RP: First [official] Date Who: Giulia/Sam What: Their first official date! When: Tuesday, May 14, 2000 [slightly backdated] Where: The Tarrytown Riverwalk Warnings: None Completion Status: Complete
The chemistry between them had been so strong and yet so comfortable that Giulia was mildly disappointed when, between things coming up with his shop and a last-minute request for her to fill in as a performer at a charity event in Manhattan, they'd had to postpone their date until she returned from her weekend travels. Dinner had been lovely, though, and she felt pretty and feminine in her blue sundress, her hair pulled back in a twist at the nape of her neck, a few strands loose around her face.
"So then, right in the middle of my second song, this woman climbs up onto the shoulders of the man in front of her and launches herself at the stage. I don't know what came over her, but I'm pretty sure she broke her nose before security escorted her out," she said as they walked down the path alongside the river, shaking her head at the memory. The seventies were a strange decade, that was for sure. Sam felt in his element with spring in full force, the trees that lined the Riverwalk coming into their greenery and a river breeze carrying the scents of plants and flowers with it. But the company was the crowning glory, Giulia an excellent dinner partner. It was nice to feel that the chemistry wasn't a one-off - or two-off? - and he was pretty sure that the conversation hadn't lapsed at all since they had met at the restaurant.
He laughed, pushing his hair back from where it was being blown into his face. Having heard Giulia sing, he suspected the woman just couldn't get enough. "I've had people throw themselves at me before," he offered with a wry smile, "but I don't think it's ever ended up with broken bones." Sam sometimes still forgot to reign in the magic that made Fae so appealing to humans, though he did it much less frequently than he used to. "You've had quite the eventful career." Giulia glanced sideways at him, eyes full of amusement. "I have no trouble believing that," she said. He was an attractive male, and being fae, she could only imagine the pull that some humans would inevitably feel. She was reassured somewhat that their natures didn't generally work the same way on one another as they did with humans. The attraction she felt toward him was genuinely her own, of that she was sure.
"I have," she agreed. "Though I won't deny it took a long time to get there." The Song had certainly controlled her for longer than she wanted to admit, but she tried not to let the guilt of those decades weigh on her. As she'd gained control, she'd also worked hard to atone for things in her own way, supporting worthy causes and helping people where she could.
Spotting a vendor up ahead, she motioned toward it with one hand, reaching out to curl the fingers of her other hand around his. "Ice cream on the riverwalk?" she suggested, wondering if he had much of a sweet tooth. "There's no shame in it. It took me a long time to figure out my gifts." It had felt like decades longer than his peers or his sisters. Sam thought he had probably driven his parents to despair with his lack of affinity for most plants. For years he'd been the family dud, struggling to follow in the footsteps of his sisters.
Sam glanced down as her hand met his, a smile blooming on his face with a sort of giddiness that he hadn't felt for some time. Yes, they had danced the last time they had been together but there was something that was a little different about casual hand holding. He gave a gentle squeeze in response.
"Ice cream sounds perfect," he agreed, happy to take any opportunity to prolong the evening. "What's your go-to flavor?" Somehow, Giulia suspected that his journey to figuring out his gifts hadn't got people killed, but that was hardly an appropriate thing to bring up on a first official date, and she was selfish enough to want this to go well. And so, she was glad that he went with the distraction of ice cream.
She felt a little flip in her stomach at the way his hand squeezed hers, deciding then that she would initiate the contact more often. So far, Sam didn't strike her as a particularly dominant personality, but she found she didn't mind. She didn't think she was particularly dominant either, but she'd had more than enough of highly dominant men during her human life. Grinning at his question, she hummed before saying, "Several, but if I had to pick one, probably chocolate chip cookie dough. What about you?" It was bittersweet to remember the first time he had tried ice cream, back when Sam was sneaking days in New York City while traveling between the Spring Court and visiting Taisy and Azalea in Tarrytown. It had been with an odd mix of human friends that he had collected and who had eventually led him to meeting his first love.
