Beth was watching the clock and getting ready for her first date with

Beth was watching the clock and getting ready for her first date with Brian. She brushed her teeth and hair and checked her clothes in the mirror. "What am I worried about?" she laughed, "This is online dating and he's not going to see much of anything!"

Beth and Brian had been corresponding through an online dating website for the last five months. They were really comfortable with one another, shared a similar sense of humor and many hobbies. They were never at a loss for conversation - at least in type - and, after all of the words exchanged, Brian suggested that they do a "cam date." "What's that?" Beth had asked nervously. "Well, we can both hook up our web cams and we'll be able to talk and actually SEE each other!" Brian clearly thought that this was a great extension to their online dating but Beth wasn't so sure. It was really easy to have a relationship in emails and instant messages... but what if Brian didn't like what he saw when that camera went on?

Still, Brian was the only man to tickle her fancy in a very long time and Beth didn't want to do a thing to jeopardize that relationship. So she had agreed. Sitting down now at her desk, she logged in to their favourite online dating site to see if Brian was online. He most certainly was - she figured he'd be waiting for her. Brian was really excited at the prospect of this cam chat.

They conversed a bit in instant messages before Brian typed, "OK are you ready?" Beth agreed and they connected. In a split second, there was Brian, smiling at her. "Hi baby," he said quietly, his deep voice caressing Beth in a way that made her tingle inside. "Hi honey," she replied, looking away from the camera because she just wasn't sure what to do. "Beth... you're beautiful. Just like I knew you would be. Please look at me sweetie... don't be nervous." Slowly, Beth looked towards the web cam and seeing the approval on Brian's face made her start to feel less and less nervous. As she did, she noticed something else. He was GORGEOUS. How had she never been driven to know before now? Physical appearance had never been an issue between them. They had never even shared photos in all the time they'd been online dating. Beth hadn't cared a bit what Brian looked like. She loved the person on the inside. Now, sitting at her desk and looking into his eyes, she realized that she was very much looking forward to being in the same room with the person she was seeing, for the first time, on the outside.