LAURA:

Sat in her car looking at the restaurant, her future depended on whether or not this meeting went well. It wasn’t even that they had a choice either, but if it went well maybe, jut maybe the three years they were to be married wouldn’t just stop there. If it went poorly though, like Laura was terrified it would, the next few years of her life would be hell. The brunette took out a compact mirror and checked her makeup before getting out of her car with a sigh. Her stomach was full of butterflies and while she knew that once she got in there her nerves would calm down some, it wasn’t for certain.

Quickly, she made her way inside and spoke to the Maitre’d about her reservation and was led to the table. She spotted Alex immediately. He was taller than she remembered, and his hair was longer. He looked good, which only made her even more nervous. Letting out a silent nervous sigh, she offered the Maitre’d a small smile and moved to sit - only to have Alex pull out the chair she had been aiming for. “Oh, well thank you.” She stated, cheeks flushing slightly.

It had been years since someone had pulled out a chair for her, so it was both unexpected and welcome. “Have you been waiting long?”

ALEX:

"Not that long," he assured her as he sat down, taking some time to let the craziness of the whole situation sink in for a second. This was the woman he was supposed to marry within the next few months and to stay married for at least three years, and he literally knew nothing about her other than what they talked about during the small conversation they had.

Alex took a deep breath as he tried to calm down his nerves, smoothing out any wrinklings of his button-down as he waited for Laura to arrive. As usual, he arrived far too early, but gladfully they had the table he had reserved for them ready already, so the Maitre D' had shown him to their table. To say he was slightly nervous was an understatement, his heart was racing as he made his way into the restaurant. It had been years since Alex went out to dinner with anyone who wasn't Mel, and even though this wasn't a date, just dinner so Alex could get to know Laura better, he still wanted to make a good first impression. He wasn't even sure what to think about this whole marriage law or whatever it was that had matched them together, all he knew was that he wanted to get to know Laura, and hopefully -or was that merely wishful thinking from his part- become friends with her before they were forced to marry.