"Strawberry," he said. "Anything fruity, if I'm honest." It just reminded him of those early days of fruit sherbets that stirred memories of guilty pleasures in the human world, a youthful rebellion for a young fae. Strawberry was on pretty much every menu so it was an easy favorite. That didn't surprise her in the least, either, and there was something rather sweet and wholesome about the idea. If she were being honest, there seemed to be something rather sweet and wholesome about him, and she adored it as much as it made her feel like there was something lacking in her. It was a deep-seeded insecurity that she likely wouldn't share for a long time, if ever, and she shoved the feeling down just then.
"Strawberry is a fantastic flavor," she agreed. "Though I prefer them fresh over churned into ice cream. Mmm, strawberry shortcake in the summer is one of my favorites." They reached the vendor, and she leaned a bit over the cart so she could see what was on offer.
After placing their orders, she opened the tiny purse hanging on one shoulder and pulled a bit of money out. "My treat, I insist," she said, tipping her head a bit to smile up at him before handing the money over and then slipping the change away back in her purse. When they were handed their treats, she swiped her tongue over the scoop at the top of the cone. It might not be too hot out just yet, but it was certainly warm enough to enjoy the contrast of the frozen dessert. "Yeah, fresh is always best. I always wished I could just grow them whenever I wanted but it wasn't to be." Sam had spent so many frustrated years as a child trying to live up to the expectation that he would be able to master plant-based magic like so many earth fae. He'd been caught accidentally destroying berry bushes and other plants more than once. It was crushing to destroy things that you wanted to nurture.
When they ordered, Sam did indeed choose the strawberry. He was delighted to see small chunks of fruit in the dessert, which boded well that it wouldn't be full of all those artificial flavors that humans seemed so fond of these days. The only exception he tolerated was banana which reminded him of what bananas used to taste like back in the day.
"Delicious," he decided after trying a lick. "How's yours?" That little tidbit had her glancing at him, sensing that there was so much more to the words than sounded on the surface. Her nature lent her an ability to sense emotional pain in people, and this was a pain deeply rooted in him, though soothed over time. She didn't know as much about the different fae courts, but she did know that his magic was tied to the Earth, and she could imagine how much it must have hurt and frustrated him to not have an affinity for growing. But he'd found his affinity in healing, and she rather thought that was a precious thing. "Thankfully, there's no shortage of fresh berries this time of year," she said, not wanting to focus on the negative.
Giulia had decided to go with a rich chocolate ice cream that had deep cocoa flavors rather than the diluted milk chocolate one could typically find in grocery stores. They certainly seemed to have lucked out with this vendor, something she wouldn't have expected outside a specialty shop. "Oh, it's almost sinful with how good it is," she answered with just a hint of flirtation. "Would you like a taste?" she offered, a few different ideas in mind. "No, there’s not." That was one of the many reasons that he loved this time of year. It was a season of growth and renewal. Fresh fruit coming into season was a gift. "I finally made it to the farmers market last weekend and I was really impressed with the selection." It was nice to know that there were some people who appreciated local, seasonal produce instead of shipping it from the other side of the world.
Her smile was a thing of beauty, Sam thought, pleased that the first real date he had been on in years was with her. The offer to share a taste was even sweeter than the ice cream itself and Sam was unable to resist a slightly smug expression as his gaze flicked from the rich chocolate ice cream to the pink of her lips, developing some ideas of his own.
“I’d love to." The breeze toyed with one of the loose tendrils of hair that framed Giulia's face and Sam gently stroked it away, taking the opportunity to cup the side of her face. "May I?" he asked quietly, searching for permission. Her eyebrows rose a bit with that admission, surprised it had taken him so long to visit the farmer's market. "Oh, that's great! I don't make it out to them personally often, as I'm usually traveling on the weekends, but I do have someone who fetches those things for me for when I'm home," she admitted. She wasn't frivolous in her spending habits, but there were some creature comforts she enjoyed, and fresh produce in the warmer months was definitely on the list.
