Safety First

In a perfect world Eve agreeing to go on the blind dates that her best friend had proposed would have been easy. Her saying yes automatically meaning that she just showed up at some dining establishment, met an absolute stranger, and all that she had to worry about was whether or not they got along enough to go from a blind date to a second date. But unfortunately, the world was not a perfect place, and it was far from safe. 

Even in a relatively small town like Beauville where they lived.

Security was a big deal. 

Sure, the crime rate was pretty low, but it was still best to not tempt fate. So rather than just spending her time waiting for the dates and twiddling her thumbs. Eve was busy searching places all over town, and trying to pick a location that was close enough to her house that, if anything went wrong she would be able to go home on foot. Not only close to her house, it also had to have a lot of people around. People who would be able to be witnesses in case she was attacked, or went missing.

Not only just people, but she also wanted a place with a large number of cameras. Eyewitness accounts were one thing, but digital cameras would not leave any room for doubt should evidence be needed.

It might have seemed like she was being paranoid, but the world was a dangerous place. Trying to be as safe as possible was just using common sense. Taking all of those things into account, one location ended up coming up head and shoulders above the rest. A tiny restaurant called Chardays. It was family owned, and cozy. Eve had eaten there plenty of times. The meals there were not cheap, but at the same time, they were not the slop that was sold in some of the restaurants that operated despite the fact that they had all kinds of health code violations. 

Despite being affordable, the food was top quality, and filling. Nothing at all like the tiny portions that the restaurants that considered themselves the crème de la crème normally served,(restaurants that Eve had frequented quite a lot as a child and a young adult).

Other women(especially those from her former super rich circles) would not have taken price into account but Eve had. One of the things that she prided herself in, was being able to fend for herself. If the man decided to pay for their meal, then that would be great. If he paid only for himself then she would cover the cost of her own food. 

The freedom of knowing that she could pay for her own meal without having to wait to see if her date would be a gentleman about things was everything to her. After letting Stella know that she would be comfortable having all of the dates at Chardays, and only at Chardays. Eve had turned all of her attention to her work. Not because she was feeling particularly motivated, but because she needed to think of something other than the upcoming dates. So she kept her mind occupied by working on a few projects. 

When she had first begun, her main focus had been producing paintings from whatever inspired her. But for quite a while now, her creativity in that aspect had been lacking. Luckily she found that she not only enjoyed working with other art mediums, but that she was good enough to make a living from them too. 

She just hoped that her mental block when it came to painting would resolve itself and she would be able to produce paintings from the heart.

In the days leading up to the blind dates, Eve completed a lot of orders, all of them very different. She went through garage sales, and storage lockers until she found an antique cupboard for an old woman. All that she had to do was bring it back to life. She ended up making quite a bit of money from that.

For another client she ended upusing old wood and a broken mirror to create a new piece. 

For another customer who was looking for something unique to hang in her bathroom, she made a dream catcher with sea shells for a frame. 

Those were the little things that she did to pass the time. All the while trying to look for inspiration to spark her painting again( but like all of the other times, she was still unsuccessful).It was very demanding to be a business woman who focused on several forms of art in order to earn a living. But Eve would not have had it any other way.

In the days it took for the arrival of her first blind date, she was very grateful for her busy schedule. It kept her mind off what was to come. Keeping her hands busy meant that she did not have to slip into panic mode.

She was going on a date. It was as simple as that. 

Adults went on dates, and she was an adult. Never mind that she had not gone out with anyone since that good-for-nothing ex of hers had broken her heart like it was a twig. The vile man trying to crush her soul in the process. The part of her that still felt all of the pain that her ex had put her through, like it was a brand on her soul, wanted nothing to do with the whole thing. In fact, it was the very same part that had encouraged her to swear off dating ever since the breakup. 

Eve would have very gladly continued listening to it, but unfortunately for her, that was no longer an option. Her best friend was involved now, and if Eve tried to crawl back into her no-dating- hole. Stella would drag her out kicking and screaming. The other woman would not let her retreat into her shell. Eve knew her friend and if there was one thing that Stella was, it was tenacious. That woman had the stubbornness of a pit bull with an iron jaw when it came to defending something that she believed in. And for the moment, Stella really believed that Eve going out there and dating again. Meeting new people, and forming connections would be what was best for her. Never mind that Eve did not want any part of that, Stella was now invested and she would not be backing down.

Like it or not, Eve was going on a blind date and if it did not go well, there were many more that would come after it. Just thinking of going out and meeting ten strangers made her want to go to bed and never leave. But rather than going into the whole thing with the air of somebody who was heading towards their doom, she decided to shift her focus. To look at it as something that was a challenge. A fun thing for her to do before she went back to living her ordinary, very single life. A life here she did not have to worry about someone breaking her heart while she was busy trying to build a future with them.

But before she could go back to that wonderful state of not having to be considered as part of a duo. Eve would have to endure the dating life once more. She had been away from it ever since her ex had tried to crush her. Turning her into a person that she barely recognized for his own amusement. But now that she was going back into the lion's den she would make sure that she at least enjoyed some part of it. She could not control the type of date that she would be having, since she had no idea who she would even be meeting. But she could control things like her fashion sense. 

So with hours to go before her date Eve was in her bedroom staring at an array of clothes spread out on the bed. She had been at it for hours trying to pick the perfect outfit. Not doing it to impress the stranger that she would be meeting. But just because she enjoyed looking good and she was going to take the opportunity to do just that, she ended up going for a red dress. It was formal enough but also had a flair of being casual to it. Not only that, it went nicely with the star-shaped earrings that she had made when she had been feeling particularly crafty. 

The stones in the earrings were recycled glass instead of actual gemstones. No doubt her mother would have a heart attack if she knew that Eve now wore jewellery with fake rocks. But Eve loved the way that they caught the light. Bending it this way and that, each stone twinkling like it was made of light. The star shaped earrings really did compliment the red dress in a spectacular way. Holding the garment in front of her as she twirled before the mirror. Eve came to a stop and grabbed one earring and put it up to her ear. Loving the way that she looked. Whatever happened during the blind date, she would be looking stunning.

The smile that she gave herself in the mirror was a brittle one. Towards the end of her relationship with her ex, he had not liked her dressing up. Always insisting that she go for more modest clothing.

Just the thought of meeting up with someone like that again had her mood souring. What if her date was exactly like Gunther. Charming at first, but a monster behind closed doors.

Looking back at her reflection, Eve felt her good mood vanish.

She could not do this.

She had to come up with an excuse to give Stella so that she did not have to go.

Dating was just too risky.