A Walk in the Park? (BD)

[chase]

The closer he got to the botanical gardens, the more Chase wondered whether this blind date was a good idea. His friends had mostly encouraged him, probably in an effort to help him forget about Lenore and the related drama he'd been through in the recent months. He had never mentioned what had happened to his family and the friends who had not been there, but apparently he'd begun acting oddly, so much so that anyone who knew him would tell. Maybe it was a good thing that so many people were paying attention to him, but it made Chase feel smothered and uncomfortable.

Here, he was hoping for a fresh start. The blind date, he had been told, was with someone he'd never met. Hopefully she wouldn't be quick to judge him and realize he was a complete lunatic. He wasn't sure he could take that sort of stuff anymore.

Chase was waiting at the gate, where he had already bought tickets into the garden for himself and the blind date. Originally, he had planned to have the date at Central Park; he wasn't exactly made of money. But the tickets were half off, so he'd sprung for them. He hoped his date would enjoy the tours, and he thought it would be a nice escape for himself.

His eyes scanned the small evening crowd for anyone who looked as confused and apprehensive as he felt. Sure, he probably looked awkward and out of place, but, well, he didn't notice if he did. He was too nervous to pay much attention to the passersby.

[georgie]

A blind date? Meg Giry had never been on one and it sounded like fun. She had rehearsal all day but as soon as it was over, she quickly went to the change from her rehearsal clothes to a dark blue knit dress, black leggings, white sweater, black knit beret and black converse. She pulled her curls out of their bun and quickly braided it to the side. When she was sure she looked nice, she headed off, pulling her tan messenger bag across her thin body, where it hung down slightly past her hip. To say she was nervous would have been an understatement. She was scared. She'd never really been on a date before. What did one do on one?

Of course, Meg knew what they'd be doing on this one. She and her date would be taking a walk in the Botanical Garden. She'd ever been there so she was rather excited, but still nervous about meeting her date. She hoped he would be nice and wouldn't mind her French, which most people who found her accent adorible. She hopped on the subway at Lincoln Center, where the ballet was located, and headed to Brooklyn where the Gardens were located.

Meg made her way to the entrance slowly, looking around for an guy by themselves, maybe looking at a piece of paper too. Well, the entrance was just full of people going right in...except one guy. Well, this must be him... she thought as she took a deep breath and headed over there. "Bonjour...er..hi." she said, blushing a bit as her French slipped out, "I'm Meg..." She looked out of place and totally out of her element.

[chase]

As usual, Chase's mind had been wandering even as he was supposed to be looking out for his date, so when a young woman walked up to him and greeted him, he jumped a little. then he remembered where he was and why he was there. Botanical Gardens, blind date. Check, check. He gave the young woman a smile, while casually running a hand through his hair to push some locks out of his face.

"Bonjour," Chase answered, not pronouncing the French word exactly right, but better than most Americans did. He wondered if she was French, or had just happened to study the language a little like he had. "I'm Chase. I guess we're both here for the blind date."

He offered Meg his arm. It was a nice, classical sort of gesture, the kind Lenore had always liked. It had been forever since Chase had been on a date, and he was fully expecting to mess this one up. It was only a matter of time; maybe he could stall the inevitable. "So, have you been here before?" he asked Meg as they headed into the gardens.

[georgie]

"Bonjour," Meg smiled a bit. His French wasn't perfect but it was better than most than she'd encountered. "Ah, Parlez-vous français?" she asked, in her soft tone, before translating herself, her French accent very lightly brushing her words, "You speak French?" Her fingers played with the end of her side braid, which reached halfway down her forearm in length, almost nervously. She'd never really been on a date before, let alone a blind one. Why it was even called one she didn't even know? She wasn't blind and he didn't seem so....

"I'm Chase." "Pleased to meet you, Chase." she told him, her smile spreading into a soft, friendly grin. "I guess we're both here for the blind date." "I guess so." she said softly, "Can't say I've ever done one of these before..." she blushed a bit as she admitted that.

