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First Date

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Their first date started off, well, awkwardly. They were both unsure of where the new boundaries were, of what exactly the other expected, and as such there were a lot of uncomfortable silences and reassuring smiles that didn't quite reassure.

"On a scale of one to ten, how much would you say this date blows?" Dempsey asked, after he finished his last spoonful of dessert.

"Right now it's sitting at a five; it's not the worst date I've ever been on, but my expectations were definitely higher."

"Mine too," he admitted. "You think we're making a mistake?"

"I . . .I hope not. I mean . . ." she sighed. "I don't know what I mean. Shouldn't it be easier than this?"

"Nothing worth having is ever easy, Harry. Maybe we're just putting too much pressure on ourselves."

"Possibly. Probably." She sighed again and dropped her gaze. "Should we. . . should we maybe call it a night and forget we ever attempted. . .this?"

"Is that what you want?"

She didn't even have to think about it. "No."

"Me either. So how 'bout I tell you how I see phase two of our night going, and then you can tell me if your version syncs up with mine. Deal?"

"Okay, yes. Deal."

"So after this charade of a meal is over, we're going to wipe the slate clean and start again. We're going to go for a slow walk. We're actually going to talk about things that have nothing to do with work and I'm going to charm your pants off. Figuratively speaking, of course."

"Of course," she smiled.

"At some stage I'm going to kiss you, and trust me, your knees are going to buckle. This will be my cue to put my arm around you – I'll tell you it's for support, but I'll be lying. I just want to touch you. We'll walk some more, talk some more and by the time we get back to the car we'll both know that we want a second date. After I drive you home I'm going to walk you to your door like the gentleman I am, and I'm going to kiss you again. You'll think about inviting me in but won't. I'll call you on my way home under some pretence or other, but really it will just be to hear your voice. How does that sound?"

"Well," she said. "That sounds like quite an improvement on our current situation. I do see a few slight differences, but I think we're on the same page."

"Yeah? What do you see?"

"After you kiss me and my knees buckle," she shot him one of her 'oh really' looks with a subtle eye roll, and he nodded and grinned confidently.

"You put your arm around me," she continued, "and I'm going to lean into you, because you smell really good and I want to touch you too. I'm going to walk slowly to prolong that contact and you'll think you're the one setting the tempo, but it will be all me. After we arrive at my place inviting you in will flash through my mind, but you're right, I won't. We're not there yet. But I'll be the one calling you on your way home, because our second kiss is going to force all the blood from your brain to other areas, and I'm not sure you'll even remember your own name, let alone where you live."

"You sound pretty confident there, sweetheart," he grinned. "Think you can back it up?"

She grinned back at him. "Think you can actually buckle my knees?"

"Absolutely."

"Care to put a tenner on it?"

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