There was that delightfully charged moment when he answered in the affirmative, when his fingers pushed the loose strands of hair away from her face before she felt the warmth of his hand resting against the side of her face. It didn't surprise her in the least that he asked permission directly, and her smile went just a bit gooey. "Yes, please," she said softly in response, tipping her chin up in further invitation. Years of towering over partners, even male ones, had taught Sam to take care when initiating more physical things. His height could be intimidating so Giulia's response was exactly what he needed to hear. Her skin was warm to the touch, her smile so inviting, and Sam closed the distance between them swiftly, doing exactly as he’d wanted to since they had danced together at Sunny's.
Unlike the hand holding, Sam was not tentative with the kiss, keen to push the chemistry between them further than before. The rich taste of chocolate and something uniquely Giulia was exactly what he needed, a spark of satisfaction in his blue eyes when he drew back.
"Delicious," he murmured, though he wasn’t going to admit whether he was referring to the ice cream or her. Despite his height, there was nothing about Sam that Giulia had found intimidating yet, and she felt a thrill go through her when his lips finally touched hers, matching his energy as she returned the kiss. She'd half expected the kiss to be tentative, a gentle probing considering how he'd been with her thus far, but she was pleasantly surprised by the confidence in it. There was a boldness that seemed to match the mingling flavors of chocolate and strawberry on their lips, not that she would admit that she'd chosen the rich chocolate ice cream with thoughts of how it would pair with his strawberry.
"Hmm, I don't know. I might need another taste," she quipped lightly, her eyes practically dancing as she looked up at him. Pushing up to stand more on her toes, she brushed her lips against his one more time, a playful little peck considering they were in public, enjoying the way his beard tickled her skin. Sam grinned, pleased that he had read the signals right, even more so when she went for a second kiss. Somewhat reluctantly, he dropped his hand from her face, though now he was more confident in curling his fingers around hers. "Just as good the second time." There was a part of him that would happily stay there the rest of the evening repeating the taste test until their cones were melted puddles on the ground.
"Let's keep walking," he suggested with a wry smile. "Otherwise I'm going to be eternally distracted by the taste of you and chocolate ice cream." A breathy laugh escaped her at his suggestion, though she dropped back to the flats of her feet, turning to walk side-by-side with him. "I suppose that's fair," she agreed with a playful sigh. There was something about him that seemed to bring out that lightness in her, and she treasured it more than she could say. "There will be plenty of time for more tastes," she added, promise in her tone.
She did want to talk to him more, even if she knew she would enjoy exploring the physical side of things; she wanted to take the time to learn all about him, to share parts of herself with him that she was so used to keeping to herself. The problem seemed to be that she was quite rusty at this dating thing and wasn't sure how to pace things out. Her inclination was to jump right in with the big, deep questions. But, perhaps he would appreciate that? Now was hardly the time to start second guessing herself.
"Have you had any luck finding a place yet, or are you still at the mercy of your sister?" she asked, the conversation through dinner having flowed enough that she'd forgotten to ask earlier. And, perhaps, she was wondering when there might be somewhere private for them to spend time together when the time felt right, somewhere that wasn't in the middle of a concrete jungle, like her own home. "Good." The hint of a promise was music to Sam's ears and he thought that there would be a goodnight kiss before Giulia caught the train back to the city tonight. He intended to give her something to remember until the next time they could meet.
He hummed thoughtfully, licking the edge of his cone where the ice cream was softening. "Still at Iris' mercy," he said, thinking fondly of the way Iris had been so perplexed that he would even consider doing something as mundane as dating. "But I'm going to see a couple of places tomorrow." Judging by the listings in the local paper, he was cautiously optimistic, but he knew that a lot could be concealed in a few clever words. "Hopefully one of them will pan out. I need my own space again." Giulia chuckled softly when he echoed her wording, curious about this sister of his. It was strange to wonder what meeting a romantic interest's family might be like, if only because it had been so long since she'd been in the position to do so. Stranger still that she had no family to introduce someone to, even if that was an ache she'd long ago learned to live with. "I think it's sweet that you're close enough that she doesn't mind having you around," she said lightly.
