A Little Big Crush

Dinah's First Date

Dinah struggled to find the right outfit to wear for her date, thinking which one of her outfits would make her look less fat. She liked,but at the same time, hated blind dates. Guys can totally love your pictures on the dating app but think you look totally different in real life.

That's why Dinah learned never to put up Instagram-kind of pictures with heavy filters. Though it was her, it was a glamorized and unrealistic picture of herself. Even if it was a bit scary at first putting up her real, untouched pictures, she still received a good number of likes and messages.

She took out one of her many jeans off of the hanger in her walk-in closet and held it up to her waist, walking the few steps over to her bathroom to look at herself in the mirror.

Not bad. The pair of light wash jeans were one of her favorites and were made for curvy, wide hipped bodies like hers.

Good. One down, one more to go. The top. For her, jewelry, makeup, and shoes were easy. It was Miami, so nice sandals were always acceptable, especially to the restaurant they were going to- Chili's. Dinah preferred chain restaurants because the last thing she wanted was to go to some upscale- fancy schmancy restaurant in Brickell where a girl was judged by how hot, thin, and fit she looked.

That's why she preferred swiping right on guys that looked as down-to- Earth as she was. And the guy she was going on a date with was as down- to Earth as you could get- loved sports (especially the Miami Dolphins), video games, drinking beer, and always wore khaki shorts, jeans, and sports teams shirts and caps. Plus, from his pictures, he had a cute pitbull that he was holding up in a picture with him sitting on a couch with a red solo cup in his other hand.

In other words, he seemed like a regular, laid back guy. She hoped that he thought her to be just as pretty in real life as in her pictures.

When they texted for the past week, she got a sense that they had similar interests, both nerds in a sense who liked Game of Thrones and other supernatural shows. She didn't necessarily like sports, and she told him that right off the bat, but she wasn't afraid to do that since it's still kind of normal for girls to not like sports and she also figured they had to be different in some way.

In the car and on the way over to the restaurant, she tried not to overthink this night. Turning the radio up louder, she focused on the music rather than what she would say. With a sigh, she tried to physically squash down her natural inclination of being as peppy and friendly as possible to make a good impression. Dinah needed to just be herself, as she discovered through the many dates she had been on.

It's now or never, she thought.

Once she locked the doors of her Mazda, she made her way over to Chili's. Taking deep breaths, Dinah repeated her regular pep talk to herself.

Don't freak out. If you get there before him, make a decision. Table or bar. Be bold. Be brave. It's okay. And if he doesn't show up, don't sweat it. Make it an awesome night out of the apartment and order a drink. Who cares if anyone looks? Really, though. People are more engrossed with themselves than wondering why someone is at the bar or a table alone. You got this.

After thinking that last part, she then decided on the bar. This guy might be an ass and stand her up. It was one thing to have a drink alone at the bar and another to be at a table by yourself. No matter how many pep talks she gave herself, she wasn't confident enough to sit alone at a table made for one or up to three other people. She would feel that she was getting pity stares.

Before her anxiety got the better of her, she took out her phone and tapped on her last text conversation with her date.

See you soon, his last text said.