Friday morning. It had been two long days since Sergei met Elvira at that park. He had been constantly thinking about it ever since but he wasn't that nervous anymore. Now that he had her number, he was carefully thinking of how to properly ask her out. He thought of asking of his best friend for some advice, though the memory of Logan cheering and jumping around like a kid that had too much sugar as Sergei described that night, popped in his head and wasn't really motivational. Not that he didn't appreciate the blond's good intentions for being his wingman, he just wanted to do it his own way and stop "chickening out."

Splash. The sensation of cold water on his face shook him from his thoughts and he gasped. He looked at himself in the mirror and watched the drops travelling down his cheeks and falling from his jaw into the sink. Then he grabbed a towel and dried himself.
As he stepped out of the bathroom, he noticed Logan who was sitting on the couch, slightly leaning frontwards. He was holding a gaming controller between his knees, and had placed his coffee mug on the low table. With his gaze still on the TV screen, the blond greeted him.

"Morning, sunshine! 'Sup?"
"Is there any coffee left?"
"Naah, that was the last of it. MOVE, YOU FREAKING PLUMBER!"
"I'm gonna have some tea, then."
"Uh huh."

The raven-haired headed to the kitchen. He opened the cupboard and took out a black mug. Then, he browsed through the tea flavors. Finally, he settled with white tea. While he was preparing it, Logan's gaming and cursing sounds filled the whole room. Finally, the blond dropped it and got off the couch, heading to the kitchen too. He took a box that was on the counter and sat down, grabbing a chocolate-flavored donut out of the box. Sergei joined him at the table and took a strawberry-flavored one.

"You know, we have to start eating healthy sometime." He took a bite.
"Meh. Sometime," responded the blond, then happily devoured his donut in a few bites.
"Is everything set for tonight's event?"
Logan gave him a sarcastic look, as if saying "seriously?" and grabbed another donut.
"We just got up. Give us a break! Everything will be fine."

A few minutes of silence passed as the two friends were absorbed in their own stuff, Sergei reading the newspaper and Logan checking his phone. At some point, the blond broke the silence.

"So, are you gonna contact her?"
Sergei raised his surprised gaze on him, then Logan met his eyes with a smirk.
"I... yeah. I am just waiting for the right time. I don't want to sound desperate."
Logan's smirk turned into a mischievous grin.
"You have almost pissed your pants, haven't ya?"

Sergei looked at him with an annoyed expression. Then he dropped his gaze down on the paper and awkwardly adjusted his position on his chair.

"Well... I have been trying to figure out the most appropriate way to do this. I don't have much money, neither a car. I don't want her to have a bad time on our first private hangout."
"You mean, your first date!" said the blond cheerfully.
Sergei slightly blushed, then responded in a sarcastic tone.
"Well, that doesn't really help."
"Why don't you take her out for dinner?"
"Cause... I told you I don't really have much money, and I don't feel like taking her out to some cheap, underrated place. I want to be able to pay for a normal outing."
"How about taking her out for drinks?"
"We met in a bar. I don't think going to that place again is going to make anything feel different, and the other bars of the city are either too expensive or too casual. I want us to have some nice time, to relax and to get to know each other better."
"Gosh, it's a whole city! Stop messing with your mind so much, just think of something nice and do it."

Sergei paused for a couple of minutes and remained thoughtful. His gaze randomly fell on the open newspaper and drifted through the several articles. He noticed something about Movie Cineplex, the city's theatre. The article was about the premiere of a social/romantic movie, called "Winter journey." The premiere would take place on Saturday evening. He picked up the newspaper and read some information about the movie. He was interrupted by Logan's intentional coughing. He turned the paper over and showed him the article, looking at him with a questioning face. The blond eyed a couple of lines and fixed his gaze on his friend, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
Sergei spoke in a low voice:

