Who: Key Issacs & Dae Gamba Where: Wrightley's Restaurant When: December 16th 2048, Mid Afternoon Rating: PG to PG-13 for mild language Summary: The first meeting.
Key had arrived at Wrightley's a full twenty minutes earlier than he and Dae's agreed meeting time. The reason? Frankly he was nervous as hell and wanted as much time as possible to prepare himself. He had been a wreck all day, pacing around his apartment, counting down the hours, going over the thousands of different ways this entire situation could go straight to hell. Before coming here he had changed clothes a good twenty times, throwing shirts and pants around his bedroom like some girl before settling on a pair of tight fitting black pants, a bright green sweatshirt, and a plaid jacket. He had forced himself to leave his apartment that twenty-something minutes earlier before he had a chance to change his mind and start stripping again.
It was weird, when he had 'spoken' to Dae Gamba through the journals, he had only been a little freaked out, less about her and more about the fact that he was supposed to marry her. Now that he was supposed to be meeting her, well it made it all a lot more real than it had been yesterday. He shifted in his chair, the cushioned seat doing nothing to ease his discomfort, and he reached up to try and flatten his fringe. He had tried to comb his hair (seven times actually) that morning but he hand ran his hands through it so many times by then, he was sure it was all over his head. This was ridiculous. He's Key Issacs for god's sake! Women were nervous for him, not the other way around! He bowed down for no woman! Well, unless she asked nicely enough and that was usually beneficial to the both of them. He had no reason to be feeling like this, he just had to think of her like any other girl. They would talk, mash out a few details, and then it would all be over. Well, at least until they had to get... He lifted his glass of water and gulped down a mouthful. He wasn't ready to think about that still.
This was his fourth glass of water. He had decided to wait to eat anything until Dae got there, being a gentleman and all, and the waiter was beginning to circle his table. He had a feeling he might be kicked out soon or something; for one this particular waiter had never liked him no matter how often he frequented this restaurant, he probably thought he was some kind of bum trying to fill up on nothing but water and stiffing him on a tip, and he probably looked twitchy and nervous enough that someone would think he was up to something. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down. This wasn't that big of a deal, really it wasn't. He would just wait for Ms. Gamba and get this all over with.
Dae hadn't been given a chance to be nervous with her busy work schedule. Ever since she climbed into the driver's seat of her squad car at eight that morning, the Chief called on her to answer five domestic disputes, one case of reported drug use at the Archer Complex, and three illegally parked cars on the main strip in Downtown Innovo. If she didn't know any better, she thought he had some sort of agenda against her, but for the last week, she hadn't broken any laws or pissed anyone off. Well, at least that she knew of. No, she had a feeling that her extra calls were a result of the new marriage law. There wasn't a secret that pregnant cops couldn't be a part of drug raids. In a few short months, her fate would be to sit behind a desk, while a parasite found a home in her stomach. So, her busy day was either a result of that or she had unknowingly pissed someone off who had a bit of power. That happened, too.
Whatever the case, Dae's mind had been completely occupied by other things than a marriage she didn't want to happen. Women like Dae didn't get married. They went on grand adventures for the rest of their lives, like bungee jumping at age 50. She wanted to be one of those women, not a little house wife whose job was to take care of the family. Even if this Key Issacs guy wasn't a jerk, she would have to spend a certain amount of time each day dealing with a husband and a brat. Her plan was simple, really. She would marry this guy, pop out a brat, then get a divorce and leave him with the kid. If he didn't want it either, then the kid could be dumped off at some orphanage. Dae wasn't a cruel woman, but she refused to sacrifice her entire life for something she was forced into doing. Maybe she could just give the kid to her sister. After all, Yon now hated Dae for not wanting the one thing Yon would kill to have.
Thanks to the kid that she didn't want and the marriage she didn't want to happen, Dae was running late for her 'date' with her future husband. The Chief didn't let her go on her lunch break until they had a talk about the new laws being put into effect or some such crap. Honestly, she hadn't paid much attention. She was hungry and tired.
Glancing at her watch once she was out of the Chief's office, she saw that she had a total of five minutes to completely change out of her uniform and into something suitable for going out to dinner. She doubted Key would appreciate her showing up in full police uniform. Or he'd get off on that sort of thing. Before she met him, it would be hard to tell. Once in the locker room, she quickly stripped out of her uniform and donned on a small black skirt, a low cut aqua top, and a pair of tall, strappy heels. She added on a bit of eyeliner and lipgloss, and let her down before leaving the locker room. After a few 'Are you going undercover for a prostitution ring?' and getting punched for her coworkers attempts at being clever, Dae hopped on a bus to Wrightley's.
