I find a seat towards the back of the diner, half hoping that I'll be able to avoid this thing altogether. Sadly, that doesn't happen and my blind date finds me.

I actually have to do a double take because, damn if he isn't nice to look at. His dirty blond hair falls slightly into his light brown eyes and his smile actually has my heart stuttering.

"Hey, Kathryn." He said and It takes me a moment to actually find my voice. I clear my throat, not too ladylike as I say,

"Oh, um, yeah, that'd be me and you are?" He raises an eyebrow like he's confused that I don't already know his name. He lets it go after a second and says,

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

I nod at that 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.

"So, have you ever been here before?" Greg asked, drawing my attention from the menu.

"Oh, yeah all the time. I live right down the street which is why my best friend Mariah chose this place. 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.

Thankfully, Greg just finds my ramblings amusing. He closes the menu he'd had open and leans forward onto his hands.

"So, you do this often?" He asked and I blush at his intense stare. I close my own menu and unconsciously play with 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 at that.

"Care to enlighten me?"

I smile and shake my head.

"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 and Greg's smile just seems to widen as he asks,

"So, this is a blind date for you? Is that why you haven't approached me at all at school?"

I raise an eyebrow at this, confused and surprised. Of course, this is a blind date for me. No one's ever asked me out directly, though I suspect that's because of Mariah.

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

"No, I approached Mariah and asked her about setting up a date since I've been interested in you for a while." He said it so bluntly that I'm shocked. My face heats up in embarrassment and, a moment later, Greg's face turns bright red as well. Our eyes meet and I say,

"Wait, why are you blushing?"

"I don't know, it just kind of happened." He's as flustered as I feel and a second later we're both bursting into laughter at our ridiculous we must look in the other's eyes. The nerves I'd been feeling about the blind date start disappearing as we both begin relaxing.

"Just so you know, I had no idea about this until this morning. Mariah came and woke me up at seven." I groan as I remember the terrible way in which she woke me up, too. A chill runs up my spine. "That was terrible. I hate waking up early."

"Really?"

I nod and Greg's smile just widens which has my cheeks heating up even more.

"Yeah, at least I do when it's not a school day. I enjoy sleeping in if I can." I'm surprised to find Greg so interested in learning more about me. Previous dates I'd been on, the guy wasn't all that interested, with the exception of number one. We talk about stupid and random things, going back and forth and learning more about the other.

"So, how many blind dates have you been on?"

"You make the seventh."

"And none of them have worked out?"

I shake my head and Greg gets his smile back.

"Then I guess I better be different."

I enjoy his cockiness and raise a questioning brow.

"You think you can?" I asked and he hears the challenge in my voice.

"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."

His smile only grows wider as the waitress writes it down and then hurries off to go help her other customers.

"So what's number seven?"

I shrug.

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

Greg leans back in his seat, resting his hands behind his head, a Cheshire grin upturning his mouth.

"Guess so, Kat."

My cheeks warm at the way he says my nickname.

"Guess so, seven."

Greg just raises an eyebrow at that but doesn't say anything about it. Instead, he launches into asking me about my previous blind dates. I'm actually baffled by it, 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. We 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. Slightly 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 a 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'd know if it turned out well."

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

"Yeah, I have. Number one was a pretty great guy." I look back down at my lava cake and take a slice of 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."

Story number four complete! So, what did you think of Kat and Greg? I think this one is a nice and sweet change of pace from the heavier stories in the first two which is why I enjoyed writing this one. There's such a light atmosphere revolving around it which made me fall in love with the characters. If you enjoyed, don't forget to vote and leave a comment below! Until the next story, Bookoholic's!