12 Dates of Christmas

Date One

Four hours later, I sat in front of a mirror, examining the creature staring back at me. She was terrified but fortunately, her expression was only one of vague confusion. She looked sophisticated, her hair in a sleek and elegant ponytail that Angela had been able to perfect after 30 minutes of struggling.

She looked nothing like me. She looked far more put together than I could ever manage while also managing a second-grade classroom. I just didn't feel like myself, which was probably the goal for dates nowadays but the consequence was that I didn't know how to act. The last time she had gone on a first date was back in college, where conversations were easy. All that expected of you then was to talk about your major and whatever excruciating assignment you were currently procrastinating on.

There was a knock at my bedroom door promptly followed by Angela letting herself in. Ever so kind, she responded to my appearance with an exaggerated gasp.

"You look so great! He's here by the way and he is de-vine."

I took a deep breath, and with one last glance in the mirror, I rose to my feet and smoothed out my dress.

"Okay, let's get this over with."

I convinced Angela to let me walk to the door myself because no I did not need an introduction scene like Princess Mia in The Princess Diaries.

The man in question, Samuel according to his dating profile, stood by the door, his eyes shifting around the house. He smiled when he saw me which was a good sign.

"Rose?" he asked.

I smiled and did a very stupid curtsy which I immediately regretted. Samuel, however, made no comment or acknowledgment towards it.

"You look great. I'm Sam, obviously." I responded with a smile and a very quiet hello, still recovering from my small embarrassing moment. "Ready to go?"

My hand slipped around his offered arm and I let him guide me to his car. I knew nothing about cars but his looked expensive. We found our way through the beginning awkwardness and into a more comfortable conversation on the short drive to the restaurant. It turns out, conversations with strangers weren't so hard when the other person had a real knack for carrying the conversation with little assistance on my part. I was starting to hate Angela a little less for making me do this by the time we arrived at the restaurant.

"This place is beautiful," I said in awe as Sam led the way into the elegant restaurant Samuel had picked. It was the kind of restaurant my friends and I would only go to celebrate something huge, like a big promotion, an engagement, or if the queen was coming to visit.

"You think so? I called in a favor with the chef," he said with a wink before adjusting the collar of his shirt, a beautiful marine blue.

I simply smiled and let the host guide us to our table. Sam pulled the chair out to have me sit, something I had only seen happen in movies. It was a good start.

"So, tell me about yourself. What do you do?" I asked. Truthfully, I was struggling to build a conversation. I hadn't been on a date in longer than I was willing to admit and the only thing I had to go on was what I had watched in movies, and we all know how accurate those always are.

"Well, I'm an architect," he answered, his smile unwavering.

"That's so cool. My cousin is an architect. What kind - " I didn't get to finish my sentence.

"Yeah, my company is doing that new building in the capital. I should've been leading that project seeing as I'm the best in the company but the boss's nephew used the family card to get it."