forward to my date with Mark. I’d never been on a helicopter before, and though I’d been to some of the tourist sites in New York City, I’d never been to the Statue of Liberty. It was really quite a treat for me to be able to go on a helicopter ride around the Statue of Liberty and the island of Manhattan. In fact, it was a pretty baller date. I felt like I was flying high in the world of New York City dating. I felt like I was one of the women on Million Dollar Matchmaker, only I wasn’t competing with fifty other women. I was still feeling positive and upbeat after my date with Lucas. It had gone really well. And the fact that he’d already messaged me made me feel amazing. I felt like I was a woman on fire; in the best sense of the phrase. I felt like I was flying high and that nothing could go wrong in my life. My first date had been handsome and fun and he was interested in me as well. Lucas had given me the boost of confidence I needed. I always tried to portray confidence in myself and my looks, but I always had doubts and uncertainties. I’d been rejected so many times in the past that I’d often wondered if it was because I wasn’t pretty enough or smart enough. Not that I would let many people see my insecurities. I didn’t want to appear weak in front of anyone. The only person that really seemed to know the real me was Sarah. And she did everything she could to support me and remind me that I was good enough. She was pretty much the best friend a girl could have.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror and I smiled. I knew I looked good today. I was wearing my favorite pair of blue skinny jeans, a white linen V-neck, and my hair hung in a long ponytail. I was wearing soft pink lipstick that accentuated the plumpness of my lips. My eyes seemed greener than normal thanks to my dark mascara and a light touch of gold eye shadow. I quickly sprayed some of my favorite perfume on my wrists and then hurried out of the bathroom toward my front door.
Mark was meeting me at a little cafe in the Lower East Side. He wanted to grab a glass of wine before we headed to the helicopter and frankly I was really excited beyond measure. I loved wine and it would give us a chance to chat and get to know each other before we played tourist. I was excited about my first ever helicopter ride and I was excited to get to know another potential mate. I listened to some rap music as I walked toward my date, pumping myself up as I rapped along to some old-school Biggie. I made it to the cafe in about fifteen minutes, took a deep breath and then walked in. I looked around and immediately I saw a man I recognized to be Mark. As I walked toward him, he looked at me and his jaw dropped. I couldn’t tell if he was impressed by my looks, but I had to admit I was slightly disappointed. He didn’t look as handsome as he had in his photo, but I didn’t want to judge him based on looks. There was something to be said about personality and being a good person. And I knew that at the end of the day, that was more important to me.
“Hey there, Jennifer?” I could see sweat pouring down Mark’s forehead and I tried not to show my disgust.
“Hi, Mark, is it?” I gave him my widest smile as if to say I’m a nice person, I give everyone a chance.
“Yeah, what’s up Jennifer? How are you doing?”
“It’s actually, Gemma.” I wasn’t going to get an attitude. It was easy to mess up a name for someone you didn’t know.
“Yeah, that’s what I said, Jennifer.” He had a slight attitude and I could feel my anxiety growing.
“No, not Jennifer. Gemma as in G-E-M-M-A.”
“Okay, then that’s a different name, isn’t it? Where are you from, Arkansas?”
“Sorry, what?” I looked at him in confusion. Why did he think I was from Arkansas?
“Did you not understand me, Jennifer? I said, are you from, Arkansas?”
“I just told you my name is Gemma and I don’t understand why you think I’m from Arkansas. Do I