September 21, 2021: Come spend a magical summer evening with G and G
Brave enough to go on a blind date? Take a break from reality and read about a sunset adventure where two students took a chance on a blind date Sept 21st, 2021 in downtown Paso. This date was a momentous occasion for two Bearcats and one that continues the 20 year tradition of Crimson’s Blind Date.
It’s time that we reveal the duo… His hair makes him irresistible to the ladies and being on the varsity football team helps too. She is an amazing athlete with a bubbly personality that entrances anyone she meets. Ladies and gentlemen, our 2021 blind daters were senior Gustabo Lara and sophomore Georgina Abreu.
It was the 21st night of September,what we would call the perfect night for our long awaited blind date. As the sun fell, a light breeze glided through iconic downtown Paso Robles, where the couple first laid eyes on each other around 6:30 p.m. The couple let out a laugh of relief followed by a hug in the gazebo.
Lara and Abreu strolled side by side on their way to the local thrift shop, Goodwill where, following our instructions, they picked out an outfit for each other to wear. Walking in with ten minutes until closing, they could tell the employees wanted them to leave. While trying to suppress their giggles and laughter, they explored the colorful aisles of second hand clothing. It proved difficult to find something that the other would like but just as the cranky worker exclaimed at them to “get moving” they each found a piece for the other and frantically ran to the register.
After the frantic ten minutes they spent in Goodwill, the two of them tried on their new looks. “One, two, three” they opened the fitting room doors in unison to surprise each other. Gustabo had picked out a velvet emerald green sweater for her that would match her eyes and was also his favorite color; Georgina selected a vintage grey v-neck from the brand Abercrombie.
The couple learned that they shared a love for pizza and wings, so they made their way over to Sweet Lew’s Pizzeria downtown. Climbing the disco lit staircase with growing hunger they came across a sign that spelled out CLOSED. What’s a date without something askew?
The couple instead took the cobblestone path through the park to PPK. We set the lovebirds free by leaving them to wait for their order alone. As they approached the set up of twinkling lights, fresh flowers, and candles they were wowed. Their plates were piled up high with pizza and wings and the conversation continued. The couple light heartedly shared their summer memories- bonding over their jobs, hanging with friends, and enjoying the time off school.
Ready for a sweet treat after their meal, they headed over to Cold Stone Creamery.
To keep them jumping into the unknown — much like the date itself — they sampled some ice cream flavors and attempted to guess what they were. Both successfully guessed the blind flavors, they settled on a seasonal batch of pumpkin ice cream.
Seeing a familiar face, everyone recognized a fellow Bearcat waiting in line. They goofed around explaining the situation of how we had roped them into this debacle. Pulling out a crumbled bill, senior Luke Martin asked “What are you guys doing?”. We were all shocked and overwhelmed with gratitude as he explained, “I just paid for you guys.” The pair ate their ice cream as the night was coming to a close.
The town lights illuminated the walk to Gustabo’s car. We left the two of them to say their goodbyes. They conversed over the top of his shiny grey Scion for a few minutes and sealed the date with a hug goodbye.
The last night of summer was bittersweet. The blind daters had taken a chance on the unexpected to find love — or maybe just friendship. Maybe that was still on the cards for them. For now, we have created a new friendship. You never know what’s going to happen unless you take a leap of love.