"So... what do you think? Should I...?"
Logan nodded, then his face became cheerful as always.
"See? Was that so hard?"
"What if she doesn't like that kind of movies?" asked the raven-haired, concerned.
"What if she does?" responded the blond with a smirk. Sergei opened his mouth to speak, but Logan continued:
"Pull your messy head out of your ass and start doing things. Even if she doesn't like them, you will get to know her better. Isn't it what you want?"
"Well..."
"My 15-year-old nephew is more confident than you...! We gotta fix that!"
"Seems confidence runs in the family," responded Sergei in a low tone, with hints of sarcasm in his voice. Logan chuckled and patted him on the shoulder, then got up and headed to the sink, holding his mug. Sergei spoke then:

"Hey, how are things with Alice?"
"Good! We're going to the Grind tomorrow!" said Logan, as he washed his mug.
"The club? How come you never told me?" asked Sergei, surprised.
"Well, you're not into such places anyway."
"How do you know, I might want to come with Elvira."
"Do you?" asked the blond, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, no," responded the raven-haired, as if stating the obvious.
"I thought so," said Logan, in a cheerful manner with a grin. Sergei chuckled.
"Well, I just like having options." Logan rolled his eyes.

The hours passed by. The two friends finished their rehearsal for the evening's musical programme. Sergei spent the rest of his free time in his room, practicing his violin skills on his own. He was trying to compose something but it didn't come naturally. In the end, he was lying on his bed, randomly pulling some strings with his fingers, breaking the monotonous silence of the room. He was lost in his thoughts, his mind playing a flashback of all the time he had been in that city. He might have expected more when he arrived here for the first time, though he was a real mess back then, and now he was slowly getting his life back in order.
His gaze dropped to the digital clock on the bedside table. The time was 7:08 pm. The thought of calling Elvira after 7 pm struck him and he was drift away from his thoughts. He placed the violin back to its case, grabbed his phone and stepped out of his room. Logan was sitting on the couch, playing with his console again. Sergei sat next to him and took a deep breath before speaking.

"I'm gonna do it."
"What?" asked Logan, clearly distracted because of the game.
"I'm going to call her. Like, now."
"Uh huh."
"Dude."
"What?... oh!"
Logan paused the game and turned to Sergei, sky-blue eyes meeting nervous grey-blue ones. Sergei held his phone and was ready to call. He was about to do it when he eventually lowered the phone and looked at the blond with a confused face.

"What should I tell her? I mean... I have no car and I don't want her to come and pick me up or something... should I tell her to meet me outside of the theatre? What if the bus takes too long? I should get there much earlier, just in case! And, what if she doesn't like the going-to-the-movies idea at all? What if she suggests the Banzai Lounge or something? What if..."
Logan snapped, interrupting him.

"Dude!" He spoke in a slow pace. "Just. Call. Her."
"O-okay."

He called. He waited for a while. The silence in the room was remarkable and only Sergei's nervous breathing could be heard. Eventually, the other line was on.

"Elvira speaking." Her voice filled the raven-haired's ears with joy.
"Hey..! It's Sergei! How are you?" his voice nearly trembled.
It was the first time he called her and a thousand thoughts passed over his mind, every moment. He looked at his friend every time he spoke, waiting for signs of approval or disapproval. Elvira's voice seemed to sweeten up a bit.
"Hello, you. And here I thought you'd dropped your phone into a wishing well or something," she said in a teasing manner. Sergei responded with a wide grin on his face.
"Heh, well... sorry for not calling you earlier, I assumed it would be better not to get in the way of that busy schedule of yours. I hope I wasn't too late."
"Too late for what?"
"Tomorrow. Evening. Have you made plans?" He slightly trembled at the last words.
"Hm. I have received some suggestions but what did you have in mind?"
"The premiere of a movie plays at 8:30 pm, it's... called Winter Journey. Social stuff. What do you say?"
"A movie...? Hmm."

She thought about it only for a few seconds, which passed by surprisingly slowly for Sergei, and for his friend Logan, who watched him with agony and had no idea of what her replies were. She finally responded:

"Cinema sounds good. I haven't been there in a while. It would be a nice change."
Sergei's red face almost exploded with cheerfulness and he silently celebrated with dancy moves, causing his blonde friend to act even more childishly and playfully.

"Okay! I'll... wait for you at the lobby, then. 8 o'clock, just to be sure."
"Okay then... See you tomorrow." Her voice indicated that she was smiling.
"Alright. Have a nice evening."
"You too."

