Chapter 3: Dinah’s First Date
Dinah struggled to find the right outfit to wear for her date, thinking which one of her outfits would make her look less fat. She liked,but at the same time, hated blind dates. Guys can totally love your pictures on the dating app but think you look totally different in real life.
That's why Dinah learned never to put up Instagram-kind of pictures with heavy filters. Though it was her, it was a glamorized and unrealistic picture of herself. Even if it was a bit scary at first putting up her real, untouched pictures, she still received a good number of likes and messages.
She took out one of her many jeans off of the hanger in her walk-in closet and held it up to her waist, walking the few steps over to her bathroom to look at herself in the mirror.
Not bad. The pair of light wash jeans were one of her favorites and were made for curvy, wide hipped bodies like hers.
Good. One down, one more to go. The top. For her, jewelry, makeup, and shoes were easy. It was Miami, so nice sandals were always acceptable, especially to the restaurant they were going to- Chili's. Dinah preferred chain restaurants because the last thing she wanted was to go to some upscale- fancy schmancy restaurant in Brickell where a girl was judged by how hot, thin, and fit she looked.
That's why she preferred swiping right on guys that looked as down-to- Earth as she was. And the guy she was going on a date with was as down- to Earth as you could get- loved sports (especially the Miami Dolphins), video games, drinking beer, and always wore khaki shorts, jeans, and sports teams shirts and caps. Plus, from his pictures, he had a cute pitbull that he was holding up in a picture with him sitting on a couch with a red solo cup in his other hand.
In other words, he seemed like a regular, laid back guy. She hoped that he thought her to be just as pretty in real life as in her pictures.
When they texted for the past week, she got a sense that they had similar interests, both nerds in a sense who liked Game of Thrones and other supernatural shows. She didn't necessarily like sports, and she told him that right off the bat, but she wasn't afraid to do that since it's still kind of normal for girls to not like sports and she also figured they had to be different in some way.
In the car and on the way over to the restaurant, she tried not to overthink this night. Turning the radio up louder, she focused on the music rather than what she would say. With a sigh, she tried to physically squash down her natural inclination of being as peppy and friendly as possible to make a good impression. Dinah needed to just be herself, as she discovered through the many dates she had been on.
It's now or never, she thought.
Once she locked the doors of her Mazda, she made her way over to Chili's. Taking deep breaths, Dinah repeated her regular pep talk to herself.
Don't freak out. If you get there before him, make a decision. Table or bar. Be bold. Be brave. It's okay. And if he doesn't show up, don't sweat it. Make it an awesome night out of the apartment and order a drink. Who cares if anyone looks? Really, though. People are more engrossed with themselves than wondering why someone is at the bar or a table alone. You got this.
After thinking that last part, she then decided on the bar. This guy might be an ass and stand her up. It was one thing to have a drink alone at the bar and another to be at a table by yourself. No matter how many pep talks she gave herself, she wasn't confident enough to sit alone at a table made for one or up to three other people. She would feel that she was getting pity stares.
Before her anxiety got the better of her, she took out her phone and tapped on her last text conversation with her date.
See you soon, his last text said.
Her thumbs moved rapidly on her phone as she typed out the next text.
I'm here. Did you get here yet?
She held her phone in her hands and took another deep breath.
You can do this. Don't wait for him to answer like an idiot. You just let him know you're here, so go in and seat yourself at the bar.
Pushing the glass door, she walked right over to the bar and tentatively sat down on the side closest to the entrance, quickly scanning the room to see if she saw her date. Not yet.
She checked her phone. One new message.
Ok. Just parked.
Dinah nervously put her phone in her purse. Her heart was racing. To calm it down, she took another deep breath, inhaling and exhaling through her nose.
It's fine. Nothing to get freaked out about. Think of it like an interview where YOU are in charge. You are here to decide if you like him. Don't think about if he does or doesn't like you.
Dinah silently thanked her mom for such sound advice.
She waved her hand, trying to get the bartender's attention. He didn't look at her, but was serving other customers and mixing drinks for them. Shit, she didn't want her date to walk on in and see that she couldn't even order a drink by herself. Damn this guy.
She stared at the bartender, hoping upon hope that he would come nearer so she could call him again.
Right as he was coming closer to her, she called to him. His attention immediately focused on her. "Can I get you anything?"
"Yeah, I'll have a margarita," she said.
He nodded. "With salt on the rim?"
"Yes."
"Right on it."
Dinah sensed someone sitting right next to her, and she turned her head to find her date sliding onto the seat on her right side.
"Dinah, right?" he asked.
His deep timbre made Dinah's heart beat faster. God, his voice sounded sexy. Though she knew they should've at least talked on the phone before meeting, she liked being surprised that he had a nice sounding voice.
"Yeah, nice to meet you."
He greeted her with a kiss on the cheek, which she instinctively returned. Totally Miami.
"You're Dario, right? I think you told me your name once in our chat but I forget. I'm so used to seeing your screen name, Redwood, right?"
"Yeah," he said, grinning. "But please call me Dario."
"Sure thing," she said, turning her head to face the bar once she realized that the bartender had already brought her drink to her. Dinah's eyes widened. It was huge, but maybe she just thought it was because she hadn't had a drink in a long time.
"Thank you," she said, holding it carefully to her lips and taking a tiny sip.
"What can I get for you?" the bartender said to Dario.
"I'll have a Sam Adams," he said.
"Coming right up."
While he disappeared to get his drink, Dario moved closer to Dinah and said, " You're a lot prettier in person."
Butterflies moved around in her stomach and Dinah felt relief. Good. He thought she was pretty. She obviously looked like her pictures and it was a great sign that that was one of the first things he said. That was out of the way now so now the date can go smoothly.
