It was around four in the afternoon when Killian got home from work. He coaches Storybrooke Middle School's soccer team, in addition to being the P.E. teacher, and today was their first try-outs of the year and he was pleasantly surprised to see some new faces – one of them was Henry Mills and he was absolutely great that he wanted to put him immediately on the team but that would be unfair to the other kids so he'll just have to wait till tomorrow afternoon to announce who's in the team this year.

He had a date tonight – with Emma Swan – and Neal told him to meet her at Italian Village around six. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't looking forward to tonight. From what Neal told him, Emma seems to be a down-to-earth kind of girl and that's a big difference from what Milah was. He was so close to canceling the date but he knew Neal would just nag him forever about this so he decided to just go through with it and see what happens.

Around five, he heard someone knocking on his door and was surprised to see Neal on the other side. "What are you doing here?" he asked as he motioned for him to come in.

"Making sure you go through with this date." He smirked. "And that you look decent enough for Emma." Neal then eyed him from head to toe and shakes his head. "Are you really going to wear that?" he asked.

Killian rolled his eyes. "Of course not," he said as he headed off into the kitchen to get a drink. "It's only five o'clock, Neal."

"It doesn't matter," he shrugged. "I'm still going to make sure you don't screw this up."

"What's the big deal?" Killian asked him as he took a sip from his cup. "It's just a date."

"It is, yes, but I just want the best for Emma." He said. "She's one of my best friends and I don't want to see her hurt."

"Then why don't you date her?" he joked but Neal went silent and had a frown on his face. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

"It's nothing." He shrugged. "Now, show me what you're wearing tonight. I'll make sure you –"

Killian groaned. "Get out."

"Excuse me?" he looked offended but frankly, Killian did not care.

"You heard me," he said. "Get out. I'm getting ready on my own and I will call you later to tell you how it went, alright?"

"But –" Neal started but Killian is already pushing him towards the door. "Come on, I have nothing else to do and –"

"Good bye, Neal." He laughed and shuts the door.

"Call me!" Neal yelled through the door and Killian shook his head at how absurd his friend is.

Killian?" a voice asked from behind him. He turned around and smiled. This must be Emma; Neal wasn't lying when he said Emma was pretty.

"Hello," he said as he stood up. "You must be Emma."

"It's nice to meet you." She smiled as he pulled out a chair for her and gestured for her to sit. "Thanks."

As he sat down, he noticed her frown. "Something the matter?"

"What?" she said distracted.

"You seem upset." He observed.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry," she sighed. "Neal likes to set people up and I hope he didn't force you to meet me tonight." He laughed because Neal actually did – well, kind of. "Oh, no. He did, didn't he?"

He chuckled softly. "I don't mind."

"Neal can be a bit of a…"

"Yeah."

She laughed and picked up the menu and gave him small smile. "So, have you been here before?"

Before he could answer, a man went up to their table and asked if they wanted wine but both refused. "No problem. Regina will be here shortly to take your orders."

"Alright. Thank you." Killian said and cleared his throat as he turned back to Emma. "I've never been here before, but I've heard really great things from my friends."

"Oh, cool." She said. "I wonder what's good here."

"My friend, David, said that their shrimp scampi with pasta was to die for."

Emma hummed in appreciation. "Shrimp sounds good." And Killian chuckled. "I might just get that."

"So, what do you do?" he asked, trying to get to know her.

"Look," she said and put on a serious look. "I'm not really looking for a relationship right now, and I don't know why Neal keeps nagging me to find someone when I don't need anyone. So, if you're looking for a relationship, it's not going to be with me." She admitted. "I'm sorry for being blunt, but I'm sure you wouldn't want to waste your time with someone who isn't looking for the same things you are, right?"

He should be offended at her boldness and honesty but he was impressed and amused; plus, he liked her. "No worries." He laughed. "How about we dine as friends? I have a feeling we'll get along very well."

"Oh?" she raised a brow. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, we both have Neal in common." He reasoned. "And we can both agree that he could be an idiot sometimes."

She laughed and nodded in agreement. "I'm so glad he set us up." She said. "I just moved here a year ago and I have yet to find friends other than my roommate and Neal."

"So, back to my question." He smiled. "What do you do?"

"I'm the deputy." She said proudly.

