Alexandra sat for a moment, admiring the new Women in Business award on her bookshelf. She won it recently for her firm's work with various NGOs in the city. She sighed and turned back to her phone. There was a notification from the dating app.
She was 33, successful, and single. Her career had taken off quickly after university. She got an internship in a prestigious PR firm where she stayed for only a couple of years. Then she decided to take the risk and start her own firm instead. It wasn't long before she had to hire an assistant, and then a consultant, and then more of each. Her services were so in demand they turned away most clients.
Her ambition and long hours interfered in her personal life in so many ways. Alexandra had a close but small group of friends, mostly other professional women in their 30s. Otherwise, she neglected herself in various ways. She stopped eating well and exercising, and her weight went up. She no longer read for pleasure. She hadn't been on a date in a couple of years.
Still, Alexandra was attractive despite it all. She was a natural blonde with pale white skin that freckled in the sun. Her face was symmetrical and most thought she was pretty. She was thick with an hourglass figure. Her ass was wide and voluminous; her breasts almost as full. But given all the stress and lack of care, Alexandra was unhappy with her new belly and all around chubbiness. She stopped taking photos of herself.
After a year locked down during the pandemic, Alexandra decided to shake off the dust in her life. She bought a new wardrobe, a larger size, but at least now she started to feel stylish again. She got her hair and nails done for the first time since 2019.
In a few days she was feeling herself anew, so she took fresh selfies and made an account on the dating app. The matches came flooding in. *Still sexy,* Alexandra thought smugly to herself. She started chatting with a few suitors.
No one was keeping her interest for long. She found many were boring or just gross. Some were fun for a minute before getting weird. She hadn't yet chatted with a guy for more than a week.
The notification was from Gideon. As far as his profile suggested, Gideon was 45, fully vaccinated, and handsome. His photos showed him in good shape and at various trendy places around the city and abroad. All he wrote in his bio was, "I will order for you."
Something about that line made Alexandra stop. *What an outdated thing. Who wants that these days?* An image of being at a bar, and a man ordering her a drink she wouldn't normally have. She wondered what he would order and if she would like it. She thought that could be kind of interesting.
"You would look great sitting across from me at STK this Saturday, 8pm," Gideon wrote her.
Alexandra had never seen that approach on a dating app before. He was confident, prepared, and direct. She was more used to having to do all the planning with men.
"Do I at least get to pick my own meal?"
"Maybe, depending on how high your heels are."
She thought about it for a minute. He seemed almost a little sexist, or at least traditional. She was more the type to go Dutch on dates. But those relationships never lasted. *Maybe I should try something different.*
"Okay, it's a date," she wrote him.
"Wear something pink. See you then."
Alexandra was taken aback. *Wear something pink! Ha. What is this guy's problem?* At the same time, she knew she would have worn her new pink flowery summer dress either way. *Well I'll show up wearing what I want and let him think he chose this outfit.* She chuckled to herself.
Saturday afternoon came, and Alexandra went into her bedroom to get ready for her date with Gideon. She picked out a matching strappy G-string and matching lacy bra. She didn't imagine showing anyone, but she wanted to feel sexy on her first date since the pandemic.
She threw on the pink summer dress and thought of Gideon's request. She gave her shoulder length hair beachy waves. Her makeup was feminine, but understated. She put on a pair of pearl earrings she bought for herself.
