An Awkward First Encounter

Katheryn Bell has lived a very busy life. She's mostly been focused on her job and career which leaves her not much time for a social life. Once Katheryn finished her college degree her country was seeing itself through a pandemic which didn't allow her to get a job in her desired field out of college. Instead of focusing on the negative Kathryn set out to find a job at her local retail clothing store just to make ends meat. Fast forward a couple years and Katheryn landed a job with her degree and moved cross country to a state where she had no friends or family but to pursue a career she was passionate about.

After Katheryn felt settled in at her new place and new job she felt that she was missing something other than friendship. Katheryn wanted to find love. In the modern day and age of dating you don't normally stumble upon someone like you see in the movies. Katheryn knew this and as much as she was nervous giving online dating a shot she decided to give it a try. She knew what she wanted from a romantic partner considering interests and was willing to compromise on a few. Katheryn has never been extremely religious but if her partner was into religion she didn't mind. The same went for political interests as Katheryn viewed herself as a moderate Democrat but if her partner was more Conservative on his views then fine as long as they established political boundaries early in the relationship like her parents did she did not see a problem in this.

Katheryn created her profile and made sure she filled out the questions about her to the T so people would be able to get a sense of her personality. About 15 minutes after she created her profile Katheryn already had over 100 people that had interest in her. She knew that people often blindly swipe on these apps so there is a chance of a handful being duds. After a couple of reading profiles and swiping Katheryn matched to a handful of men in her area. She then matched with this man named Ken. He was handsome and Katheryn was surprised that a man like him would like someone like her. So they started talking and it wasn't just boring get to know you questions but real in depth questions and meaningful conversations. After talking for over two weeks Ken asked Katheryn out on a date and she said yes but her weekend for that week was booked solid and asked him if it was okay to wait until the next weekend. He understood and agreed to the next weekend.

They were still talking to each other every day and Katheryn felt bold one night and decided to give him her number. She knew there could be a chance of this man sending her unsolicited photos of himself but she was willing to take the chance. Soon they were texting each other every day just like they were messaging on the app. They soon made plans for their date and Katheryn was excited and hoped that this man she was having a real connection with turned out to be the same man in the photos.

Finally it was Friday night and Katheryn was excited to meet him. She dressed in a cute but casual outfit. After she got off the subway she pulled Google maps up to see how far the restaurant would be. Well Google wanted her to take some weird shortcut through a parking lot and then through a park so she was a bit confused. Her date arrived early and she wanted to make a good impression by being on time but technology was not in her favor. She made it to the restaurant and saw him standing outside. He looked like his photos but once she got closer to him she noticed he wasn't as tall as he said on his profile. Katheryn didn't mind at all he wasn't short but he was only a couple inches taller than her. The restaurant they intended on going to had a long wait so they decided to go somewhere else. They walked around and talked a bit. Katheryn noticed that he is soft spoken in person and found that kind of adorable.

They made it to another restaurant and were seated towards the back. Katheryn that felt more confident behind a screen than in person with this man had no clue what to say to him. The silence wasn't uncomfortable but it was new to Katheryn. She looked at Ken and said "I don't know what to say" then smiled at him in her socially awkward way. He found it endearing and slowly they picked up a conversation. The waitress came and got their orders while they still had a decent conversation. There was times where it was a bit quiet or awkward energy in the air but Katheryn didn't let it bother her. He chose the pay without asking Katheryn to split it which even as a Feminist she didn't mind him doing she made a mental note that if they went out again she would offer to pay next time. After leaving the restaurant Ken offered to walk Katheryn back to the subway station to make sure she made it alright as it was starting to get dark. The great conversations they were having remained as they approached the station. Katheryn would not have minded if the date ended with a kiss or not and for a split second she thought there was going to be one. A kiss didn't happen but she did tell him "I had a really great time tonight and I hope we can do this again soon? I'll let you know when I've made it home." He responded letting her know that he had a nice time too and that he would message her later.

Once Katheryn made it home safely she sent Ken a quick text that she was home. He instantly replied letting her know "I had a really nice time with you tonight on our date. Maybe we can do it again real soon?" Katheryn felt elated that she scored a second date with this man. She replied and told him "I had a really nice time too and I would like to go out again with you." They started talking the rest of the night. Katheryn realized that it's okay to be a little awkward on the first date as people need time to adjust to someone new. Now she can't wait for the next date with Ken.