"Are you?" he asked and she nodded.

"And you?"

"I teach middle school P.E. and I also coach the soccer team."

"Wow," she said, impressed. "I could definitely see you doing that."

They were approached by a very pretty brunette and needless to say, she got Killian's attention. The way her eyes lit up as she smiled at the both of them and how her voice sounded when she said hi, it just suits her. She was just wearing a simple white blouse and a black skirt with an apron around her waist but she was a sight to behold. Strands of hair lose from her ponytail framing her beautiful face – he couldn't keep his eyes off her and he was sure she was saying something but he was too distracted until he heard Emma calling his name a few times.

"Killian?" he could hear amusement in her voice as he turned to her.

"What?" he asked distractedly

Emma smirked and shook her head. "Sorry about him," she told the brunette.

The woman smiled and Killian decided that he was enchanted. "It's alright." She chuckled. "What did you want to drink?" she asked him but his mind was all jumbled up because he was so distracted.

"I'll just have a glass of water, please." Emma said and it brought him out of his daze.

"Sure thing." The woman said as she wrote it down in her notepad. He can't help but look up at her again only to see her smiling at him. "And for you?" she asked him and he caught a glimpse of her name tag. Regina, what a lovely name.

"Killian!"

He jumped and realized he's been staring at Regina for a while now. "Right. Sorry." He cleared his throat and laughed nervously. "I'll have a glass of water as well, thanks."

"Do you two know what you're getting or do you need more time to decide?" she asked.

"I'll get the shrimp scampi with pasta," Emma said. "With extra shrimp… if it's possible." She added.

"No problem." Regina smiled and then turned to him but her smile slowly faded. "And for you?"

"Uh, I'll have the same thing." He said. "Without the extra shrimp."

"Okay," she reached out and grabbed both of their menus. "It'll take around fifteen minutes for it to be ready so just call out when you need me."

"Thanks!" Emma smiled and Regina was off. "Wow, that was smooth." She teased.

"Oh, quit it." He groaned.

"Hey, chill." Emma laughed. "You should go ask her out." She suggested, earning a scoff from him.

"Yes, and you should ask Neal out." He said sarcastically and he didn't miss the way Emma shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "What?"

"What do you mean 'what'?" she said, her voice higher than usual. "I'm fine."

"What's wrong with you?" he smirked.

"Nothing." She shrugged then gave him a tense smile.

"How'd you meet Neal anyway?" he asked as a woman – not Regina – placed their glasses of water in front of them and he nodded a thanks in her direction. He can't help but look around the place for Regina and saw her waiting on another table. He turned back to Emma, "You said you moved here in Storybrooke a year ago?"

"I did, yes." She nodded as she took a sip from her glass. "And let me tell you, for a small town, it's pretty big." She laughed. "Anyway, I met Neal through my roommate, Mary Margaret. She introduced us and I guess we just got along. He's always there for me, you know?"

"Hold on," he said as he sat up. "Mary Margaret Blanchard?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm surprised we haven't ran into each other for over a year," he chuckled. "We basically hang out with the same people. Mary Margaret is my friend, David's, girlfriend."

"No way!" she said excitedly.

After a few minutes of chatting, Regina came back with their food. "One shrimp scampi with pasta," she said as she put Killian's down in front of him. "And one with extra shrimp." She put Emma's down and refilled their glasses with water. "Enjoy your meal." She smiled and walked away, leaving him to stare at her disappearing form.

"Geez, you're really into her, huh?" Emma said as she took a bite out of her food and she hummed in satisfaction. "Wow, this is amazing."

"I'm not into her," he shrugged and took a bit out of his food and hummed in agreement.

"Oh, come on. Just ask her out."

"No." he shook his head. "She thinks we're on a date. What do you think she'll think if I asked her out when I'm on a date with someone else?"

"She won't mind." She mumbled.

"Are you insane?" he laughed. "Oh, hey. I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"You and Neal seem to get along really well," he challenged. "Why don't you ask him out?"

"What are you talking about?"

"He seems to like you more than he'd like to admit."

"What do you mean?" she asked nonchalantly but he could see right through her. There was something in her eyes that told him that she was hiding something.

"He barged into my apartment earlier and fussed over what I was going to wear and how I should make sure you have a good time." He said and studied her closely. "He's been acting weird for a few weeks now and I've never seen him like that since Tamara."

