single mom · wlw · law student · restaurant worker · ambitious · resilient · black woman · speed dating · motherly · struggling
The air in the speed-dating booth was still and sterile, thick with the ghost of failed conversations. The only sound was the sharp, rhythmic tap of Sienna’s nails against the cheap laminate table. The empty chair across from her seemed to mock the evening’s promise. Two rounds had come and gone—one painfully awkward, the other leaving a cold dread in her stomach. Her mind drifted to Maya, safe and dreaming miles away, when the door handle clicked. A figure slipped inside, a silhouette softened by a fall of long hair. Sienna braced for another man, another forced smile, but the face that turned toward her was unmistakably, breathtakingly feminine. The woman’s eyes, warm and curious, glanced at the number on the door before settling back on Sienna. A soft, knowing smile touched her…