She walked into the restaurant, looking for someone who could resemble her betrothed. Seeing a fidgety looking man sitting by himself, Dae looked at him more closely, identifying him as Key Issacs. Well, this was it then. "Are you Key?" she asked, coming toward him.
Hearing the feminine voice say his same, Key's eyes snapped upwards and to the tall woman making her way towards him. As per usual for meeting a woman for the first time, he allowed his eyes to trail from the top of her head and downwards. Pretty face, lean body, long legs, and a more than acceptable amount of luscious brown skin. He felt his nervousness abate slightly at the sight of a gorgeous woman. Life couldn't be that bad if she looked like that. "That I am."
He made to stand up from the table (that whole gentleman thing and all, because women liked that) but his intentions of being smooth were kind of ruined when one of his hands accidentally knocked into his water glass. He barely managed to grab it before half of it wasted on the spotless tablecloth, luckily only a bit of it splashing over the rim. After steadying the glass he smiled sheepishly, shrugging.
"At least I have cat-like reflexes." He stuck out a hand for her to shake. "You're no doubt Dae, right? Damn. You have go to be the hottest cop I've ever seen."
Dae shook his hand firmly and sat across from him. "That's what they tell me, anyway," she said, grinning. Now that she was sitting across from him, she felt her stomach flutter with nerves. She couldn't remember the last time she had been on a date. First dates led to second dates, which led to third dates, until finally she was walking down the aisle in a white dress. No, dating wasn't her style. She'd rather have one night of fun with several guys than several nights of dull with one guy. "I know you from somewhere, don't I?" Huh. He did have a goofy looking face that could be remembered and she did remember it...from somewhere.
Key blinked in surprise at her strong grip but what else could he expect? She was a cop after all. Seating himself back in his chair, he shrugged. "I don't think we've met before." he tilted his head and studied her, eyes narrowed as he tried to think if he ever saw her before. Maybe she was a regular at Loralie's? Did she arrest him? Or maybe...His eyes widened as he stared at her, flashes of memories of laughter and heat and skin and...Yep, he remembered her. At least parts of her. Oh yeah, one of his...conquests as it were. He didn't remember it all that clearly but he remembered that he never actually asked her name.
What was going to happen if she figured it out? Should he say something? It would be just his luck that she was one that he had 'forgotten' to call or had someone else call to inform her of his untimely death. This was just what they needed, to not only start off on the wrong foot but to have started off on their backs. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Er, we might have met before."
Dae picked up the menu in front of her and began scanning it for something that looked good. She was on a tight schedule, and even if she was here to talk about marriage, she'd at least get food in her stomach while doing it. "By your tone, I'm guessing we have met before. I either arrested you or we probably slept together. I don't remember your name, so I know I haven't filled out a police report for you or I made someone else do it for me. It's more likely that we slept together given what you look like. Is the chicken salad good here? I haven't had it before. Huh." She wrinkled her nose in thought, barely noticing she wasn't letting him talk.
She couldn't help herself, really. Dae was used to being in charge and having people listen to her. Giving orders came naturally to her, but having a conversation was nearly a foreign concept. Also, she was afraid of sounding like a spaz, so she took the time behind her menu to control her breathing. "If we did sleep together, then I hope it was good. That would make this thing be easier." She set the menu down and laced her fingers together on the tabletop. "You should know that I don't want a kid. I don't want to be married. I'm doing this because I have to. My job is on the line. I can't very well go marching to city hall and demand that I be allowed to have my rights. As it is, I'm going to be sitting behind a desk once this...impregnation happens. I don't want that to happen for a long, long time. My job means more to me than protesting the law. I want to live together and get the papers signed when we can, so we can put up appearances." She finally stopped her semi-rant and settled back against the chair. Her heart was in her throat and her palms were damp with nerves, but she remained outwardly in control. God only knew how he would react to her speech. Hell, he'd probably start working towards getting their arrangement canceled.
"Err, I've never had it before. The chicken salad I mean, not the...sleeping together part. I had that, I'm pretty sure it was good." Key answered her, inwardly he sighed with relief. So, at least she didn't plant to cut him with her butter knife. That was a rather impressive stream of words though. Obviously she was trying to get this all over with as soon as possible or she was just as nervous as he was. Looking at her, he couldn't really tell but then again he had never been good at reading people. He picked up his own menu, though he had been here enough times to know it by heart, when she kept on speaking.
