First Chapter -- First Paragraph -- Tuesday Intros!

Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros. This week's intro is from MWF seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche:

Friend-Date 1. As I approach the restaurant, there's a girl down the block walking in my direction. I squint to make her out through the January flurries. Average height, brown hair, peacoat. An everygirl. That's got to be her. When I enter the market, the new bar near my office, I do a quick once-over of the area near the hostess. Empty. The peacoat girl was definitely Hannah. Shell walk in the door in about 20 seconds. 19 . 18 . . . . My head starts spinning. When she gets here, do we hug? Or a handshake? Hug is a little familiar for someone I've only met over e-mail. But a handshake is pretty formal for potential buddies meeting for a drink. We did exchange 'I feel like I know you already' emails. And when you know someone, you hug them right? 1 . 10 . 9 . . . . I don't want to be overzealous in my hugging though. Definitely don't want to be that girl. What if I lean in for an embrace as she sticks out her hand for a shake? We'll end up in one of those one-arm-around-each other-half hugs. That already happened to me once this week, with a colleague. Yikes!

She's here. We make eye contact. 'Rachel?' 'Hannah?' She goes right in for the hug. I reciprocate. Flawlessly, I might add. There's no sign I spent the last half-minute rehearsing this in my mind.