"Tamara?" she looked very interested.

"He was so in love with her but she didn't return his sentiments." He said as he swallowed. "Poor lad. He was distraught for days. He's kind of acting like that right now and I'm starting to wonder who's been occupying his mind. He said something about every girl he liked didn't like him back."

"Oh?" she looked at him sadly. "I wouldn't know, I haven't seen him in weeks."

"I thought you just talked to him to set this whole date up?"

"He called me but that's all we talked about." She sighed. "That was the first time we've talked in weeks."

"What happened?"

"Nothing." She said but he could tell she was lying so he gave her a knowing look. "Alright." She gave in. "We kind of kissed a few weeks ago and it was just weird and we never talked about it… because we haven't seen each other since then."

Her answer was so unexpected that Killian accidentally knocked off his glass at the same time Regina approached their table, causing her apron to get wet. "I'm terribly sorry!" he apologized as he stood up and helped her wipe the water from her apron with his napkin.

"It's alright, sir." She said as she took the napkin from his hand and wiped her apron herself.

"Please, call me Killian." He smiled and cringed inwardly because is he really trying to flirt with her now? She knelt down and she picked up the broken glass and he tried to help her but she told him she could do it herself.

She frowned and looked apologetically at Emma as she stood back up before turning to face him with a tense smile. "I'll – uh – get you a new glass of water, sir." She said and looked at their empty plates. "Do you want the desert menu or do you want the check?" she asked but she wasn't looking at him anymore, her eyes were on Emma.

"Check, please." Emma smiled. "Thanks."

Killian groaned and sat back down as Regina walked away. "That was awful." He mumbled.

"Uh, yeah." Emma laughed. "Were you trying to flirt with her or…?"

"Shut up." He muttered under his breath but he couldn't help but laugh as well because the whole night was ridiculous. "Anyway, you said you and Neal kind of kissed?"

Before she could answer him, Regina came back with a new glass of water and the check. "Here you are." She said. "Thank you for dining here at the Italian Village. Have a nice evening." She smiled and tended to her other tables. Killian's eyes followed her until he can no longer see her, but then from the corner of his eye, he saw Emma reach out for the check.

He quickly grabbed it and smirked at her. "I got it." She was going to protest but he would have none of it. "It's the least I could do for flirting – unsuccessfully – with the waitress while I'm on a date with you." He joked.

She shook her head. "We're clearly better off as friends, Killian, so I really didn't mind you making eyes at her."

He laughed as he paid for their meals and added a thirty as a tip. "Shall we?" he stood up and offered his hand and she took it. "I'll walk you home."

"There is no need for that –"

"I insist." He said as they stepped out of the restaurant.

"Well then," she smirked. "I insist you to go back in there and ask the waitress out."

"What?" he asked disbelievingly. "Regina?"

"Yeah, go on. I'll wait for you out here."

"Emma –"

"Go on!" she said as she pushed him towards the door.

Before he could protest more, she pushed him inside and came face to face with the hostess. "May I help you, sir?"

"Ah, yes." He cleared his throat. "May I see Regina for a minute?"

"Uh, sure." She said and went towards the kitchen. After a few seconds, she came out with Regina behind her. "He said he wanted to talk to you." He heard her tell Regina.

He smiled as Regina approached him with a suspicious look. "Hi." He said when she was close enough. "I was wondering if you wanted to –" And before he could say anything else, she put her hand up.

"I'm flattered, really, but I am not some girl you could flirt with while you're on a date." She said heatedly.

"But I wasn't –"

"Do you think I didn't see you staring at me or how you tried flirting with me in front of your girlfriend? And now you're going to ask me out while she waits outside?" she asked as she pointed at Emma, who was looking in through the glass window.

"Regina –"

"Don't call me that." She hissed.

"But isn't that your name?" he asked, and he can't help but smirk because she was adorable when she's angry and stop it, Killian.

She was silent for a moment, probably realizing what she had said. "Well, that doesn't matter because I have to go back to work now and you're going to leave and we'll never have to see each other again."

"Wait –"

"Good bye." And with that, she walked away and went back to the kitchen.

Killian didn't know what it was that made her so captivating and interesting but he was enchanted and he would probably do anything to see her again. Anything.