He sat there in silence for a few seconds after she spoke, blinking blankly at her, his menu hanging limp in his hands. 'Impregnation'? She said it like he was some sort of alien overlord coming to probe her and implant some terrible creature. Key really wasn't that sure how to react, he had expected a bit more beating around the bush so he could get his nerves in order or something. He reached up and scratched at the back of his head, eyes sliding away from her as he thought about what exactly to say. He really had no idea where his own mind was in this whole 'marriage' situation. He had spent so much time trying to keep himself from thinking about it in the past few weeks that when he got his pairing, it was like it had just snuck up on him and it still hasn't sunk in. Now she was talking about getting married, and having the kid, and...moving in. He barely suppressed his shudder. Having someone else in his space for more than a night didn't really appeal to him. That's just too serious.
He looked back up at her, pulled roughly out of his thoughts when he realized he had been staring at the ice in his water glass for the past minute and a half. She was probably waiting for an answer, wasn't she? "Um, well I guess that makes sense." That was eloquent. "I mean, this whole pairing thing is a little...nerve wreckin' for me so if you have a plan already, there's not much I can say. I can see how with your job and all it would be ridiculous for you to you know, go screaming and yelling with a torch to the Government headquarters around here." He shrugged. "We can just sign the papers and get it over with. Then you're moving into my a-apartment? That's where you're planning on living right?"
Poor guy. Really, she felt sorry for him, but the entire situation was out of her hands. There were rules to be followed and her entire lively hood depended on enforcing those rules. At least he seemed to understand where she was coming from. For everything that she said, she hated having to say it. She wanted her freedom more than anything, but this would last for a year to a year and a half at the most. Her job would last her until she was either seventy and a police chief or she died on the job. She was fine with either option, but if she was fired and still had to pop out a kid? No, that wasn't alright with her. "That depends on where you live. I was thinking about buying a house or something. I've been living in an apartment for going on nine years and the appeal has worn off. If we're being forced into having a kid, then I want room to stretch out."
"Nine years? Damn. I can see how that wouldn't be all that appealing. I guess a house would be a better place for a kid to be, to run around or whatever they're supposed do." Did children need a lot of room? There were all supposed to be small, they didn't need that much space. Good lord he couldn't imagine himself with anybody's child, let alone having one with a virtual stranger. A hot stranger but a stranger all the same. "When exactly do you think we need to be getting all this done? The marriage and the house and all." He smiled, the action touched with a bit of nervousness and embarrassment. "I'm a bartender you know, buying a house won't be that easy for me."
Man, once he got married and had a kid he would have to get a real job. There would be no more late night/early mornings at the club, just a crying baby and a wife glaring at him. The sudden image of himself in a polyester suit in front of a house with a white picket fence, a bunch of kids running around and destroying stuff, and a much bigger Dae flashed in his head and this time he couldn't suppress the shudder. If he ever got to that point, he would strangle himself with his own intestines.
"Look, I'm not trying to be rude or anything here," she started, fully intending on being a little rude, at least. "But this house will be more for me. I've wanted a house for a while and now I have an excuse to buy one. I read on your file that you're a bartender and I don't expect for you to help me buy it or anything. I'm not some sort of damsel in distress and I never will be. I've been a cop for years and I've lived on my own in a cheap ass apartment. I can buy it myself. Hell, we won't be together later on, anyway, so what would be the point in you paying half? Just pay some bills and I'll be happy." Under the table, she crossed her legs and began jiggling her foot. She already felt the need to get back to work. Maybe there would be a high speed chase she could end today. The more she talked about the plans, the more restless she began to feel. His expressions weren't helping matters, either.
Key felt himself beginning to frown, the smile slipping from his face. What did she expect him to be? Some sort of bum that just camped out in her house for a year? Maybe slept with her a couple of times until they popped out a baby? "If I'm going to be living there too, I fully intend to pay for half of the house. I never said that I'm trying to save you or anything, it would just be the fair thing to do. I mean...I know we don't have any choice in this but I don't want us to be living like some strangers in a house I have no say in for an entire year." He fidgeted in his chair, twisting his fingers in the cloth around the table. He was starting to get worried that this meeting could go in a bad direction.
