Magazine

Dinner with Cupid

His Toastmasters club goaded him into this blind date

Will he have a good story to tell at the next meeting?

Chris Lentricchia and Kristi Goodman.

CHRIS LENTRICCHIA: 23 / product marketing

What makes him a catch: Manners, good dresser, and easy on the eyes

On a desert island, he’d bring: Something to keep from getting bored

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KRISTI GOODMAN: 22 / occupational therapy student

When she is happiest: Relaxing by the water

Her hobbies: Skiing, travel, and crafting

7:30 P.M. VINOTECA DI MONICA, BOSTON

DOUBLE DARE

Chris Every now and then I like to do things outside my comfort zone to break the monotony of my cubicle-dweller lifestyle. I mentioned Cupid to my Toastmasters club, and they coerced me into doing it.

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Kristi I was home with my sister and we decided it would be fun to apply together.

Chris I listened to Lionel Richie on the T — “All Night Long,” that’s my jam, yo.

Kristi I went to get ready at my friend’s place; she lives nearby, so I figured I would take the excuse to visit.

Chris I don’t try to make a big deal if I don’t have to. I wasn’t nervous at all.

Kristi The first thing I noticed was how well dressed he was. He had on a nice jacket with a pocket square. He wasn’t what I would typically go for, but he certainly was not unattractive.

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EXPRESS YOURSELF

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Chris I went with my policy of honesty and decided to get the elephant out of the room by mentioning that this was a rather awkward situation.

Kristi The hostess told me on our walk over that he, too, was out of his comfort zone, which helped calm my nerves.

Chris I discovered that she has a family member who lives in Switzerland, but she is not Swiss. So that’s a story. . . .

Kristi Chris is very passionate about his job. He works for a really cool software company where the employees have a lot of freedom as long as their work gets done. I also learned that he spends his free time teaching refugee children.

Chris I ordered vitello tonnato and agnolotti alla piemontese as a second course. I paired both of these dishes with a glass of Chianti classico. For a dessert I had creme brulee and some coffee. Unfortunately, the tonnato was dry and the agnolotti had too much sauce.

Kristi I had ravioli. It was absolutely delicious! The service was great, too. It was probably a deal breaker that I don’t drink wine or coffee, both of which basically run in the blood of his Italian family.

Chris We’re two very different people from different walks of life. It’s nothing personal, obviously, but this occurred to me almost immediately.

Kristi Toward the end I felt as though we were just talking in circles about things we had already discussed. It felt like neither of us really knew how to end the dinner. We didn’t do anything after. It was getting late.

IN CLOSING

Chris We both basically said, “Well, it was nice meeting you.”

Kristi He walked me out of the restaurant; we hugged goodbye, then parted ways.

Chris A hug, because why not?

Kristi I’m glad I went and I had a good time, but there were no sparks.

SECOND DATE?

Chris Nah, We’re just different people.

Kristi We started out as complete strangers, and he didn’t ask for my number, so we are going back to being complete strangers.

POST-MORTEM

Chris / B

Kristi / B      

GO ON A BLIND DATE. WE’LL PICK UP THE TAB. Fill out an application at bostonglobe.com/cupid. Follow us on Twitter @dinnerwithcupid.