That was promising, indeed, and she was hopeful for him as well. And not just because she selfishly wanted the opportunity for quality time with him in private. "What areas are they in?" she asked curiously. There had been a couple times over the years that she'd considered buying a small place on the lake here, but she'd never taken the leap. Sam shrugged. "Yeah, I guess it is. It wasn't always like that," he admitted. "She's twenty years older. It took a while for time to smooth out the age difference." Taisy and Iris had seemed so very adult when he was a child but a long life evened things out in the end. "I'm lucky she's so generous." Especially when the end of the school semester was looming and she had to wrangle teenagers who were probably only concerned about what they were going to do on their summer break.
The exact addresses escaped him, but Sam could at least remember the general areas of the prospective properties. "One's in Tarrytown, Heureux Lake, not too far from Iris. The other one is in Sleepy Hollow. Walking distance from the shop, which is a bonus." He didn't know which way he was leaning toward the moment, so he would just have to see them in person. The prospect of having his own privacy was the most important thing of all, as interesting as Iris' tenants were. "I can imagine," she said lightly. He'd implied as much before, and even if she couldn't relate personally, she'd lived a long enough life to understand how relationships shifted with such a long life. "I think I'd enjoy meeting her someday." The words were said without any heavy implications, just a simple observation, even if she wondered what his sisters might think of her should she ever meet them.
As he told her the two areas he would be looking at tomorrow, she could see how either would appeal to him. She couldn't help but wonder if, after living with Iris for this time, he would still want to be that close. And if he were in Sleepy Hollow, so close to the shop, would he feel that itch to be further in nature? She was certain he would be considering those things and more as he went into his search. "Those both sound quite fitting for you," she said simply in response, pleased that he had found options that he found appealing.
"Would you think me silly if I started tossing whatever random question that popped in my head your way?" she asked. No, none of their conversations thus far had seemed to have awkward silences, but she also wanted to dig a little deeper. "Like… if you could switch lives with someone for a day, who would it be?" "She'd probably enjoy meeting you too." The thought had occurred to him while catching up over dinner with Iris at the weekend. He'd never introduced anyone to his family, never had any reason to, but this was a small town and Iris was a sociable sort of female who would probably nose her way into his business one way or another.
Curious about her intentions, Sam said, "You can ask me anything." He wanted to see where her mind was taking her. Still, he wasn't quite prepared for the example question that she threw out at him. "If I could switch lives with anyone…" he mused. That was an interesting one, his lips twitching with amusement. It wasn't something he had ever considered before and, after a brief moment where he couldn't remember anyone's name other than Giulia's, he mentally flicked through a few possibilities.
"Probably the owner of some massive company that's just out to pollute the world." He pulled a face. "You know, try and attempt to change things even a little." It didn't feel like the greatest answer in the world but it was something. A contented warmth spread through her at his response. Even saying such a thing hadn't made it feel like there was extra pressure on what they were doing here. Giulia also quite enjoyed hearing his assurance that she could ask him anything. She would try to remember that, to not let herself get stuck in her head about things.
She was quiet as he worked through the possibilities, and when he finally answered, she was both surprised and not. Somehow, she hadn't expected such a serious, socially-conscious answer, and yet, from what she knew of him, she probably should have. "That's so altruistic," she said, something about it calming the Siren magic that constantly thrummed in her, even with the control she'd gained over the years. "I wouldn't even know where to start with something like that, and it seems like it would be quite the challenge with only one day to work with, but I get the feeling you'd make the right sorts of waves with it." "Mm." Sam shook his head as he swallowed some more ice cream. "Trust me, I don't know where I'd start either." He chuckled, happy to be called altruistic though he knew that he was leaning more towards creating chaos. "I wouldn't be able to change much, but I could probably fuck things up, if you'll pardon my French." Later he would probably be able to think of more serious or realistic things he could do if he switched places with someone. For the most part, however, he was happy being himself.
