<span style="font-style: italic">I'm not even sure why I'm doing this...</span>came her quiet, skittish thought, traipsing through her mind.<br/><br/>She never went on blind dates.<br/><br/>Never considered them.<br/><br/>Somehow, in her mind, she knew there was that one right person, and that she'd find them eventually. It wasn't as if she hadn't had the offers from friends to set her up. Plenty of them seem to take pity on her for being alone for so long. Always declining, she swore she'd much rather stay at home with a book in hand, reading by firelight.<br/><br/>Yet...<br/><br/>This one time...<br/><br/>...Eryn accepted.<br/><br/>That day had been filled with much worrying, second-guessing, and primping. As the last date she'd been on was a few years back, she was far off her game. She dressed, changed, changed again, and then changed yet again, only to end up in the same outfit she'd had on prior. A simple, sea-green dress fitted her figure, showing her hour-glass figure nicely while remaining sophisticated. Strapless, it clung to her with a sweetheart neckline, into a flowing chiffon skirt, dancing around her knees with each subtle movement she made. A light, blue wrap was draped across her shoulders, so she didn't feel nearly as self-conscious about the strapless number.<br/><br/>Slipping into her gold-strapped heels, she finished putting her hair up. Eryn had never been one to do much with her hair, so a simple, half-up, half-down straight style would have to suffice. It hung partially down her back, flowing as freely as her dress did as the air moved through the silken strands.<br/><br/>Looking herself over for the last time, she fled her apartment, not wanting to chicken out after basically talking herself out of going with each passing hour. The walk to the restaurant hadn't taken long, and it afforded her the fresh air to keep herself from passing out.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">It's a date, Eryn,</span>she coached herself.<span style="font-style: italic">No big deal.</span><br/><br/>Even as she entered the restaurant, the candle light falling across her sun-kissed skin, she felt light-headed. Her eyes focused on the small clutch she had in her hands as she was lead to a table where she assumed her date would be. Slowly, after her host had wandered away, her gaze finally moved, sliding over the glossy surface of the table, coming to rest on his own.<br/><br/>Her heart fluttered, as did her eyelids, before a small smile settled across her soft, rose-colored lips. She was dumbstruck, unable to string even the simplest thought together. A "Hi" seemed far too out of the realm of possibility, until she realized she'd been standing there for a good minute without saying so much as a word.<br/><br/>"...Hi," she murmed demurely, her melodic tone weaving quietly through the air around them, the small smile still prevalent on her lips.