The Loser Had a Date

The Complete and Total Loser had a date last night -- his first in years -- and it went surprisingly well. Nice woman, nice looking, funny. She chose the restaurant, which was more expensive than the Loser usually frequents (French, and the waitress was French; he should have paid in Euros), but he can swing it these days. 

Years ago, it was common for strangers to sniff flowers worn by young girls.

He remembered to smile, to listen to her when she talked and to mirror her body language, like the advice books say (what they don't say is how do you do that when her body language is unmistakably feminine and you want to maintain your maleness?).  
They spent three hours together and there were no awkward pauses. Few, anyway, and none stuck. They even lightly kissed each others' cheeks when parting.
The Loser was home in time to watch the last half hour of the debate.
Wish the Loser luck on this. There's an outside chance it may work out and he may stop whining for once in his life.

The economy is still bad enough that even people who spend much money on hair care have to share beverages when on dates.