Charlotte ran a ribbon through her hair and adjusted the shape into a bow to perfect her half-up half-down look. She ran a comb through her bangs that framed her face and decided that she looked pretty.
She was taking her time getting ready since her grandmother randomly set her up on a blind date on a random Thursday evening. Charlotte tightened her grip on her brown gingham dress in frustration. She had gotten home from work when her grandmother called to tell her the news.
Charlotte couldn't decline since her grandmother sounded ecstatic, so she reluctantly agreed. The details were this: he was a young man who was thirty, a significant difference from Charlotte's twenty-one, but he had been promoted to senior advisor to his company and quite handsome according to her grandmother's fuss.
There weren't a lot of criteria for Charlotte's ideal man rather than a person who was kind and financially stable. She grabbed the pale pink lip tint and ran a layer over her heart-shaped lips. Smacking her lips together, she put on her dangling pearl earrings and a thin silver chain around her neck.
A notification notified her phone, and she flipped her phone over to check who it was from. Her date tonight texted her to check the time they were meeting at the restaurant. It wasn't an overly expensive one, but one that was tucked away with good reviews.
Jacob: Meeting at 8 pm?
Charlotte: Yes. I'll see you there.
Standing from her small vanity stool, she ran a hand through her hair one more time to put more volume in her straight strands. It was almost time to leave, but Charlotte was stalling.
She was open to meeting him, but something felt off. Maybe she was paranoid from all those times with Vincent. He had ruined all men for her. Everyone was suspicious.
Charlotte slipped a brown purse over her shoulder and hurried down the stairs. Closing the front door behind her, she got into her car and drove down the stacked highways to reach nearer to the center of the city.
Down there, many bridges were crossing over one another, creating a pattern signature to the Centennial Center. The lights burned a bright yellow, and Charlotte got out of her car, walking into the restaurant right on time.
The restaurant was all brown and black with a comfortable atmosphere. The soft piano was playing overhead, and she notified the hostess of a reservation for two. The woman nodded and politely led her to the table where her blind date was sitting.
Charlotte sat down in the chair and placed her purse on her lap. The man sitting in front of her was surely handsome and looked like the photo that her grandmother sent her.
"Hello. A pleasure to meet you, Jacob."
He twisted the cuff around his wrist. "Likewise. I hope we can get to know each other better."
Charlotte plastered on a smile from his obvious displeasure. "Of course."
It seemed that he was also forced into a blind date. She leaned back in her seat and grimaced. At that moment, she knew that the rest of the night was going to be painful.
The waiter came over and placed a menu on the table. They ordered their food, and the waiter left them back in their uncomfortable silence. Charlotte attempted conversations, but they veered off to work.
For adults, it was quite normal for work to be the topic of conversation, but Charlotte started to push her food around her plate from the long details Jacob was entailing about getting a promotion. She didn't want to cut him off, but it was going nowhere.
Charlotte didn't feel like it was worth staying, but she didn't want to be rude to ask to leave first when it hasn't even been an hour yet. She excused herself from the table to use the restroom and immediately called her grandmother.
"How is the date going?" the laughing voice came over the line.
"Don't you dare act like it's all holly jolly," Charlotte groaned.
"I assume it's not going well?"
Charlotte stared at herself in the mirror with the overexposed lighting hanging on the ceiling and attached to the bathroom titles. "It's not bad or good. It is so dry."
Her grandmother laughed. "Give him some time, honey."
"One hour was already too much."
"It'll be fine. He's a great guy."
"On paper," Charlotte whispered. "I've got to go. Letting you know where I am in case I get kidnapped."
Charlotte could tell her grandmother was rolling her eyes across the phone.
"Don't be overdramatic, child. Call me when you get home."
"Okay."
Charlotte walked back out to the table to see him already paid the bill. She was planning to split it, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she awkwardly grabbed her bag.
"Are we done eating?" she asked lightly.
Jacob glanced at his phone. "Yes. Let's go somewhere quieter."
"It's okay," Charlotte said. "Let's part ways here."
"There's a great café nearby. Let's head there for dessert."
Charlotte shook her head. "I'll pass."
He took her hand and pulled her out of the restaurant. "No, no. I insist."
His grip wasn't strong, so she followed along. She followed them closely, as they walked down the street. Charlotte pulled her hand out of his, and she was met with a sharp glare. She gasped when she saw a yellow ring around his eyes.