I find a seat towards the back of the diner, half hoping that I'll be able to avoid this thing altogether.

"Hey, Katheryn." My name being spoken draws my eyes from the table and towards the person who'd spoken. A guy stands above me and I find myself doing a double take because, damn if he isn't nice to look at. His dirty blond hair falls into his light brown eyes and his smile has my heart stuttering within my chest. I clear my throat, not too ladylike as I say,

"Oh, um, yeah, that'd be me and you are?" He flashes me a thousand watt smile as he says,

"My names Gregory, though you can just call me Greg."

I nod and motion for him to take the seat across from me. Our waitress comes by a second later and takes our drink order before leaving. We sit in an awkward silence and I hide behind the menu for some type of solace.

"So," Greg starts, drawing my attention away from the menu. "Have you ever been here before?"

"Oh, yeah all the time. I live right down the street which is why my best friend Mariah chose this place, you know. She's the one who set this all up, you know."

Stop talking.

"She likes to play matchmaker, but she chose this in case, you know, the date doesn't go well and I can make a quick escape...you know?"

Have I always said 'you know' so many times? Do I do that?

I mentally kick myself for chattering on like some idiot, but what am I supposed to do. The guy looks like a freaking model while I look like his outside trash. It's a wonder that Mariah chose him for me. Much to my relief, Greg finds my ramblings amusing. He closes the menu he'd had open and leans forward on his elbows.

"So, you do this often?" He asked and I blush at his intense stare. I close my own menu and begin to play with a strand of my hair.

"Not if I can help it. My best friend tends to be..persuasive. She knows how to make me cave."

Greg raises a curious eyebrow as interest comes to life in his enticing eyes. He seems to lean forward another inch.

"Care to enlighten me?"

I smile and shake my head, feeling relief at how easy the conversation seems to be progressing. It's almost as if I'm talking with an old friend and not a blind date.

"Nah, I'd have to kill you if I told you."

He leans back and snaps his fingers like I'd just ruined his night. I can't help but snort because the look on his face is downright adorable.

"So, this was a blind date for you? Is that why you haven't approached me at all at school?" Greg asked and my brows raise up in surprise.

"It wasn't a blind date for you?"

He shakes his head, both of us having been duped it would appear.

"No, I approached Mariah and asked her about setting up a date since I've been interested in you for a while." It takes him a second to realize what he just said and, when he does, his face burns bright with blush. At the mere sight of it, my own flames come to life under my skin.

"Wait, why are you blushing?" I asked, laughter in my voice mixed with nerves.

"I don't know, it just kind of happened." Our gazes clash with one another and after a moment of silence, we burst into laughter.

"Just so you know," I start as I get myself under control. "I had no idea about this until this morning. Mariah came and woke me up at seven." I groan and shudder as I remember this morning. "It was terrible. I hate waking up early in the morning."

Interest shimmers in Greg's eyes as he asks,

"Really?"

"Yeah. At least, I do when it's not a school day. I enjoy sleeping in if I can." I replied, happy that he seems so interested in me. The past dates never did. We talk for a while after that just going back and forth between stupid or random topics like the weather or our future plans until the conversation turns back to blind dates.

"So, how many of them have you been on?"

"You make the seventh," I reply.

"And none of them have worked out?"

I shake my head and Greg gets his smile back. Relief flashes through his eyes and vanishes just as quick as he continues,

"Then I guess I better be different."

I enjoy his cockiness, this time being the one to lean in on my elbows. I raise a single, questioning brow and Greg's smile only seems to grow at it.

"You think you can?"

He hears the challenge in my voice and leans forward right along with me, inches separating us now.

"I know I can."

"What can I get for you today?" The waitress asked as she places our glasses in front of us. I hadn't even noticed her return. I don't break eye contact with Greg as I say,

"Number 7 with a side of french fries." I hand her our menus loving the way Greg's smile only grows wider. The waitress writes it down, takes the menus, and then hurries off to go help her other customers.

"So what's number seven?" He asked and I finally lean back from our little staring competition, waving my hand in the air as I reply,

"Beats me. I guess we're both in for a surprise."

Greg leans back in his own seat, resting his hands behind his head, a Cheshire grin taking over his smile.

"Guess so, Kat."

My cheeks warm at the way he says my nickname.

"Guess so, seven."

Greg just raises an eyebrow at the name but doesn't say anything about it. Instead, he launches into asking me about my previous blind dates. I'm baffled by the topic, but he sounds so much like Mariah, that I fall into a comfortable routine of answering each one.

We laugh at the same things, cringe at the same things, and even make fun of the same, quirky things about each one of my blind dates. The conversation is light and not in the least bit forced. It reminds me of the first blind date I went on with number one, though the conversation with Greg feels a little different and almost more intimate in a way.

I barely notice when our waitress brings our dinner or even when she returns to clear our plates. We continue to stay at our table and even order dessert. I go with the chocolate lava cake while Greg goes for a simple slice of warmed cheesecake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

"So, I've noticed something."

I look up from my plate of absolute deliciousness. I'd just been about to dig in when he'd interrupted me.

"What?"

"You refer to all of your past dates by number. You've even been calling me by seven. Why is that?"

I meet his eyes and I can tell that he's genuinely interested in knowing and it's not like it'll hurt anything to tell him, anyway.

"Things just didn't go well with them. Mariah and I swore we wouldn't refer to them by name because of it. It just makes things easier and, that way, If I ever said one of their names to her after the date, she would know that it turned out well."

Greg looks down at his slice of pie and grows very silent for a few moments. It's unsettling.

"And have you?" He finally asked. "Have you ever referred to one by name before?"

I look up at the ceiling, thoughtful for a moment as I reminisce on each of the dates.

"Yeah, I have. Number one was a pretty great guy." I look back down at my lava cake and take a slice from it. Balancing it on my fork I lean forward and hold it out to him and smile as I say,
"But, you know Greg, you're a really amazing guy."

I hope you enjoyed Greg and Kat's story! If you did and you're not ready for it to end just yet, don't worry because Greg still has his side of the story. Get ready to read how number seven saw things. Also, don't forget to hit that little star button if you enjoyed and drop a comment below with your thoughts on this story. Until next time, Bookoholic's!