48…49…50.

With one fluid motion, Cammy pushed herself off the ground and back onto her feet. Sweat trailed down her forehead while she stood and took deep, well-paced breaths, trying her damndest to keep her focus on the workings of her body and not on the thing that had spurred her to hit the gym to begin with.

To put it simply, she was frustrated, and whenever she got frustrated, it was a difficult feeling for her to shake.

Deciding she'd had enough of warm-up exercises, she wiped down her mat and shifted over to the dumbbells, doing several sets of curls, raises and rows. She didn't go for particularly heavy weights, sticking around the range of 5-15 kilograms for most of her workout; given her speed-focused fighting style, she had little use for pure strength training, though it would've been foolish to neglect it regardless.

Cammy kept to herself as she usually did and while she did her best to drown out her surroundings, she could tell the few other gym goers present were wary of her, probably because it was pretty easy to see she was in a foul mood at the moment.

The last couple of days had mostly been dedicated to a personal investigation of hers, one that was based on a hunch she'd had for years now. Officially, Shadaloo has been dead in the water for years, the final blow coming when M. Bison was killed in a final raid on his headquarters. Cammy didn't doubt that account; she saw it all happen, after all. What she doubted was whether that victory was as decisive as it seemed.

While a good percentage of their operatives had been rounded up, a few were bound to slip through the cracks. As to where they ended up and what they were doing now, no one could really say. That reality was frustrating enough, but even worse, she felt she knew exactly where many of them were now concentrated…but was unable to do anything about it.

Some time ago, she learned of an up-and-coming robotics company by the name of SiRn. It was like they came out nowhere, beginning as a start-up in Colorado before expanding to other states and recently, overseas. Only recently, they'd opened a location right here in London, just sizable enough for her to take notice. This expansion was swift and unexpected, raising the question of just where their finances were coming from.

Several investigations later and not a shred of evidence of wrongdoing has been found, but Cammy remained unconvinced. All of the answers were staring her right in the face: where they got their money, what the foundation for their business was; and all of it was in the name.

Before its collapse, Shadaloo had a weapons division by the name of S.I.N., who among other things, specialized in robotics. The machines they produced were decades ahead of most developed nations, something that would've proven quite lucrative if they chose to take their talents elsewhere. And that's exactly what she believed happened. After Seth's botched powerplay, several of S.I.N.'s scientists went into hiding, evading both authorities and their former Shadaloo masters while they regrouped. From her own investigations, the approximate date of SiRn's startup would've been before Shadaloo went under, giving them plenty of time to get this new venture of theirs off the ground.

The problem was she had no proof of any of this. Nobody did. Yet it all seemed so bloody obvious to her.

At the moment, she was pouring that negative energy into her bench press, aiming to set a new record with 20 kilogram dumbbells. Partway through, she heard her phone vibrate on the floor; after finishing with a final rep count of 30, she picked up her phone and sat back on the bench she'd been using to check what it had been for, finding that it was a short text from Kostas.

Hey. We still on for tonight?

Cammy had been so lost in her own thoughts that she came close to responding with, "On for what?", before the realization came to her naturally. She was supposed to have a date tonight - her first proper date.

After spending more time than was needed simply staring at her screen, she gave an answer.

Of course. We're still meeting at 6, right?

She put the phone down to do another set of bench press with slightly heavier weights and by the time she was done, she had her answer.

That's the plan. I'll let you know if something comes up, tho

Despite herself, Cammy couldn't help but roll her eyes. Not because she was bothered by how forthright he was being, but because she found it quite endearing. She could tell he liked to make sure things stayed organized.

Likewise.

As she sent another reply his way, she smiled for the first time that day. She still had her doubts about this whole arrangement, but at the very least, Kostas seemed like a pleasant young man. Their phone conservation the prior week had given her a much clearer picture of him; attentive, quick-witted and surprisingly bold. All-in-all, an inviting package as far as men go.

Did all that mean she was looking forward to seeing him? That was a bit hard to say.

She'd never given much thought to dating, nor did she ever have much of a desire to engage in it. It seemed like more of a hassle than it was worth, especially when it involved a civilian like Kostas. She already wasn't the most open person in the world and her MI6 upbringing put even more restrictions on how she could present herself. In short, she had no choice but to go out with a mask.

Then again, if all that was really so much of a problem for her, she could've just backed out. But she hadn't, so maybe that was enough to answer that earlier question.

Maybe.

After working out for about another half hour, Cammy took a quick shower in the locker room and then headed home. For the most part, she was in a much better mood than she was when she came in, though still somewhat grumpy. She was more than capable of keeping her emotions in check if needed, but giving what she was supposed to be doing tonight, being in a position where she had to wasn't quite ideal.

Thankfully, it was still fairly early in the afternoon, giving her ample time to prepare. Now, the task was figuring out how she was supposed to prepare.

It was just past 3:30 when she reached home, entering her flat to find Juni and Decapre laying out ingridients on their kitchen counter. The two seemed to be locked in conversation and while Cammy locked the door, put away her keys and walked over to greet them, she overheard just a bit of it.

"I mean, we can always try finding someone online," Juni said. "I know I wouldn't want to be living all alone."

"Alone would be preferable for me, at least for the first little while," Decapre replied. "Besides, I think I'd be a little hard to market, so to speak."

"I mean, I don't want to say that, but if it's what you want…"

"It is. I appreciate your concern, Juni. Really, I do. But…"

Decapre paused for a moment when she finally noticed Cammy's arrival, the two of them briefly locking eyes from across the room. Without even having heard the rest of her conversation with Juni, Cammy understood exactly what it had been centered around.

"I don't know…" Decapre said with a sigh, turning back to Juni. "I just need a bit more time to think everything over."

"As long as you need," Juni sweetly said, placing her hand over hers. "We'll be here for you. Always."

Decapre averted her eyes, but nonetheless managed a small smile. "I know."

As much as she didn't want to interrupt her sisters, Cammy finally decided to make her way further into their flat, something which finally made Juni notice her. And what she was met with was an uncharacteristically cross look.

"Where have you been?!" she demanded, catching Cammy by complete surprise.

"I told you, I was blowing off some steam."

"Have you seen what time it is? We have to get you ready."

"There's still plenty of time, Juni," she rightfully pointed out, not that it was going to do anything.

"And you're not going to waste another second of it." Turning on her heel, she started making her way over to their bedroom. "Have you showered?" she stopped and asked when Cammy didn't start following.

"Yes," she replied.

"Good. Let's get you spiffed up, then. Come on."

This time, she started walking and didn't stop, disappearing down the hall and through their bedroom door, leaving Cammy alone with Decapre. When she glanced over at her, her sister merely shrugged and tilted her head in the direction Juni had gone in, prompting her to go on ahead.

With that final push, