[Krystalolive]

'It would be fun', they said.
'You'll get to meet some pretty ladies', they told him.

Which would have been fantastic. If it was true. This was his third date using this dating app and he couldn't think of any way it could be worse than his first two. Perhaps he just didn't have any luck when it came to online dating, Flame had always done much better meeting people in person.

But hopefully Isabella would be different. She seemed interesting and was certainly pretty. She was in law school from what the profile said, so he had to assume she was smart as well. He hoped that even if the date didn't go too well, they'd both at least have a good time.

He stood outside the bar where they agreed to meet. It was still rather early so it wasn't too crowded, and the sign said a band was playing there later that night if they decided to stay long enough to see it. Looking around, he tried to keep an eye out for her, hoping he'd be able to recognize her from the pictures on the site.

[Kestrel]

Isabella had a date today. What a strange idea. She hadn't really, earnestly been on a date since...well, since college, she supposed. There just hadn't been time once she'd started law school. She had downloaded the dating app almost on a whim, on a nudge from her friend, hardly thinking that anything would honestly come out of it. And so, she had pleasantly surprised to find Flame on it, and pleasantly surprised to find herself arranging an actual, in-person date with him. Her expectations for the date itself? Still rather low (he was, after all, still just some guy Isa had met on a dating app), but she rather hoped this trend of being "pleasantly surprised" would keep itself afloat.

So she had spent a good half hour getting ready today: coaxing her dark curls into something relatively neat, brushing a bit more makeup than usual onto her face, picking out something casual yet attractive (she had finally settled on a nice brown blouse several shades darker than her skin and a presentable pair of skinny jeans). Now, here she was, heading down the street with one hand shielding her eyes from the last rays of day. And then suddenly, there he was, in front of her! Or...someone who looked quite similar to Flame's pictures.

Isa mentally shrugged. She'd take the chance. She walked towards him, a nice smile on her face, and stretched out her hand as she approached. "Hello! Are you Flame?"