"Thank you," she responded. "You look like your pictures."
He raised his eyebrows, a smile playing on his lips. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Good thing," she said, letting out a little laugh. "I went on a date once where the guy looked nothing like his pictures and not in a good way, so it was torture."
"That sucks," Dario leaned against the bar, " That happened to me too. I'm glad you came by yourself though."
Dinah furrowed her brows. "By myself? Of course I came by myself. This is a date." She smiled at him.
"I know, right? But you'd be surprised how many dates I'd go on where the girl would bring a friend."
"Why do you think they'd do that?" Dinah mimicked Dario and leaned on the bar as well.
Dario shrugged. "Probably because she was afraid that I would be a weirdo. You know, the online dating fear?"
"Well, I wouldn't do that. We're meeting in a public place so not much weirdness like that can happen."
"Yeah, totally." Dario looked at Dinah, and looked her up and down. "So, did you see the latest Game of Thrones episode?"
From there on, the two of them talked about what they liked and didn't like about the characters, how they were shocked at how Ned Stark died, and why George R.R. Martin took so long to write the next book.
"God," Dario said, shaking his head. "My sister told me the other day that the first book was published in 1995. 1995! Are you freakin' kidding me?"
Dinah nodded enthusiastically. "Yea, I know, right? I wasn't even born yet. I looked that up after my sister told me that the fandom is basically pissed at him for blogging about football instead of writing."
"You know I love me some football but that man has to get to writing...You said before that you didn't like football, right?"
Dinah cringed." Yeah... not really a sports fan."
"Okay, but have you ever been to any games with your exes?"
" I have," she said. "I also went to my first football game with my dad when I was about nine. It was a Dolphins game. I know you like them."
Dario turned his upper body to face Dinah, really staring into her eyes. It was so intense that she instinctively looked down at her drink.
"You're shy, aren't you?" he whispered.
Dinah shrugged. "A little, but I've never had a guy stare at me like that before."
"I'm sorry. But I can't help it. I really like you and I feel like we have a connection," he said.
Dinah raised her head to look at him closely, trying to be a little more brave, bolder. "I feel one too, to be honest. You're a cool person and we have a lot in common. It's easy to talk to you."
"Yeah...I asked that question about going to games because I wanted to make sure that if you and I go to a football game in the future that you would like it."
Dinah smiled. "Sure, I think I'd like it because it's not something I do all the time, and if I'm in a relationship, I like spending time with my boyfriend and doing things he likes."
Dario nodded in approval, "Sounds good."
And there it was. A hint that he's seriously interested in her. Talking about a possible future relationship. Though Dinah knew that she shouldn't get ahead of herself, this sounded really good. And now she felt more confident just knowing that he liked her. It made her bold enough to start asking him questions.
" So how many sisters do you have...just one?"
"No, I have two more. But they're stepsisters. My parents are divorced."
Dinah placed her hand on her heart. "Mine are too. They have been since I was fourteen. I have a younger sister. "
"Do you talk to her a lot?"
"I try to. She lives in D.C. so it's difficult."
Dario raised his eyebrows. "Damn. My stepsister lives there now. She's with her boyfriend up there studying to be a lawyer... I also have another stepsister from my dad's side."
"Wow. I only have one and we're full sisters. Her birthday's coming up soon so I have to find something to get her. I'm thinking of another book. She likes to read."
"I don't read that much, though I like to. When's your birthday?" he asked.
"August 9th."
"No way. That's mine too," he said, shock written all over his face.
"No, you have to be kidding," she said. "You're lying," she teased.
Dario held his two fingers up. "Scout's honor. Here, I'll show you." He took out his wallet, opened it, and slid out his driver's license, showing it to Dinah.
There it was... August 9th, 1995.. Same day, but five years older than her.
"Omigod, unreal," she said, eyes wide. "The same day, but different year. Mine's 2000."
"Aw, and here I thought we were in the same hospital and in the same baby crib room or something."
"Thank God not." Dinah took another sip of her margarita. "That would be beyond coincidental and a little weird."
"I agree," Dario said, downing the last drops of beer before slamming it down on the table. He cringed. "That was a lot harder than I meant it to be."
The bartender, who Dinah finally noticed was named Osvaldo because of his now shiny name tag, immediately took the empty beer bottle from Dario. "Want another one?"
"Sure." Dario looked at Dinah and grinned. "Do you want another one or will I be drinking alone?"
Dinah shook her head. "No, thanks. I can barely finish this one. I'm not much of a drinker and I got work tomorrow."
Osvaldo nodded and immediately whipped up another Sam Adams for Dario before disappearing to the other side of the counter.
"Yeah, I'm pretty much a lightweight too. I don't drink that much either, only beer, which doesn't do much to me," Dario said.
Now Dinah rearranged herself in her seat. She didn't know if it was the right time to broach the subject. Some people said it wasn't a good idea to talk about past relationships on the first date and others say it is a must in order to feel out what the other person is really looking for. Of course, on Dario's profile, it said that he was looking for a relationship and his last relationship lasted eight years. But in Dinah's experience, some guys did lie and it was better to find out from the horse's mouth, so to speak.
Screw it. "So, generic question, but what are you looking for on the site, exactly?"
Dinah almost sighed in relief as Dario's facial expression didn't change much. It was as if he kind of expected the question and didn't think anything of it.
"I'm ready to start a relationship," Dario began, " My ex and I broke up a few months ago and I'm ready to move on."
Hmm... A tiny wave of panic coursed through Dinah, starting in the pit of her stomach. If a guy mentioned breaking up with his ex so soon and in the same sentence as "ready to start a relationship," it told Dinah that he maybe wasn't over her. But she hoped against hope that she was wrong.
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