Stella jumped slightly in her chair as the office door opened and Lindsay walked in. she shut the door behind her and sat down in the chair, her eyes set with determination.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"How was the rest of the date? Geez, what do you think I can in here for?"

Stella chuckled and closed the report she was working on.

"It was good."

There was a silence and Lindsay threw her hands up in frustration.

"That's it? You make me go shopping with you, you call me frantic from the bathroom and now no dish? How fair is that?"

Stella just smiled.

"Okay fine, but you know how bad I suck at girl talk."

"I don't even care."

"After I got back to the table, everything seemed to be better. I think he was feeling just as awkward as I was. But we finally found a rhythm and we sat there and talked until the restaurant closed. We talked about stuff that we'd never talked about before. Lindsay did you know that Mac is funny?"

"Is he?"

"Yeah, he really is. He makes me laugh."

Her eyes were light and her smile genuine as she stared off into space. Lindsay finally understood the meaning of the word "twitterpated."

"So you closed down the restaurant, and then what?"

"We went for a walk, and then took me home."

"And then what?"

"Then he said goodnight and he left."

"He said goodnight or he said goodnight?"

Stella giggled.

"If you're asking if he kissed me goodnight, the answer is no."

"What?!"

"He doesn't kiss on the first date. Something about being a gentleman."

Lindsay just stared at her, her jaw almost hitting the floor.

"That's just… not rational! Last week he kissed you senseless and then… what the heck?"

"That's kind of what I was thinking, but he kisses on the second date, and that's tonight, so I'm not worried."

"So what, the first date was just a formality?"

"I guess so. It started out so awkward, but I think it ended up as the best date of my life."

"See, you are good at girl talk," Lindsay said with a grin. "So what are you doing tonight?"

"I'm not sure, he wouldn't say. We agreed to go casual though."

"He's a man of mystery."

"That he is."

"So besides date number two, did you guys discuss anything… future related?"

"We talked about Marty McFly."

"Stella."

"No, we didn't. I think it was kind of by unspoken agreement that it's not going to be discussed just yet. Takes some of the pressure off."

"I'll agree with that, but don't let it go too long."

"Don't worry, I won't."

The door opened again and Mac stepped inside.

"Hey Stell?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we do 7:00 instead?"

"Sure."

He smiled and nodded, and backed out of the room as silently as he had come.

"Your shorthand is something to be envied."

"Yeah, I suppose," Stella agreed with a smile. "I can't wait for 7:00."

A/N: I PROMISE that there will be Mac and Stella interaction in the next chapter. It just needed to be set up...