Meg's blush turned bright red when he offered her his arm. No gentleman ever offered his arm to ballet rats like herself... She had to remind herself that she wasn't a ballet rat anymore, but a principle dancer at the New York City ballet. She took his arm as he blush started to fade away. He spoke as they headed into the gardens."So, have you been here before?" She shook her head. "Unfortunately, no," she told him, "I haven't...I'm afraid I usually spend my time down in Lincoln Center..." She smiled shyly. "What of you?" she then asked, "Have you ever been here?"

[chase]

Really, Chase should have known better than to start off in French. He didn't know enough of the language to make the sort of conversation a blind date probably required. At least Meg didn't assume he was fluent or anything.

"Ah, Parlez-vous français? You speak French?"

"A little. I studied French in school." He gave her a smile, noticing how she absently played with her long braid of hair. Nervous habit?

They exchanged pleasantries and such, and she admitted to having not done "one of these before." Chase took that to mean that she had never been on a blind date, not a date, period. Either way, he didn't mind. "Me neither," he answered a little shyly.

They began to walk into the gardens, arms linked. Chase thought it was a nice start to the date. Meg told him about spending most of her time at Lincoln Center. "What of you? Have you ever been here?"

"I've been here a few times," he answered. "Not really on dates, though." Well, technically, he and Lenore had visited the botanical gardens plenty of times, but they had been going steady then and the visits had always been spontaneous, so could they be considered dates? "It's really nice, I hope you enjoy it," he added.

He looked around at the scenery a bit. It was nearing spring, and many of the flowers and trees were beginning to bloom. "What do you do at the Lincoln Center?" he asked, looking at Meg. "If you don't mind my asking, I mean."

[georgie]

"A little. I studied French in school." "A lot of people do that here, don't they?" she asked softly, "Study French I mean. I never really studied it. French is my first language." "Me neither," She smiled shyly at him. At least I'm not alone on that front... She couldn't keep a light pink blush from her cheeks as she walked with him into the gardens. He was such a gentleman and even though she danced at an opera house her whole life, the gentlemen never talked to the ballet rats.

"I've been here a few times, Not really on dates, though." "Can I be honest?" she said, softly, "This is my first date...so sorry if I'm rubbish at this..." A crimson blush painted her cheeks. "It's really nice, I hope you enjoy it," "I'm sure I will." she said with a light smile, "I often when to the gardens in Paris, when I wasn't too busy."

"What do you do at the Lincoln Center? If you don't mind my asking, I mean." Miss Giry blushed crimson, as she always did when someone asked her what she did. "I don't mind." she told him, "I'm a principle ballerina at the New York City Ballet...before that I was a member of the ballet chorus at the Paris Opera House." She smiled a bit softly. "What do you do?" she then asked.

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[chase]

It was odd, the sorts of things you never thought about until someone pointed them out. When Chase mentioned having studied French in school, Meg replied that she had never studied it, as French was her first language. Chase gave her a smile when she said that, the most relaxed smile he had made so far. Though she was softspoken, Meg was really easy to talk to.

"That's a good point. I never studied English really, except vocabulary and stuff. Maybe learning pronunciation would have been better," he said, meaning the last part as a self-deprecating joke.

They were walking among brilliant, unique flowers and plant species, but Chase found he was more interested in what Meg had to say than he was in looking at the plant life, though the garden did provide an excellent backdrop. Her admission that this was her first date surprised Chase, totally blew him away. "Really?" he asked, sounding surprised, before going on to explain, "I mean, I guess I assume all the beautiful girls date a lot. I mean...." He wasn't sure how to phrase exactly what he meant, so he figured he was better off shutting up. Not that he did. "I mean, I'm sure you won't be rubbish. Don't worry about it.'

She mentioned the gardens in Paris. "Paris sounds beautiful," he commented, having never been there. He wanted to travel the world, though. He and Lenore had always dreamed of traveling. Then she told him about her work, which really impressed him, and it showed in the smile he gave her. Chase was fairly familiar with all the arts, so he understood that being a principal ballerina was a pretty big deal. "That's amazing. I'll have to go see you dance sometime," he remarked before answering her question. "Me, I'm just a student. And a teacher's assistant. I study classics at NYU."

He thought she was far more interesting to talk about than he was, so he asked another question. "So, I guess you grew up in Paris? What was that like?" he asked.