Breaking the Ice

INT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT

JANINE, mid-30s, walks into Le Bistro, a small, busy, and trendy restaurant. There are about six or seven tables with chairs, most of which are taken. There is a small area in the middle of the tables for dancing. Janine scans the restaurant. JUSTIN, mid-30s, handsome, clean cut and nicely dressed, waves from his table and stands up. Janine breathes a sigh of relief and walks towards the table.

                                               JANINE
Justin?

                                               JUSTIN
Janine?

They both nod and laugh as Justin pulls out Janine's chair for her. She sits down and Justin gently pushes her chair in and sits down.

                                               JANINE
What a gentleman.

                                               JUSTIN
I try. It's really nice to finally meet you. I gotta say, I'm relieved. You're normal. And pretty.

                                               JANINE
                                               (demures)
Honestly, I didn't know what to expect. I mean when you're 99% compatible with someone, you gotta wonder what that one percent is, you know?

A waitress comes to the table with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

                                               JUSTIN
I hope you don't mind, I ordered some wine. I remembered your profile said that you like sweet wines.

                                               JANINE
Impressive.

The waitress pours the wine. Justin raises his glass.

                                               JUSTIN
To great first impressions.

                                               JANINE
And a non-deal breaking one percent!

They clink glasses and each take a sip.

                                               JANINE (CONT.)
Delicious. I can't believe you did your homework.

                                               JUSTIN
I just wanted our first meeting to be perfect.

                                               ​JANINE
                                            (looking around)
This is a great spot.

                                               JUSTIN
Yeah, I heard about it from a friend.

                                               JANINE
Oh good, you have friends. The last guy I met through Breaking the Ice didn't have any friends. Not one. It was weird. So was he.

                                               JUSTIN
Well then, I'll have to thank my mom.

                                               JANINE
                                               (pauses)
Oh?

                                               JUSTIN
I'm just messing with you. My mom isn't my only friend.

                                               JANINE
Okay. Really? Of course. (laughs) It was a joke. A really funny joke.

                                               JUSTIN
I'm beginning to regret it. I'm sorry, I'm just  nervous. It's really hard to meet someone.

                                               JANINE
I know! In the past month I've been set up with a coworkers' cousin, my best friend's mom's former roommate's hanai son, and just last night, my mom tried to lure the UPS guy into the house with cookies so he could meet me.

                                               JUSTIN
Yikes. Well, the women I've had the misfortune of meeting have been so judgmental.

                                               JANINE
I hate judgmental women.

                                               JUSTIN
Another thing we have in common!

A slow-tempo song starts to play.

                                        JANINE AND JUSTIN
I love this song!

Justin stands and offers his hand to Janine.

                                               JUSTIN
Shall we?


Janine nods and takes his hand. They begin slow dancing.

                                               JANINE
Something has to be wrong with you.

                                               JUSTIN
I should tell you-

                                               JANINE
Here it comes.

                                               JUSTIN
I'm a guy. . .who likes cats.

                                               JANINE
                                                (wary)
Cats?

                                               JUSTIN
Love 'em. I have two.

                                               JANINE
That's not so bad. Wait, do you torture them? Eat them? Or worse? (shudders) Dress them in tiny sailor outfits?

                                               JUSTIN
What, no! That's disturbing. Maybe you're the weirdo.

                                               JANINE
I'm not. You're seriously too good to be true, Justin.

                                               JUSTIN
I better not tell you my cats' names.

                                               JANINE
Tell me.

                                               JUSTIN
Promise not to judge?

                                               JANINE
I'm not like those other women.

                                               JUSTIN
So there's Cheeto Bandito and Chairman Meow. (pause) You're gonna leave, aren't you?

                                               JANINE
Punny cat names I can live with. Actually, I have two pot-bellied pigs.

                                               ​JUSTIN
With punny names?

                                               JANINE
Naturally. (cringes) I usually wait until the third date to reveal their names.
Justin pulls her closer as they continue to dance.

                                               JUSTIN
Trust me.

                                               JANINE
My pigs' names are Boromir and Porkins.

                                               JUSTIN
Those are really geeky references.

                                               JANINE
I know. The worst part, is that I can't wait to get a third pig so I can name him Jon Hamm.

                                               JUSTIN
That's adorable.

The slow song sends and an upbeat song begins to play.

                                               JANINE
That's my cue. (starts to leave the dance floor) I can't dance.

                                               JUSTIN
You were great just now.

                                               JANINE
There's nothing to slow dancing. But anything else is. . .embarrassing.

                                               JUSTIN
Come on, we'll have fun.

                                               JANINE
                                               (groaning)
Ugh, fine.

They start dancing. At first, Justin dances appropriately. But eventually he really gets into the song. Janine tries to enjoy herself and rein in Justin by putting her hands on his hips. He power shakes her hand off and dances even more vigorously. 

Justin's hips are overtly sexual. He dances away from Janine then turns around and dances way back to her. Justine smiles as she thinks she's his focus, but Justin dances past her and heads straight toward a mirror. He dances with himself. Janine gives up and goes back to the table. 

For his finale, Justin belly glides across the floor and thrusts a few times. As the song ends, Justin cheers and claps and sees that Janine is back at their table. She has finished most of the wine.

                                               JUSTIN
Whoo! Where'd you go?

                                               JANINE
What was that?

                                               JUSTIN
What was what? (he drinks some water and fans himself)

                                               JANINE
Your dancing is very, very aggressive.  

                                               JUSTIN
It's just dancing.

                                               JANINE
I knew it. I knew there had to be something wrong with you.

                                               JUSTIN
I don't understand. You don't like me because I like to dance? That's pretty weird. And judgmental.

                                               JANINE
I wasn't judging. Your hips make me uncomfortable.

                                               JUSTIN
My hips??

                                               JANINE
I've never anyone dance like that. Even male strippers are (grunts and moves around) masculine.

                                               JUSTIN
I thought you were different.

Justin storms off. Janine remains sitting and finishes off the rest of the wine. She gets her cellphone out of her purse and opens the Breaking the Ice app, which is very similar to Tinder, in that the user swipes right if they like someone and left if they don't. Janine swipes left three times while saying:

                                               ​JANINE
Nope, nope, nope.

FADE OUT. CREDITS.

Dating is hard y'all! What did you think of Breaking the Ice?
Was it relatable or too far-fetched? 
It's my dream to shoot this short but it's hard to find a guy who's a good dancer and willing to be self-deprecating.
Anyway, if you enjoyed this short script, let me know in the comments below and consider saving it to your Pinterest board so others can find this story, too!
Thank you, CT. 

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