Date Lab: Will a faux palm reading reveal a strong love line?

About the daters ...

Desired superpower …

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( Courtesy of the daters ) -

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Bennett: Teleportation, so I could travel places for free and get out of bad situations quickly.

Jane: Read people’s minds — I’m kind of gullible, so with this power I could tell whether or not someone was telling the truth.

Your type ...

Bennett: Witty blondes or especially attractive brunettes. Confident and beautiful, adaptable, fun-lover who can spend the night in.

Jane: I tend to prefer tall, dark and handsome. Personality: SMART, funny and adventurous. I like people who have a lot of different sides to them and people that can teach me something. I like guys that plan and take initiative — and guys that are friendly and easy to hang out with.

Your idea of funny …

Bennett: Understanding the rhythm
of a conversation and knowing when NOT to talk.

Jane: I like dry humor with a dorky edge. I can be fairly literal sometimes, so I also really like someone who can find humor in something that doesn’t appear funny on the surface — it pulls me out of that very direct way of thinking.

About the date ...

7:30 p.m., Oyamel, Penn Quarter

Jane: I got there about 7:25, and Bennett was already waiting at the table. He’s not normally the type of person I would go for, but he’s really cute. I tend to like nerdy guys, and he doesn’t look nerdy at all. He’s very all-American looking, very classic.

Bennett: She’s really cute. I liked the way she was dressed. It was casual and a little sexy without being too revealing. She had a big smile, so I thought it was going to go well. I got up and gave her a hug. Then we sat down, and we started a little small talk.

Jane: He’s here going to law school. I talked to him about how I’m from North Carolina and went to school in Virginia.

Bennett: I was a little nervous, and I did this stupid thing. I can’t believe I said this. She went to William & Mary. I had looked at going there, but at the time I had read it was the No. 1 suicide school. I asked her about that. As it was coming out of my mouth, I was like, Oh, no. I should definitely not lead with this. She handled it in stride, which is a big plus.

Jane: It was definitely not what I was expecting when I mentioned it. [But] it didn’t offend me at all. We were so busy talking ... I thought, even if we ended up not interested in each other, at least it wasn’t going to be an awkward few hours.

Bennett: We must have talked about everything. Movies, music, books, what we’re doing with our lives, what was your first album purchase, the movie everyone can’t believe you’ve never seen.

Jane: We both used to take piano. That’s not something I often have in common with guys. It made me think he’s someone I wanted to get to know more.

Bennett: We were talking so much, we had to pause to look at the menu. It’s tapas, so we ordered an appetizer and a bunch of entree plates.

Jane: We’ve both traveled a decent amount. I don’t think I could see myself with anyone who doesn’t have that passion. It’s an integral part of my job and who I am. I think it’s really important in a partner.

Bennett: She had this really cool experience where she encountered sea turtles on the beach in Hawaii. One of her goals is to do conservation efforts with them; I had done some conservation work with sea turtles in Costa Rica. It’s a unique thing to have in common.