She hang up. Right after that, Sergei stared at Logan with a huge grin on his face, as Logan jumped on him, punching his arm, exclaiming "that's my man," while the raven-haired chuckled, savagely attacking him with a couch pillow. When they got exhausted, they crashed on the messed up couch, breathing heavily and happily. Logan spoke first.

"Who would have thought. My pal is getting it on with the classy-lady after all."
"It's just a movie!" The blond looked at him mischievously.
"She is a grown woman, buddy. I think if she just wanted to watch a movie, she would stay home and do so on her big-ass plasma screen." He winked at the raven-haired.
Sergei began to respond, then he found that he liked the idea of Elvira being already attracted to him on such a level. He didn't want to move too fast, though. That mystery in getting to know each other better and finding common passions is what he enjoyed the most.

Time passed by and they eventually went to perform their music programme at Eugi's. It was Friday night, so the event went well and they received a handsome amount of tips. A beautiful closure of a good day.

Saturday morning found both friends sleeping deeply, exhausted by last night's schedule, though, it was all worth it for the fun (and it paid off well). They had gotten up by noon, following their usual activities of the day, being more relaxed as they were done with work for the weekend. They jogged early in the afternoon, then Logan kept working out at home while Sergei started getting ready for his date. After taking care of himself, he carefully chose his outfit. Now and then, he asked Logan about his appearance and the blond would answer indifferently, as he didn't really pay much attention to such stuff. Finally, Sergei got ready and presented himself.

"So...? What do you think?"
Logan, who was stretching out at that moment, took a short glimpse of him and giggled.
"Man, what's the suit for? You're going to the movies, for freak's sake."
"Is it too much? Hm... I'll be right back."

Two minutes passed and he entered again, dressed more casually this time. He was wearing a simple black blazer with a plain dark purple shirt, his usual jeans and black shoes.

"What about now?"
"That's more like it."
"Good. Now let me get my coat and..."
"HER HIGHNESS IS READY! GODS BE PRAISED, THE BATHROOM IS FINALLY FREE!" Interrupted the blond, as vividly as it gets.
Sergei gave Logan a sarcastic look in response, as the latter laughed mischievously.
"Off I go then. Have fun with Alice, and please, try to keep the apartment in shape, in case you guys end up here."
"Will do. Promise," responded the blond with an intentional innocent face, in a not at all innocent manner. "Have fun, you two," he said, winking at the raven-haired.

Sergei put on his coat and got off the building in a quick pace. He was nervous about getting there in time, even though there was plenty of it. He didn't want to make a bad impression on Elvira, especially on their first date. He took the subway and, eventually, he reached the place and walked into Movie Cineplex. The place was pretty crowded, as it always was on Saturday evenings. A large amount of the crowd was consisted of teenagers and college students. Less were the families with small kinds.
He headed towards the lobby and sat on a couch. He always liked that place, not when it was too crowded of course. The modern design, the comfortable and friendly environment, the smell of freshly made pop corn, everything gave a hospitable sense to it.
Sergei was standing in front of a candy machine, when he felt a hand resting on his shoulder. He turned around in surprise and his grey-blue eyes were welcomed by warm, glowing red ones. Elvira greeted him with her charming smile, softly saying "hello, you." Sergei paused for some seconds to admire her. She was dressed elegantly but not formally, in her usual dark shades, with hints of red now and there. On the top, a black trench coat covered her, following the line of her body beautifully. Sergei eyed her slowly up and down, before realizing that he had to say something to her.

"Hey..." he said with a half smile. "You look beautiful."
Elvira turned her smile into a smirk, mouthing the words "thank you." Sergei wondered if it was a good idea to kiss her now, since they already broke the ice on that one. Then, he just decided to go with a gentle move and let the sugar come naturally later, supposingly the date would go well. He gently took the hand she had previously laid on his shoulder, and kissed the back of it politely. He raised his gaze and she spoke as she was smiling:

"Shall we go, then?"
"Of course."

They headed to the deck, where Sergei bought the tickets, then they passed by the crowd that was piling up, waiting for their pop corn and drinks.
Sergei turned to Elvira, indicating the counter.

