Reese stood in front of her white-bordered dressing mirror. She had to admit that she looked like quite a dish in her royal purple dress. It had two modest straps that lead to a satin bodice that hugged her slim body and then billowed at the hips to a gloriously simply, but elegant skirt. Hell, she looked good enough to eat, but it was probably the lotion that Bethany had suggested. It came out in a rich and silky cream form and when she applied it liberally to her body, she smelled like vanilla pudding all dressed in purple. She had almost been tempted to lick her arm, but refrained with great restraint.

"Well don’t you look as pretty as picture," Bethany cooed bringing in three long stemmed wineglasses along with a bottle of wine. Reese, to put it bluntly, was stupid when it came to good and bad wine. They all looked the same, either red or white. So when it came down to picking one or the other, she usually picked whichever one had the prettiest label.

"Wow Reese, you’re going to knock this Gary guy dead," Allison smiled following Bethany with a plate of grapes and cheese.

Reese looked with puzzlement at the girls. They must have gone to the grocery store while she was getting ready because there was no way in the world that stuff had come out of her refrigerator. She was a single woman living on Chef Boyardee, Twinkies, green olives, coffee, and coconut rum. And Bethany told her that she had no taste?

"There’s no way I can eat," Reese replied looking at the piece of cheese Allison had just picked up and put in her mouth, savoring the sharp taste of the cheddar.

"Well then let’s weight the options," Bethany stated setting one wineglass down while putting the other two in her hands as if she was a scale. "Either you eat this light meal with us now and then eat light later with Gary, or you eat like a pig at dinner making Gary think you are some pauper writer who can’t even afford to eat and risk the possibility of throwing up either from nerves or drinking too much wine with your food," Bethany hissed looking at Reese holding out a glass. "Pick your fate."

Reese’s eyes narrowed as she took the glass, "You can be such a bitch."

"Not ‘a bitch’," Bethany corrected, "THE bitch." She poured the wine in the glasses. The shimmery white liquid falling in a circular motion as it hit the bottom of the glass.

"I’ll give a toast to that," Allison replied picking up another cracker while holding up her glass full of wine.

"Can you talk without your mouth full?" Bethany stated in distaste.

Allison smirking stuffed the whole rest of the cracker in her mouth and then replied, "Yes Ms. Manners, anything else?"

Bethany hissed again, rolling her eyes and for a second Reese thought that the man stealing wars were going to outbreak again. "How about a toast to hoping my date is not horrible?" Reese replied, her brown eyes looking to her friends in a hopeful smile.

"To your sex drive getting satisfied," Bethany smiled holding up her glass for the ‘clink’ of glasses.

"And if you ditch him, may you give me his number," Allison added, making the toast official and for the first time that night Reese finally felt at home in her own skin.

Taking Bethany’s advice, Reese decided against bringing her car. She didn’t want to bruise this Gary guy’s ego by bringing her Toyota Celica around. Men were such fragile creatures, Reese thought as she settled in the back of a Yellow Cab taxi. The driver was friendly, but didn’t try to make mindless chatter, which Reese was thankful for. Butterflies were beating around in the pit of her stomach and she thought that she was going to be sick right here in the taxicab on the green carpeting. Wouldn’t that make for good reading in Rose’s Red? Her knock-out heroine character with red, no, strawberry blonde hair clustered in a million little curls retching in the back of a raunchy taxi while the driver holds her oh so carefully creating sparks that would light a fire for years to come. Donna, her editor, would just love that. She’d love is so much that she’d give Reese a pretty little pink slip that would match her pretty Pristine Pearl lipstick and send her on her pretty little way. Hell, maybe she could get a job at one of those dirty magazine offices. Stick enough "tits" and "dicks" in a story and you’ve got a hit.

The idea just didn’t sit well with Reese even if it was a fantasy. She didn’t like the way people slanged out body parts. She felt sex was a sanctuary even if some, Reese thought picturing Bethany, had a high visiting rate. Reese toyed with some of the fallen curls that had come loose from the elegant bun crowning her head as the taxi driver pulled up on the curb of the restaurant causing the car to do a boot scooting shuffle and Reese’s head to go say hello to the sound of her skull hitting on the window.

She let out a groan and immediately touched her fingers to the side of her head. "Miss I am so sorry!" The driver immediately started in, but Reese held up her hand. She just didn’t want to hear it. His driving had spoken for itself.

"What do I owe you?" She questioned fishing out her purse and looking at the taximeter.

"For the injury how about a 5 dollar discount?" He suggested a smile broadening his forty something cracked lips.

Reese’s brown eyes narrowed to his smile. She had seen that smile too many times before. Speaking of wicked little ideas that would make her mother roll fifty times over in her grave. She had the nerve to call up Allison and slap a 5 dollar discount lawsuit on him for giving her a headache, but decided to just leave it where it laid. She didn’t bother subtracting the five dollars. Instead she handed him the total and then left without a word. The ride was over, and now it was on to greener pastures and his name was Gary.

Reese entered the restaurant and she immediately felt like an idiot. She didn’t know why she was here, on a blind date no less smelling like a wedding cake. Her mocha lips pursed in a smile as her brown eyes scanned the sitting area and then landed on the hostess, "Hello, I’m suppose to meet someone here. His name is Gary."

The hostess who was a twenty something blonde with killer legs and slanted eyes immediately scanned the appointment book, her finger trailing over the names written in black ink. "You here on a first date?" The hostess asked and that drew Reese’s head back to Earth.

"Yes," She replied looking to the girls name tag fashioned in gold letters and spelling out Katie, "How did you know?"

"You didn’t use his last name," Katie replied a secretive smile registering on her lips. "Most women that come here flaunt their dates last name like a pocket full of hundreds. You know what they say, a man’s name is the richest treasure that they can have." Her finger then paused on a name, "Well the only other Gary that we have tonight is Gary Caulley because I don’t think you’re the type to go for the ninety something old coot billionaire," She beamed and then beckoned her with a motion of her hand, "Follow me." Reese smirked as she was led to her doom.