WILL S.: 25 / business analyst
WHEN HE IS HAPPIEST: After a long run (but not during)
FIRST THING PEOPLE NOTICE IN HIS HOME: Thirsty houseplants
ERIC W.: 21 / flight attendant
WHEN HE IS HAPPIEST: Traveling to somewhere new
HIS INTERESTS: Hiking, discussing politics, good eats
6:30 P.M. FACCIA A FACCIA, BACK BAY
CLEAR RUNWAY
Will I went for a run to clear my head, had a glass of wine with friends in the Back Bay Fens, and then walked over to the restaurant.
Eric I listened to SZA and had a glass of wine to calm my nerves.
Will I didn’t feel jittery at all! Something about going in with zero context about my date was refreshing.
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Eric I was definitely nervous, but mainly excited. This was only the second date I’ve ever been on.
Will I arrived right on time and he was already at the table. He was cute and well dressed.
Eric He was really cute. I was relieved to be attracted to him.
HIGH ALTITUDE
Will He is relatively new to the city and moved from Virginia. I’m from the Boston area, so I shared some of my favorite summer activities. We definitely shared an interest in hiking and going to the beach.
Eric He works for a travel agency and likes to travel.
Will He is a flight attendant for a major airline and has traveled all over the world. Since I also work in the travel industry, we had a lot to talk about. We listed all the countries we had been to and discussed some recent trips we had taken (he had gone to Japan recently, I had gone to Switzerland). He is four years younger than me, but he was mature and we could relate to each other since we’re both working and out of school.
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Eric We got the fried stuffed olives, whipped ricotta, and tortellini with peas. It was all pretty good. I appreciated that he was polite to the staff.
Will We both agreed the stuffed olives were amazing and very unique. As a main we split the artichoke cappelletti.
Eric I really noticed how great his smile is. He was just easy to converse with and seemed like an overall good person.
Will I felt comfortable with him and the conversation flowed nicely. As the night went on (and we ordered more drinks), I could see his sense of humor come out more.
Eric The foundation for feelings is there. I don’t tend to develop feelings until I really know someone. He seemed genuine and interested.
SMOOTH LANDING
Will We discovered that there was a speakeasy-style bar in the basement of the restaurant, and after we paid he suggested we go check it out for a nightcap. I was happy to agree. I got a rosa negroni and he got a mezcal on the rocks.
Eric The date was going on four hours and I was starting to get hiccups from drinking, so I was ready to go.
Will I walked with him to the T stop. We agreed that we’d both be willing to hang out again at some point. We hugged goodnight when we got to the station.
Eric We had a good time, but I’m not sure that there’s a connection.
SECOND DATE?
Will I’d be interested in hanging out again. I thought we had a great time.
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Eric I hope so.
POST-MORTEM
Will / A
Eric / A
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