"Would you like anything? Any snack?"
"I'm good. I avoid eating that stuff anyway. Thank you, though." She responded politely. Sergei smiled back.
"Of course... are a doctor after all. I don't feel like buying something either. Just look at that crowd." Elvira chuckled and spoke teasingly:
"Not a people person, after all."

They entered the movie room and were guided to their seats on the fifth row from the front. Elvira took off her coat and uncovered her off-shoulder top, which gracefully revealed her beautiful neck and shoulders, while Sergei was stunned for a few seconds, drinking in her sight. Then, the lights slowly faded out and they sat on their seats. Only the screen was left to slightly light the place, which was enough for Sergei to take short glimpses of his pretty companion now and then.
During the movie, Sergei turned to examine Elvira's reactions on certain scenes, as well as the expressions on her face. She seemed to find the movie interesting, at least at some points. She adjusted her position on her seat, crossing her legs and leaning back, supporting her head on her right hand, and resting the other one on the seat's arm. Sergei was sitting on her left, and their hands slightly touched, though Elvira didn't seem to react to that. Sergei tried not to move that hand at all, enjoying the feeling of that lucky contact.

At some point, there were some romantic scenes in the movie, and then some of more erotic content. The raven-haired felt those familiar, electifying sensations filling him and he grew a little nervous. He slowly turned his gaze on Elvira and found her smirking as she watched the movie with interest. Her left hand's fingers begun tapping on the seat's arm and Sergei's gaze wandered on the shape of her body and her crossed legs. She was wearing a pretty short skirt and a pair of dark-coloured stockings, and the whole thing lined her features in a devilishly attractive way. Sergei felt uncomfortable at the emotions that filled him, so he tried to distract himself with the movie, desperately failing. Watching these scenes, he couldn't help but imagine himself and her on that seductive dance of love. Eventually, he attempted to take a glimpse of her again, surprisingly finding that she was already looking at him, her face bearing that charming smile. Even in the dark shades of that room, her red eyes could be perfectly seen, magnetizing any person's gaze. He looked deeply in them and his lips formed a warm smile. His fingers, as if moving on their own, touched Elvira's ones. His index finger gently brought her little one closer, then his middle one carried the rest of hers on his palm and their hands united, interlocking fingers with each other. He turned his gaze on the screen, still smiling, and they stayed like that for several minutes. He was subconsciously caressing her hand with his thumb.

Time passed and the movie was at about to end. The story was focusing on the characters' reunion and those scenes filled most of the crowd with touchy emotions, some even cried a bit. Sergei was simply smiling at how the story evolved and wondered if Elvira liked it, or if she found it too mainstream, or too emotional. He brought out his phone and attempted to see the time, then it somehow slipped from his fingers and landed under the seats. He bent over to pick it up and found his face remarkably close to her figure. He blushed and slowly raised himself up, trying to hide the fact that he eyed her shape on the way. He found her looking at him and smirking at his clumpsy moves. He awkwardly indicated his phone, mumbling something, and as he adjusted to his seat, he somehow got closer to her. They looked at each other's eyes and he slightly begun to lean closer. Then, the ending titles took place and the room's lights were on again. That feeling of privacy was shattered in seconds, as the crowd started talking and raising up from their seats. Sergei paused in his position, his face expression changing to clear dissatisfaction.

They followed the crowd towards the exit, as they were discussing about the movie. At some point, they got out of the building and they continued their walk among the city's busy streets.

"Interesting point of view. Well, to be honest, I was kinda nervous about you not liking the movie," said Sergei, as they walked in slow pace on the sidewalk, coats buttoned up and hands in pockets. It was kind of chilly, after all.
"Well, the movie couldn't help going through the cheesy parts that all romantic films do, though some of them were... interesting, combined to the social messages of the story," responded Elvira, while making moves with her right hand to emphasize what she said.
"Glad to hear that. It's nice to find an interesting movie now and then, among all the nonsense they play lately."
"It is."
"Next time, you pick one."
Elvira looked at him with the corner of her eye, bearing a smirk on her face.
"Planning our next date, already?" she said playfully.

