Blind date: ‘She grew up in the next town over from me’

Emily K.: 29 / nurse

Last thing she read: Lessons in Chemistry

When she is happiest: On a beach with a good book

7 P.M. ALBA RESTAURANT, QUINCY

BLANK PAGE

Ryan I’m looking for love and not having much luck with dating apps.

Emily App dating was going nowhere, so I figured, Why not?

Ryan I was a little bit nervous before the date, but I trusted the process.

Emily I rushed around like a lunatic because I hadn’t checked my email and did not realize that the date and time were set until that evening. I very quickly got dressed and was thankful the location was only 10 minutes away.

Ryan I arrived first and checked in with the hostess. Emily came shortly after, walked over to the table, and introduced herself. We shook hands.

Emily I thought he was older than he actually was, which is my age. He was quite tall, which is a plus. He was probably not someone I would have swiped right with on an app, though.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Ryan Emily was very pretty. I liked her blond hair and green dress. She seemed very put-together.

Emily I definitely did most of the talking in the beginning. We covered all the first date basics.

Ryan We ordered drinks right away. During dinner we got to know each other. We went over the topics like work, family, school, hobbies, etc. I discovered that she grew up in the next town over from me.

Emily We both are living with our parents at the moment to save up to buy. We both like to read, enjoy a good board game night, and like going to breweries.

Ryan We both went to public schools. We’re both college graduates, love to read, and have an interest in local breweries. We discussed some of our favorite series.

Emily I got a few good book recommendations.

Ryan We ordered a pizza and a couple of drinks.

Emily The restaurant was nice, but a little intense for a first date spot. We both had no preference for the meetup location, but should have picked something more our speed, like a brewery.

Ryan She was really easy to talk to, and the conversation was good.

Emily Toward the end of the night, conversation stalled. He was nice enough, but there was no real spark of attraction. It felt very platonic.

EPILOGUE

Ryan We went our separate ways after the date. She was driving up to Maine that night and it was raining. We exchanged numbers, and we both said we had a good time. I told her I’d give her a call the next week.

Emily I said I had to head out and that was that. I was slightly put off by the fact he didn’t hold the door as we left. He didn’t offer to walk me to my car, which I realized is something that almost all of the other first dates I’ve gone on have done.

SECOND DATE?

Ryan Yes, I would love to go out on another date. I think we had fun, and I’d like to get to know Emily better.

Emily We exchanged numbers but I don’t think it will go anywhere.

GRADING THE DATE

Ryan / A

Emily / B-

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