Hello and thank you for joining me.

I am your host and the author of the story you're going to hear tonight, The Grey Knight.

This is episode number 14 of the Nightly Pleasures podcast, brought to you by My Unending Hubris.

That's right.

My Unending and Veracious Hubris, which will consume all that it sees.

I hope you've had a good week, and you're looking forward to your weekend.

I know that I am.

I've been having a wonderful time.

Thank you for all the messages, all the outpouring of support,

and thank you, of course, to last week sponsored by Bees as well.

Tonight, a long-form story, one that I hope you enjoy.

It's got quite a bit of setup, so I'm going to tell you guys now, this isn't quite typical for the podcast,

but I do think you'll enjoy this piece overall.

It is, again, a little bit longer and a little bit more story-focused than normal,

and it goes by the name, First Date.

Enjoy.

Hello, no one is available to take your call.

Please leave a message after the tone.

Hey, I, uh, I wanted to leave you a little message.

Nothing big, just...

Well, first off, thank you for taking a chance on me.

I know that online dating can be pretty stressful as a woman out there, and especially stressful for one as beautiful as you.

...