chalked it up to her rather boring social life over the past year. An awkward adventure was still an adventure, and it’d be interesting to see campus again… maybe she’d even make a few friends. Still, her heart raced, and she bolted the moment the clock hit five.
She tried to take a nap when she got home, in case she needed to stay out late, but a strange shaky nervousness gripped her chest. To keep herself occupied, she paced around her apartment, cleaning and adjusting everything in sight. The couch seemed to scream for dusting, the fridge needed cleaned out, the carpet needed vacuumed… eight o’ clock came calling, only to find her trying to apply makeup with trembling fingers. She glared back at the clock, wishing it would freeze, or skip forward - anything to alleviate her anxious energy.
Nine o’ clock rolled by at an agonizing snail’s pace, leaving her to count her rapid heartbeats as she stared at her phone.
9:01… 9:02… 9:03…
A thousand doubts ran through her mind. What if the mysterious girl had forgotten? Or decided to vanish without explanation, like so many other online dates? And was this even a date? If so, why was she still going? And what if it was just some creeper trying to capture her or something? She resolved not to go if she was asked to show up anywhere strange or unsafe. She sat tall and smiled. Yes, that was the smart thing. This weird old creeper guy would ask her to go to a warehouse or something, and she’d say no. She sighed with relief.
The phone rang.
She literally jumped from her bed in shock.
The phone rang again.
She picked it up with no small terror, and answered the call.
“Hello?” she asked, hearing the loud noises of a bar.
“Hey!” came the reply, with a voice that was decidedly not an old creepy man. Lynn’s heart sank as she realized that she might actually have to go… but the rest of her trembled with anticipation. For once, it was Friday night, and she had plans! Not ideal plans, sure, but it was something!
“So?” the velvety voice prompted. The girl sounded young, certainly, but her voice had a deep sultry undertone, shot through with brazen confidence. Lynn found herself immediately intimidated, picturing some sort of badass chick far too cool for her… but even if that imagined exaggeration was true, the girl had thought she was cute. “You coming?”
“Uh, um,” she spluttered. “Yeah - yes. Where?”
“You know the bar on Fourth?”
“Hah, do I!” she replied, remembering many a drunken night spent with friends. Her smile quickly turned into a nervous frown as she realized she had no reason not to go. “I… can be there in fifteen minutes…”
“Cool, see you soon.”
The bar noises went quiet, and Lynn stared at her phone. She’d forgotten to get the girl’s name again. As she thought about what she had to do - walk into that bar by herself, meet some girl whose name she didn’t even know, for what might actually be a date or something - her nervous energy surged. Her jaw shook, and she stood and clenched her hands to fight the intense reaction.
“Ok Lynn, you gotta calm down,” she said to herself. “Sure, you’re talking to yourself, that’s fine, that’s fine… think this through… what’s the worst that could happen?”
She knew the area, and she knew the bar, and she wasn’t far. She knew she wasn’t going to be kidnapped or anything. She knew she was meeting a girl, too… that was a good question. What’s the worst that could happen? The girl might think she wasn’t pretty enough, or cool enough, and blow her off… but eh, she could handle that. She wasn’t a vulnerable young girl anymore.
It was far more likely they would actually just hang around at the bar and have a good time, or at least a mildly awkward and vaguely pleasant time. Her usual friends were slowly growing more distant… couldn’t hurt to make a new one, even if it was a twenty-year old… and this girl didn’t seem to
She tried to take a nap when she got home, in case she needed to stay out late, but a strange shaky nervousness gripped her chest. To keep herself occupied, she paced around her apartment, cleaning and adjusting everything in sight. The couch seemed to scream for dusting, the fridge needed cleaned out, the carpet needed vacuumed… eight o’ clock came calling, only to find her trying to apply makeup with trembling fingers. She glared back at the clock, wishing it would freeze, or skip forward - anything to alleviate her anxious energy.
Nine o’ clock rolled by at an agonizing snail’s pace, leaving her to count her rapid heartbeats as she stared at her phone.
9:01… 9:02… 9:03…
A thousand doubts ran through her mind. What if the mysterious girl had forgotten? Or decided to vanish without explanation, like so many other online dates? And was this even a date? If so, why was she still going? And what if it was just some creeper trying to capture her or something? She resolved not to go if she was asked to show up anywhere strange or unsafe. She sat tall and smiled. Yes, that was the smart thing. This weird old creeper guy would ask her to go to a warehouse or something, and she’d say no. She sighed with relief.
The phone rang.
She literally jumped from her bed in shock.
The phone rang again.
She picked it up with no small terror, and answered the call.
“Hello?” she asked, hearing the loud noises of a bar.
“Hey!” came the reply, with a voice that was decidedly not an old creepy man. Lynn’s heart sank as she realized that she might actually have to go… but the rest of her trembled with anticipation. For once, it was Friday night, and she had plans! Not ideal plans, sure, but it was something!
“So?” the velvety voice prompted. The girl sounded young, certainly, but her voice had a deep sultry undertone, shot through with brazen confidence. Lynn found herself immediately intimidated, picturing some sort of badass chick far too cool for her… but even if that imagined exaggeration was true, the girl had thought she was cute. “You coming?”
“Uh, um,” she spluttered. “Yeah - yes. Where?”
“You know the bar on Fourth?”
“Hah, do I!” she replied, remembering many a drunken night spent with friends. Her smile quickly turned into a nervous frown as she realized she had no reason not to go. “I… can be there in fifteen minutes…”
“Cool, see you soon.”
The bar noises went quiet, and Lynn stared at her phone. She’d forgotten to get the girl’s name again. As she thought about what she had to do - walk into that bar by herself, meet some girl whose name she didn’t even know, for what might actually be a date or something - her nervous energy surged. Her jaw shook, and she stood and clenched her hands to fight the intense reaction.
“Ok Lynn, you gotta calm down,” she said to herself. “Sure, you’re talking to yourself, that’s fine, that’s fine… think this through… what’s the worst that could happen?”
She knew the area, and she knew the bar, and she wasn’t far. She knew she wasn’t going to be kidnapped or anything. She knew she was meeting a girl, too… that was a good question. What’s the worst that could happen? The girl might think she wasn’t pretty enough, or cool enough, and blow her off… but eh, she could handle that. She wasn’t a vulnerable young girl anymore.
It was far more likely they would actually just hang around at the bar and have a good time, or at least a mildly awkward and vaguely pleasant time. Her usual friends were slowly growing more distant… couldn’t hurt to make a new one, even if it was a twenty-year old… and this girl didn’t seem to
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