"Don't wear that."
"What's wrong with it?"
"A polo is too casual. It's a sit-down dinner date, you can't show up to a restaurant at night in one of those," Tiffany said. I hung the shirt back up in the closet.
"Better?" I asked, holding up a button down white shirt.
"Not white. Something colored." I rolled my eyes, putting the shirt back up with the rest and pulling out a light blue one.
"Should I wear a tie, too?" I asked sarcastically.
"It's a date, not a job interview," she snapped from my bed.
"I'm a big boy, Tiffany. I'm pretty sure I know how to get dressed myself."
"First impressions are everything, Roman. She might forgive your shitty personality if you look good," she said. I put the shirt on, buttoned it up. She had chosen the tan slacks I was wearing, too.
"I already don't like her. She sounds shallow."
"I'm trying to help you, Roman."
"Then tell me what I'm walking into tonight. If I'm spending money on this girl, I at least want to know who she is."
"She's cute... Blonde hair, same age as you, average height..."
"That doesn't really narrow down the pool, Tiff. That's about a good forty percent of my graduating class."
"It doesn't matter. What's important is you're going to like her."
"Whatever you say," I said, looking into the mirror and fixing my collar. I had been game for this blind date, but now that tonight was the night and Tiff was still being cagey, I wasn't really feeling it as much. She was so confident that I felt it had to go left somehow.
"Roll your sleeves up. Girls like forearms," she said, standing and walking out of the room. She had come over specifically to help me prep for the date like I was a freshman girl who had been invited to my first prom. All I had needed was something to identify this girl she had set me up with and she could have told me that over text, like a normal person. We were pretty close, but she was way more invested in this date than she should have been.
I grabbed my wallet, slid some shoes on, and came out of the room. Tiff was waiting in the kitchen.
"So?" I said expectantly.
"You look great. Have fun," she said brightly, turning and heading for the front door.
"Wait, wait, wait. How the hell am I supposed to know who she is?"
"Just get a good table and wait. I already told her how to find you. She'll come to you," she said.
For the second time in maybe ten minutes, I regretted ever agreeing to this. If tonight was a disaster, I was never letting her do this for me again. I wasn't desperate enough for this. I knew that it wasn't going to be a prank or whatever where the chick was actually an escort, but Tiff was being too smug about this. I wasn't looking for a fucking wife tonight, just someone to eat with and maybe fuck later if I could.
"Be a gentleman, don't make her pay, and don't make me look bad," she said as she walked to her car.
"You set the bar pretty high, Tiff. I better not be disappointed," I threatened lightly. She smirked and slid into her car, driving away first. At least she hadn't chosen the restaurant. I wasn't cheap, but she was a girl – she didn't pay for dates anyway, what would it matter to her. Tiff's friend had better like Italian. If she was one of those girls who didn't eat carbs or wouldn't eat real food in front of guys, then I wouldn't see her again anyway.
I had called to make reservations the day before. The table was near a window, but still inside. I sat so I was facing the entrance. I didn't know what this girl looked like, but since she was supposed to know, I'd just make myself easy for her to spot. The date was for seven thirty, and it was seven twenty-three. I ordered a beer and waited.
Seven thirty ticked by and my beer was three-quarter ways done. Tiff hadn't given me this girl's number so I had no way to contact her and tell her where I was in case she had gotten here and missed me somehow. I hadn't really seen anyone who I thought would be my date – there were a lot of couples and bigger groups, but I hadn't seen a woman walking in alone.
I thought about calling Tiff to make sure this girl was showing up, but didn't. No, the stakes weren't that fucking high. It wouldn't matter if she didn't end up showing. I had nothing riding on this. I wasn't even that hungry. If she wasn't here by the time I finished my beer, I'd just go home.
A blonde in a blue-green dress caught my eye as she walked in. I didn't know who my date even was, so it didn't matter that I was checking her out. The first thing I noticed was she was alone. The next thing was she was fucking stunning. From across the room, under the dim lights scattered across the ceiling, she was beautiful. Her hair was shiny and long, the curls tumbling over her shoulders and chest.
That color was good on her, I thought absently. She was scanning the crowd of patrons, looking for someone. She glanced past me, and I would have choked if I was taking a drink of my beer. It had to be a good twenty feet between us but I knew that face anywhere. Softly defined cheekbones and a delicate, feminine face. Bright, round green eyes and pink, pert lips.