things were done these days, you don't go to a persons door? You text them from the car out the front?.. Nervously she walked along the driveway to find him standing on the footpath, "Hey" she said casually as she approached him, he replied the same and then added "What do we do, hug, shake hands, cheek kiss?" it became a kind of awkward mess of all three. She hated this part the most. She was impressed by his dress sense, well cut jeans, not too tight, not too baggy, white Ralph Lauren shirt and good shoes...nice shoes... She had always said you could tell a lot about a man by his shoes. They walked towards the car, a small blue convertible. "So where are we going?" She asked having left the decision making up to him, "I've booked a table at a nice country pub about 20 minutes drive out of town but..." and that's when she realised he was having problems starting the car. He mumbled about having problems and it jerking and not idling well...She became nervous and voiced her concerns about returning home alive, he convinced her she would get back, but couldn't guarantee when... The car ride out and dinner passed with plenty of conversation flowing, they spoke of their jobs, their dreams, their families, their friends. They made jokes about being single. He has worked as a chef for some time now (currently feeding some 300 boys at a local boarding school) and travelled and lived overseas and has a burning desire to go back, a plus in her eyes. His profile stated that he was spontaneous and that certainly shone through during the conversations, like making an offer to buy a house off the internet interstate without seeing it and then moving there when it settled. Spontaneity was something he looked for in a person and she wasn't sure she could match that. She wished she was more spontaneous, there have been times where she wished she could throw it all in, chuck her bag in the car and head off on the wide open roads to...wherever.... but there is always something holding her back, she was scared to take that leap on her own. After dinner he suggested moving on to another establishment for a beverage. She agreed, it could hurt. They walked towards the car and she secretly crossed her fingers on the way in hope that the car would actually start, she may have even held her breath as he turned the key in the ignition. It worked. Again they travelled back in to town with the conversation flowing as they edged towards the bar she wondered how this might all play out. It certainly wasn't love at first sight but he seemed pretty easy to get along with, they seemed to be on similar journey's. A bus load of people arriving meant it became quite packed and difficult to have conversation and her long day was slowly starting to creep up on her and she found her trying to hold back her yawns. Eventually he asked if they were going to continue drinking or if she wanted him to take her home...she asked to be taken home, not because she wasn't having a good time, simply because she was exhausted beyond belief and she didn't want that to be seen as being bored with his company... Again he pulled the car up out on the street, she thanked him for a lovely evening and then, trying not to appear too keen she brushed off a "Chat to you later, maybe...we'll see..." and with a grin she exited the car and walked the long walk down the dark driveway.....

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Linking up with My Home Truths and One Mother Hen this Monday!!