This was getting too serious. He was starting to feel queasy. What happened to the sexy banter on the journals?
"Um, let's just order shall we?" He forced his a smile back in place. This obviously wasn't the best situation for her either. "We can iron out the rest of the details while we're eating. We should be quick about it though. That waiter over there," he jerked his thumb towards the dark haired man who seemed to be trying to appear like he wasn't watching them. "hates my guts."
Dae turned and gave the man a considering look. Eh, he wasn't even cute. "Apparently he does if it's taken him this long to take our orders." She raised her hand and beckoned him to come over. She glanced over the menu again and settled on the chicken salad, though what she wanted was a burger. Normally, her diet consisted of a healthy breakfast and lunch, with a terrible dinner of pasta or large portions of meat. At night, she didn't need to keep her energy up, unless she was working. She waited until Key ordered his food, before giving him her full attention. "Listen, I'm sorry if I seem all over the place today. I don't mean to be so," she made a motion with her hands, "and I'm sorry. It's just been one of those days. I have a lot to get done in a short amount of time, but I promise I'm not usually like this. If I offended you, I apologize."
As the waiter made his way away from their table Key shrugged, the gesture a tad jerky and that forced little smile still on his face. He just felt so awkward. It was a feeling he wasn't that used to, or at least one he hadn't encountered so strongly in the past couple of years anyway. Serious situations with women put him on edge and left him feeling like he was standing on shaky ground, not fully knowing what to do or how to react. When it was someone he was just having fun with; a bit of drinking, some dancing, and a few nights of fun, then he was perfectly fine but in this situation...he was completely lost.
"It's alright, no need to apologize." He answered her once she stopped speaking, shaking his head dismissively. "We've both been thrown a curve ball, in a way anyway, and if you already have a lot on your plate..." he shrugged again. "I can understand you being all over the place. I'm not too sure about what to do with all of this so I'm glad you have some sort of plan but its just that, this will be my life too so I want some sort of say in it." He glanced down at his hands before turning his eyes back to her cautiously. He really hated these kinds of conversations, where he could potentially piss the other person off.
"We still have some stuff to iron out," he moved on, "like where we're living while we find this house, when we're setting the date for the...wedding, and I guess trying to learn something about each other. We don't have to get to all of that today of course, since you seem to be a bit busy." He wasn't looking forward the whole wedding deal at all. He'd sooner just get some papers and get it over with but women liked that kind of stuff didn't they? They all plan their weddings from the time they're four or something, or at least that's what a friend had told him. She probably had it all planned down to what color underwear he was going to wear.
Dae shrugged and took a drink of her water. "I'm always busy, so whether we talk about it today or tomorrow, it doesn't really matter to me. I still have...." she glanced at her wrist watch, mentally calculating the time it would take her to get the bus or a cab. "About forty minutes left of my lunch break. My chief kept me late, so I'm taking an extra ten minutes. Maybe more when I get back to the precinct." She took a moment to really study Key, realizing that this was the face she'd be seeing quite a bit of for the next year or so. He was cute in his own way, but she preferred her men to have a little more substance. Resting her elbow on the table, then her chin on her palm, Dae continued to study his features and expressions. From what she could see, he seemed like a decent sort.
"I didn't mean to come off so harshly before. Of course you're going to have a say in your life, as it's your life. I'm just letting you know where I stand. If your job is what's standing between me getting a house, then I don't care if I have to pay for it myself. I didn't think it would be fair for you to pay half when we're not going to be married forever. Not even two years, actually. You can have a say in whatever you want, though. I'm probably not going to listen to your opinion, but that's how life works. Like with this entire situation. I get no say in anything at all. My chief will be telling me when you and me can get married. Right now, he needs me. Next week...who knows? Unless you want to plan something, the 'wedding' will be a signing of papers at the courthouse." She kept her face expressionless as she spoke to him. When working for the police force, she learned a long time ago not to expect too much. There were three women in the building, and Dae was the only female cop. The former chief had been a bastard of a man who would have promoted a rookie before even considering Dae for any sort of case of importance. She had been on the force for five years before she had been given a fair shot. Before, her duties entailed filing paperwork and fetching coffee for the sexist man. Now, while she had problems with the current chief, at least he gave her a fair chance.