Sergei blushed at the clear declaration of their hangout as a date, yet he liked the fact that this was officially the level of their relationship. He was also happy that he was officially able to move on with the personal matters of his life.
He chuckled in response to Elvira's question. Then, he gave her a warm smile.

"We should do that more often."
"Indeed. Provided there are no crowds," she said with mannerism.
He instantly moved his gaze elsewhere with a shy grin. Then, he moved his right hand out of the coat's pocket and reached for Elvira's left one. She accepted the gesture.

They continued their discussion for the rest of their walk. Eventually, it got late and they found themselves in a quiet park. The moon glowed brightly in the dark sky, its pale light reflecting beautifully on the surrounding clouds, and on Elvira's light skin, which now seemed flawless and lucent. Sergei felt truly enchanted by her image. She was like a goddess of the night. He drank in her sight, which only made him crave for more. At some point, she approached the park's fountain. She took off her coat with slow moves and placed it on it, then she turned to Sergei and leaned backwards on the fountain's edge, her arms slightly spread open and supporting her weight. She let the moonlight shower the line of her body, as her red eyes were pinned on the raven-haired, glowing more intensely than ever. Her face expression was almost lustful.
Sergei felt helpless. He remained frozen in his place, like a mere mortal who desperately admired and loved his muse.

It must had been the first time he managed such a charming smile. He looked at her as if watching the most beautiful creature a man had ever laid eyes upon. He took a few slow steps towards her, but stopped at a respectable distance. She smirked and started walking slowly around the circular shape of the fountain, caressing its edge with her fingers, turning her back on Sergei. He just stood there and watched her. She began talking first:

"So tell me, Sergei... what did you know about this city before you came here?" Her tone had hints of seductive intentions.
"Only what Logan told me. He mostly talked about the nightlife and all the... fun parts."
"And what did he tell you about the nightlife?"
"You know... the clubs, the bars, the bright lights... the fact that many people here prefer to hit the streets after the sun falls down."
She grinned on the last phrase.
"Why do you think that is?"
"Hm... I guess, because of the bars and the lounges that consist a great deal of this city. It's only sensible that people function according to that lifestyle."
"What if it works the other way around...?" she asked with a mischievous smirk. Sergei's expression became confused and surprised.
"You mean... the people causing the city to function at night?"

She had completed the round of the fountain and was in front of him again. She rested on the fountain's edge backwards as she did before, but in a more relaxed and less provocative position.

"Yes."
"People in this city must really like nightlife."

She reached out and held his right hand in hers. As she started speaking, she seemed to randomly following the lines on his palm with her index finger.

"You haven't lived here for long. I am sure, though, that you noticed something feels different in this place. It's in the air, the way certain people throw glimpses at you... the fact that it is supposedly a crowded city, yet you rarely notice any newcomers, and the residents here tend to keep their wits about them, most of the times. You may have fitted in here well so far, though this is not a hospitable place."
Sergei grew both puzzled and curious of what he heard.
"Is this about crime and government's secret services?" Elvira laughed at his assumption, her voice filling the silence of the park. Sergei smiled. He spoke again:
"Now that you mention that, I did have some strange dreams from time to time. I always blamed my messed up mood, though."

Elvira laid her arms on Sergei's shoulders, her hands locking behind his nape.

"You shall see in time. Now let's see what we can do about that mood."

She moved her back from the fountain and stood closer to his body. He gently cupped her face at first, then trailed her cheeks and jaw with his fingertips, as he stared deeply in her eyes, bearing a light smile on his face. He leaned close and lightly brushed her neck with the tip of his nose and, at some point, with his lips, as he softly took in her intoxicating perfume. He slowly moved and smelled her hair, then brushed his lips behind her jaw and under her ear, while his right hand caressed her other cheek. Then, he touched his forehead on hers as their gazes met, and finally, his lips touched hers and they locked into a tender kiss that deepened over the passing seconds, and even more when they embraced. There was nothing else he wanted at that moment. They just stood there, kissing each other for the next several minutes, bathing in the moonlight that was now brighter than ever, and in the chilly breeze.