Who is Adriana?

You blink twice as you spot the girl bearing the name tag ‘Adriana.’ Her long brown hair sweeps down the side of her left shoulder, naked and seductive with the grey strapless top that she has on. She regards you with cool eyes, thick eyeshadow making her gaze seem all the more penetrating as you approach one another. All in all, she looks more model than regular human.

Adriana

She stands by her seat, waiting for you to take yours before she sits. Her back is ramrod straight, hands neatly folded on her lap, and she continues to gaze at you, waiting for you to make the first move. This encounter, even more so than the others you’ve had today, feels like something of a chess game, or a test.

“I feel like I’ve seen you around before. At a party, maybe? I couldn’t possibly forget a face as pretty as yours,” you say.

“Small wonder that I don’t recognise you then,” she says, and you’re left stunned for a brief moment. This is a speed-dating session and not a roast, right? Nonetheless, the acerbic comment does spark a memory, and you suddenly recall where you’ve seen her before.

“You’re one of the ChiO girls, right? You were at that mixer,” you say.

“Oh, congratulations on not having alzheimers,” she says. “It figures that you would be here. The other ChiO girls were too hard to chase, were they?” It’s not clear who is meant to benefit from the aggression, but you figure that turning the posturing back on her has to be your best bet.

“Hey, you’re here for a reason too, and I think we both know what that is,” you say. She tips her head slightly, the hint of a frown crossing her face, when you continue: “It’s because the free dinner was pretty fucking good.”

“Poor and ****, that’s not a good look,” she says, looking off to the side at Vishal, who seems to be having a good time with Amy.

“She’s not usually this inept at… life,” you say, glancing at Amy, who seems to be making a bit of a fool of herself in front of Vishal.

“I was talking about you, not her,” Adriana says.

“And I was talking about you, not her,” comes your quick response that leaves her staring, dumbfounded. “Come on, you are here for a reason. You may as well give a guy a shot.”

“You’re really trying hard at this aren’t you,” she says, but the curl at the edge of her lip lets you know that you’ve got an opening—something that you sense may be a rarity.

Adriana +5