For her entire career, Dae had been forced to prove herself time and again. She could shoot better than most of the men, handle a crisis situation with ease, and successfully ward off unwanted touches. However, with her gender came certain stereotypes that she would never be able to get rid of. When a situation became too hard, often she received a warning to not become too emotional and start crying all over the place. While men who were undercover could go about fairly normal lives, Dae had to become some sort of sex object to retrieve information. Now with this law, the men on the force could do whatever they wanted, but Dae had a strict schedule. Once she became pregnant, she was useless to anyone. Hell, she was convinced that as soon as she did get knocked up, she'd be fired until she had the kid. Her job meant more to her than anything and she was willing to risk her life in order to protect others, but she still hated being told what to do.
Key was growing more and more uncomfortable by the second. All he had wanted was a simple conversation, some lunch, and then he had planned on going home and sleeping for a very long time. It was kind of a ridiculous plan he knew, how could a conversation like this be simple? They were trying to plan out their entire future in forty minutes and over chicken salad. A part of him had truly hoped for a conversation free of seriousness. He never knew how to handle himself when it came to things that actually mattered and this? This mattered quite a bit. Looking at her and hearing her speak, he could tell that at the moment he was nothing more than an added worry. She was not seeing him as her potential husband and father to her child, she was seeing him as the embodiment of everything that could go wrong for her. What could he say to that?
"Oh...I guess that's...fine with me?" He had no idea what to say. He wanted to be able to tell her that everything would be fine, that they didn't really have to worry about anything and that it all would work out but he couldn't. For one he had no idea if that was true, and for two he didn't think that it was his place. They barely knew each other so who was he to pretend he understood what she needed to hear? All he knew was that he was completely at a loss in both how to speak to her and how to get rid of the tense note in the air. "I don't mind just signing the papers. I'm not much for the whole wedding scene, too much pressure and...gauzy stuff."
Key noticed that for the past minute or so he had been avoiding looking directly at her. Her expression was just so expressionless. He had no idea where her mind was past what she was saying. He had a feeling she was completely serious about that 'not listening to your opinion' thing though. It did not sit quite well with him but hell, looking at her he could tell she was not the type to budge easily. He would worry about that later. He forced himself to look back at her face and away from the window just behind her head. "Forty minutes huh? Then I guess I should tell you something about myself to fill up the time so we don't just sit here staring awkwardly at each other. As you know, my name is Oliver but the only person who ever calls me that is my mother. She raised me by herself, my dad is...I don't know where but that's not a big deal, and she's an art dealer back in Texas right now. I have an IQ of 144 or at least I did the last time I checked, who knows what I've done to it since then. I play the piano and I've been doing that since I was a kid, I have a dog named Harley so I hope you like dogs, and...I really don't know what else to tell you." He smiled, fingers tapping a disjointed rhythm on the clothed table. "Tell me something about you, Dae." After that little speech she just gave him he felt a little weird saying her first name. He almost expected her to reach across the table, smack him upside the head and admonish him for speaking so casually to his betters.
"About me? Well...." she trailed off, surprised that he wanted to know more about her. Logically it made sense, but the way she dealt with people, there wasn't much opportunity to talk about herself. Even with her male friends, she kept her history a secret. She wasn't trying to be mysterious, but the simple truth was that no one cared to know anything about her. The men she kept in her company weren't intellectual types who spent hours discussing books or plays. They were happy that she had a pleasant face, hot body, and a willingness to have noncommittal sex. Hell, if the guy sitting in front of her was one of her one night stands, he would know that about her already.
"My name is Dae, as you know. My parents are happily married and they have been for years, at least to my knowledge. My mom is African American and comes from a long line of female warriors while my dad is Korean-ish and comes from a long line of bankers. My mom owns her own interior design company, so growing up I didn't see that much of her, which is why I'm closer with my dad. I have an older sister who was always the perfect one and she lives in China with her husband and she's a translator over there. We normally have a pretty decent relationship, but she's upset with me for being able to have kids. She's always wanted to have kids, but she's too old now." Upset was putting it mildly. Ever since the law was formed, Yon called Dae frequently to inform her of how selfish and ungrateful she was for not wanting to have kids with a stranger. Hell, if Dae could have trusted Yon with a child, she would have been happy to give Yon the baby. However, Dae knew her sister and while she had her nice moment, for the most part she was an OCD candidate with a temper.