He flashed her a smile. "You know I have to turn the question around on you, right? Who would you switch with?" The language didn't bother her in the least. As much as she could present as a proper lady, a part of her would always rail against some social norms. There'd been many times in her long life when she'd just needed to scream 'fuck' at the top of her lungs. "Okay, now I'm imagining you on some convoy with rebels just sowing chaos to try to disrupt a local dictatorship regime." As if it were some Hollywood movie loosely based on a real wartime story. Still, she couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever done anything like that, even tangentially.
She scrunched up her nose when he turned the question on her, bringing her ice cream to her lips to give herself a moment to decide just how honest she should get with her answer. It was deeply personal, and she wasn't sure how he would respond to it. But then, she decided, if she couldn't be deep and personal and honest with him, then what was the point? "Well, I don't have anyone specific in mind," she admitted first, "but I would probably want to switch with a pregnant woman. It's not something I'll ever be able to experience personally, and…" she trailed off, not really sure how to express the rest of the rather abstract thought in her head and all the feelings that came with it. "Ha. Like some sort of guerilla environmentalist group?" Sam grinned. "Except I'm not sure camo is my style."
Where his answer had ended up with joking remarks, Sam was genuinely surprised by the honesty with which Giulia had answered. It was something deeply personal and he felt a twinge of guilt for tossing the question back to her. She could have refused to answer or come up with something glib in response, so his first reaction after the surprise was something akin to flattery that she had wanted to share such a personal desire with him.
"Thank you." He blinked. "I mean, for sharing that. You didn't have to. I… I appreciate you telling me." He wasn't sure whether this was an issue of Siren reproduction or something specific to Giulia and it irked the healer side of him not to know. "I can see why you'd want to experience that." Giulia chuckled when he pinned down exactly the sort of image she'd had float through her mind. "Hmm, yeah, probably not," she conceded. She couldn't imagine him in camo.
For a moment, she wasn't sure she could breathe as she waited to see how he might react to such a serious response. If she could have thought of anything less serious that was also true, she probably would have gone with that, but she hadn't wanted to lie or brush it off with something less genuine. As such, when his first response was to thank her, she felt a wave of relief wash over her.
"You're welcome," she said softly. "There's probably some social rule I've broken by bringing up such a topic on a first date, but it's not in my nature to lie and deflecting would have felt like a lie," she admitted. "But yes, it's just one of those things that will never be, though it's probably for the best that I didn't experience it when I was human. That's probably also not an appropriate first date topic." She laughed softly, a touch self-consciously, and shook her head. "Well," said Sam with what he hoped was a reassuring smile, "since we're being honest, it's been a very long time since I've been on something even resembling a first date. So if there are rules then I don't know them." Maybe there were rules that humans stuck to but that seemed so limiting now that he thought about it. As Sam well knew, life was so short for them. "I definitely don't know what appropriate first date topics are."
He liked that she valued honesty in herself. It wasn't really something that he had considered a lot for himself but he liked the promise in the air of not hiding who they were.
"I grew up hidden from humans," he offered. "But I found them fascinating. Probably because I was forbidden from interacting with them." Not that it had really stopped him from finding ways. "I even wanted to be one for a while. Never could quite blend in, though." Her ice cream was disappearing into her cone, but thankfully, it wasn't dripping down her hand. She bit into the melting globe of it, knowing it wasn't going to last much longer in the warm evening air while she listened to his thoughts on first date rules. "That's fair. We'll just figure it out as we go along, then," she said, slightly relieved that he seemed as out of practice with this sort of thing as she was. Though that did beg the question–had he ever been married? With such a long life, she knew it was possible.
