Brenna “Brandy” Kane stood staring at herself in the mirror. Frowning as she gave the woman that was reflected back at her a critical look. She saw the same long face with a rounded jaw, a flat broad nose, and chubby cheeks, but some of the baby fat had been trimmed away revealing a bit more of the bone structure beneath. Making her face look more angular and sleek.

She was still petite, having never managed to break past 5’3, and having actually lost two inches and fallen back down to 5’1 during a major body refinement breakthrough, a few months ago. However, there was a solidness there that hadn’t been present before. Her slender build was now reinforced by a mixture of luxurious curvature and rock-hard musculature. There was a grace and steadiness to her stance and posture, where there’d only been uncertainty before.

A bit of makeup was used to make her milky skin and large light-blue eyes stand out more. She’d tried to do something with her mid-length red hair, having one of the beautician-pawns style it, in a kind of wild and wavy, semi-curled, uneven bob. She wore a nice gray and purple blouse. A navy blue sweater, and a perfect pair of black jeans that sat snuggly on her hips and legs, without being overly tight and restricting her movement. Last, but not least, was a favored pair of comfortable ankle-high boots with heels that gave her an additional two inches of height.

“Okay…I guess that looks okay…This is okay…Ugh, shit…Alright, let’s go. Whatever,” said Brandy. Breathing deeply and slowly to keep herself calm.

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Brandy had a date. It wasn’t the first state she’d gone on, since she’d decided to start dating. It wasn’t even the tenth. It was maybe the twelfth, or the fifteenth. A varied mixture of men and women from various walks of life. Some of those people were met online, some of the people were met through community events, a couple like tonight’s date that were met through friends. She didn’t date very often, but every now and again, Brandy would try to find her…someone. It never got very serious, only four or five, out of the dozen or so that she’d dated throughout the years, had gone past one or two dates.

There was something almost ritual-like about it all. These dates “were” something Brandy did for fun, but they were also something she sometimes felt compelled to do, to put to rest certain subtly negative feelings that she’d feel rising up inside her. Feelings of obsession and frustration that she didn’t quite understand, or perhaps was refusing to understand. Brandy wasn’t sure, her mind just pushed those thoughts to the same place where she locked up all her other forbidden thoughts.

“Oh, you look nice,” said Josephine. Pausing as she passed by Brandy while on her way to one of their home’s immersive theaters, a massive bowl of candy, popcorn, and various under treats was tucked under Josephine’s arm.

“Heh, uh…Thanks…You don’t think it’s a bit much, right?” Brandy. Blushing. Tucking a fly-away lock of hair behind her ear.

“Nah, I’d say you’re looking supah pretty, doll-face,” said Josephine.

“Thanks,” said Brandy.

The two women went their separate ways. Brandy found herself walking with a bit more confidence as she headed out the front door of the house and was teleported to the venue where tonight’s activities would be taking place.

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Brandy appeared on the streets outside a tapas bar. It was the perfect place for a casual date. Light, fried, and grilled snacks. Decent drinks. Nice atmosphere. She’d scoped the place out prior to the date, based on advice from her friend Nala. The decor was a bit garish, and the purple neon lighting was a bit hard on the eyes, but that was a problem shared by a lot of the places in Coron-Glaw's nightlife district.

“Hey, have you been waiting long?” said a voice, at Brandy’s back.

“Hm? Oh, no. I just got here,” said Brandy. Smiling lightly. Happy that the expanded range of her spiritual senses kept her from getting snuck up on by, and thus startled by, people. It made it much easier to keep her cool, and pretend that she actually had some chill.

“Oh, good…Ah, I guess we should go in then,” said the man.

“Heh, I suppose so,” said Brandy. Focusing on trying not to be robotic, because she often tended to tense up during these first meetings.

Six-foot-seven. Solidly built, with a nice layer of chiseled musculature rising beneath his creamy brown skin. A nice face, round with a pointed chin, and a stubby nose. Droopy hazel eyes, and upturned angular eyebrows, that made him seem low-energy and relaxed, and angled lips that currently sat in a lazy half-smile. Perry Odom was one of Nala’s cousins.

According to her the guy had been working in Eumelia until recently, and he’d generally used to move around a lot, but not he’d moved to Oskar and taken a more settled position within the Odom clan’s businesses. Which meant his family was getting on him to find a nice girl and settle down. Brandy wasn’t so sure about that “settling down” business, she wasn’t looking for anything too serious, but Nala had made a pretty good sales pitch in regards to simply meeting the guy, so here Brandy was.

The two youngsters entered the tapas bar. A waiter came to greet them and seat them, guiding the pair to a table. It seemed the establishment had a good crowd going tonight. Brandy didn’t mind that. Usually, crowds made her nervous, but on dates, there was something about being surrounded by a whole lot of people, and having a lot of distracting stuff going on in the background that set her at ease. Making the experience feel less intimate and less pressuring.

After ordering their first set of drinks and appetizers, it came time for that awkward first part of the date where the two had to feel each other out.

“So, uh…I realized I didn’t really introduce myself out there, I’m Perry. Perry Odom. Nice to meet you,” said Perry.

“Hah…No worries, I wouldn’t have followed you in here if I hadn’t known it was you…Nala showed quite a few pictures while she was trying to sell you up…So I kind of just went along with the flow…I’m assuming Nala did the same for you,” Brandy.

“Oof. Shoulda known…Hopefully, it was only the cool pictures that caught my good side, and made me look handsome,” said Perry. Smiling.

“There might have been a few dorky high-school pics thrown in there, but I thought those looked pretty nice as well,” said Brandy. Inwardly cringing and hoping that didn’t sound creepy.

“Fair enough…In case you were wondering, all the pics that Nala showed me of you were pretty nice as well,” said Perry.

“Aw, shucks…Consider me flattered,” said Brandy.

“So…” said Perry.

“So…” said Brandy. Trying not to panic as the conversation hit a lull.

“Uh, jobs…Jobs are a thing people talk about these kinds of things right?” said Brandy. Quickly thinking of something to keep the conversation going.

“Yeah…hah, that sounds about right…Er, I don’t know how much Nala would have told you, but I used to be in the army, got honorably discharged, and then joined up with a private outfit that focuses on running security for certain well-off individuals and organizations,” said Perry.

“Oh, that sounds interesting…I don’t really have much to say on my end. I’m just a store clerk…Or I think I might technically be like…junior… middle-management now, but my duties at the store have been roughly the same since I was hired so, I don’t know…Anyway, I’m afraid I don’t really have too many fascinating work stories to tell,” said Brandy. Shrugging apologetically.

“Eh, That’s fine, there’s more to life than just work, after all…Not that I’d know, considering how many hours I tend either 'on the job', or in the office,” said Perry. Chuckling.

Around this point, the wait-staff came by with their drinks and food, and between talking about food, talking about Nala, who was their mutual friend and foe for the evening, and talking about the venue, things flowed a lot more easily.

The night eventually came to an end and Perry and Brandy went their separate ways. Shaking hands before saying goodbye. Brandy figured that this particular date had been a positive experience. She hadn’t exactly felt sparks, but she liked Perry enough that she wouldn’t say no to a second date if he decided to call her up, or texted her. Or she’d maybe text him later.