Dae frowned at that train of thought and continued. "I have a younger brother, too. So far he hasn't been matched up and I'd like to keep it that way. He wants to become a pilot and for his sake, I don't want marriage to mess that up for him. He's a great kid and I couldn't have asked for a better brother." Her brother was her favorite person in the world. In her mind, he would always be the dorky twelve year old with ears too big for his head and a habit of pulling pranks on his older sister. He was twenty two now, but Dae wasn't willing to acknowledge that he was grown up and didn't need her for much of anything anymore. "Then about me? I'm a cop, which is my life. I work too hard, but I love what I do, so I don't mind it. I love to...cook? I'm not the greatest, but it's relaxing for me. I dance, too, but only in clubs. I guess that's it? Oh...this isn't my real nose, either. When I was eight my opponent broke my nose during an intense fight. The break was pretty bad and I had to get it reset by a plastic surgeon."
Key nodded along as she spoke, listening closely to make sure he remembered it all. A guy should know that kind of stuff about his wife, right? It was interesting to watch the expression on Dae's face shift as she spoke about her family. From the moment she had stepped into the restaurant, she had obviously been on guard. There had been nothing but a curt, business-like expression on her face, nothing warm and nothing personal. But as she began to actually tell him about who she was, even if it was barely anything really, he could see that a part of her was more than just 'Scary cop chick'.
He chuckled lightly, grinning. "Its a pretty nice nose. But what was an eight year old girl doing fighting like that?" Then again, she seemed she would have been the type of kid to get into brawls. She could probably take him out with very little effort. The waiter finally returned to their table, carefully placing Dae's plate of chicken salad in front of her before unceremoniously dropping his monte cristo on the table and leaving. No 'enjoy your meal' or anything. That guy had some serious issues, what was there not to like about him? "So you like to go clubbing?" he asked, lifting the edges of his sandwich to check for spit or something equally unpleasant. "There's one thing we have in common."
Dae picked at her salad, moving the chicken off to one side and smothering the lettuce in dressing. She felt less tense now that they were on more normal conversation topics. "Well, I assume you'd like clubbing...or at least go there often enough for us to have met. Or 'met' as the case may be. Maybe we should meet at one of the clubs some night when we both have off. You know, to get to know each other in a more relaxed atmosphere. It could be fun, too." At least at a club she could get rid of her excessive energy. "Also, with the nose thing. I'm a yodan...a fourth degree black belt. I've been training in martial arts since I was little. Yeah, the boys at the academy never stood a chance against me."
"Well that's true." Key laughed again. It was not all that common to hear a woman speak so casually about an encounter such as theirs. He never minded talking about sex with girls he's been with, as long as it was all good reviews of course, but most of the time they were always to awkward with him after. Her casualness was a bit surprising but he wasn't complaining.
He almost dropped his sandwich, eyes wide as he looked at her. "You're a fourth degree black belt? Wow...My mom put me in karate for a day when I was seven or so, I tripped over the bottom of my little robe thing and busted my lip. I figured then and there that the martial arts aren't my forte. I play a mean game of scrabble though!" He took a large bite of his sandwich, humming happily at the taste of ham and melted cheese. "Going to a club sounds pretty good to me. It might help us be a bit more comfortable with each other, so this situation isn't completely weird." He said after swallowing. "Plus, now that I know you have such a high degree of ninja skills, I won't try to cop a feel."
Dae raised her eyebrow and leaned in closer to him, her arms resting on the table. Giving him a small smile, she replied huskily, "What if I want you to cop a feel?" She couldn't help herself, really. He walked right into that. "Of course I guess now wouldn't be the best time to try anything like that. I promise you that when the time does come, I won't use my ninja skills against you."
Key liked to believe that he wasn't the type to get easily flustered and really, he wasn't but he had not been expecting that from her. He blinked, cursing inwardly as he felt heat begin to rise to his cheeks, staining them with color. He leaned back ever so slightly. "Er, r-really now?" His eyes darted away from her face, which was now much closer than it had been a few short moments ago, and down to his water glass. He lifted it and took a quick sip, clacking his teeth against the edge as he did so and blushing again. What was wrong with him? This was just a bit of flirting, something he was more than a little bit used to. He was a pro at this. Shaking off his embarrassment (though there was still a bit of color in his cheeks), he looked back over at her.
A quick smile. "That's clear permission right there, I'm going to remember that. When the time comes of course." See? He could do this.
They spent the next forty minutes or so just trying to get to know each other. The conversation did not go too personal, they were still virtual strangers after all but if they were going to be married, they had to try to forge some kind of relationship. Who knew where things were really going to go.