Her smile was tinged with sadness at his admission. "No, I don't imagine you did. I suppose it's a good thing the Coming Out happened. No more hiding." She hesitated only briefly before sharing a bit more of herself with him. "There are times when I feel like I'd give anything to be human again, especially now that times are so different, but most of the time, I've come to terms with what I am. I mean, I've been this for a lot longer than I was human," she added with a wry grin. "I like the sound of that." Forging their own path seemed like the best option and, as someone who had shied away from meaningful connections for so long, Sam's interest was piqued to see how that might play out.
He crunched the top edge of his cone, knowing that he would never be able to fully understand what it was like to be one thing and then forcefully become another. He had always been what he was and human mortality was easier to understand the longer he lived among them openly.
"If it's any consolation," Sam said, "I like who you are now a lot." Whatever she'd been in the past, the woman holding his hand now was interesting and talented and honest in a way that felt so refreshingly grounded that he wanted to see more. Giulia's smile touched her eyes as she glanced sideways at him. "That's easy for you to say, as you didn't know me then, but I'll take it," she teased him lightly. "Okay, okay, your turn. Maybe you'll have better luck picking a question that doesn't get quite so serious," she suggested. Not that she minded the serious, but she rather thought some things were better discussed in private, perhaps while spread out and snuggling somewhere with an open door and a cool breeze.
Okay, so there was nothing wrong with her imagination, she thought, her smile taking on an edge of secrecy. That was one perk of immortality; there simply didn't feel like there was any rush to things. Sam looked a little bashful, pleased that she had accepted the compliment. A lot of immortals went through many 'lives', but the only one he found that he cared about was the one they were living right now. "Yes. My turn." He pursed his lips, trying to shift to lighter topics. "I guess I already know your favorite ice cream flavor…" he joked.
He cleared his throat lightly. "Okay, if you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?" At his little joke, Giulia chuckled against the cone before taking another bite from it. Learning such little things about someone was one of the sweetest simple pleasures of a new relationship, and it had been long enough since she'd had the opportunity that she wasn't taking it, or him, for granted.
She groaned softly at his question, shaking her head. "See, that seems so simple on the surface, but there are just so many places! I've done a fair bit of traveling, and though there are several places I haven't had a chance to visit yet, I think if I could go anywhere in the world right now, I'd say back to Greece. There's just an energy there that I haven't really found anywhere else. The people there are hardworking but not consumed by it, they're friendly and lively, and the art and food are amazing," she told him. "Have you ever been?" Maybe she hadn't needed to explain at all. As she said that, Sam did have to reluctantly agree that it wasn't the most straightforward question. His years traveling had helped shape who he was, some of his travels even inked onto his skin as permanent memories.
"Yes. But not for about thirty years," he admitted. "It was the last time I met a Siren, actually." She hadn't been anywhere near as lovely as Giulia although he had learned some things. "All those islands to explore and the food… I think I'd probably pick somewhere in the Mediterranean too." He could almost feel the sunlight on his skin as he thought back to those days. "I remember it feeling like there was this deep, old magic everywhere." Her smile was soft and warm at his answer, though when he followed it up with that bit, her eyebrows rose. She could count on one hand the number of others of her kind she'd met and still have fingers left over, so it was a bit surprising, though less so when one factored in his age. "I'd love to hear that story another time," she told him, definitely not wanting to go there now.
"Yes, that's exactly it!" she agreed with a small laugh. And even if it was too soon to imagine such things, she was definitely putting it on the list of places she'd love to go to with him if things kept going so well. Almost finished with her ice cream cone, she shouldn't have been surprised when a bit of melted chocolate dripped onto her thumb. She licked it off, thinking for a moment. "Hmm, okay, let's see… Oh! Do you have any unusual hobbies?" she asked, thinking it a good topic to touch on. "Yeah, of course." Sam would happily share stories of his travels any time. The Siren he had met previously, however, was much less warm and welcoming than the woman walking beside him. As he'd traversed the world, Sam had found just as much diversity in the attitudes of other fae, so that wasn't surprising.
Musing over her new question, Sam polished off the last of his ice cream. "Unusual hobbies…" They'd spoken before about yoga, though he supposed that wasn't unusual in the grand scheme of things. Plus, Giulia already knew about that and he wanted to share something new with her - these small insights were more illuminating than he'd expected.
"I'm realizing that I'm really boring," he said with a laugh. "My only real hobby is photography. Mostly nature, but I'll dabble in other subjects." He decided it wise not to mention at this point that some of those subjects were nudes. Artistic, he thought, but probably another of those topics that weren't suitable for a first date. At his declaration that he was boring, Giulia let out a small burst of laughter, shaking her head. "I don't think I could ever call you boring," she countered. There was just something incredibly dynamic about him, even if he wasn't a loud, outrageous personality like some of the fae she'd met over the years.
"But photography is wonderful. I got in the habit of avoiding cameras as they became more common, but I love looking at photography of all kinds. Is nature your favorite subject matter, or do you think it's more…" She paused as she mentally fished for the right wording. "...because nature is such a part of you?" It reminded her of a first-generation Polish American photographer she'd met briefly in Chicago. The man was intelligent, she could sense that much, but he hadn't been interested in conversing, instead letting his photography speak for him.
"I think some of the most thought-provoking photography I've encountered was in Chicago, an artist named Aleksy Jowzik who mostly documented urban decay." Which, she realized, he might find a bit depressing. But wasn't that part of the point? She'd always thought so. He could listen to her talk for hours about the things she was interested in, Sam thought, smiling as she told him about art that had caught her attention.
"I think it's partly that, partly that being out in nature makes me feel more fulfilled than being in a city does. So I just want to try and capture it in all of its depth and breadth." He gestured with his free hand as he spoke, mostly towards the river. "There's just so much of it and anything could happen."
The advances in photography between the 1910s and the 1960s had been his favorite change in the human world while he'd been away from it. A camera was the first thing that he had saved money for.
"I like the idea of the Decisive Moment, like everything can come together in a fraction of a second and the press of a shutter. Almost like fate." That made a lot of sense, and she nodded slightly in agreement. But when he brought up the Decisive Moment, her expression lit up again, and she smiled widely at him. "Yes! I've always loved that concept, too," she agreed. That, she thought, was why such a wide variety of photography spoke to her.
"So, do you have your photography displayed somewhere? Or… I guess, do you have a home set up in one of the other cities you've got shops, or did you pack it all up to come here, and so I'll have to wait to see your pictures until you're set up?" she asked, teasing a bit that she was essentially inviting herself into his space. She didn't think he would mind, or she wouldn't have said it. Sam shook his head. "No, I've never displayed it anywhere. It's always just been for me." He didn't particularly like the idea of putting his photographs into a gallery for other people to critique or analyze. The real joy for him was taking and developing the photos to see if they lived up to the image he'd had in his mind.
"Uh, closer to the second one. I've never owned a house." It had always felt like too permanent of a proposition, even though he had his shops. "I usually rent. So some things are in storage and, yeah, the rest waiting for me to move in somewhere new." He didn't mind the teasing and even welcomed it considering the implication in her words. "Does that mean you're going to be my first visitor when I'm set up?" If it had always been just for him, she couldn't help but hope he'd be willing to let her in that circle to see some of it too, and everything he'd said about it so far indicated that he was.
That was something of a surprise, and she wondered if it was something he wanted someday, which was a far different concept when one was effectively immortal. She made a soft sound of acknowledgement before he asked her that question, sending the butterflies aflutter in her stomach again. Peeking sideways at him, she said, "That depends entirely on you, doesn't it? But I hope so," she admitted. Looking down at her, Sam felt warmed by the slightly shy and hopeful expression that made her look so lovely in the evening light.
"I hope so too," he agreed, realizing that it would mean a lot to him if she did. Giulia was the first person he'd met when he'd driven into town, the first person he'd been on a date with in years, and it felt right somehow that she would be first guest once he had a place to call his own.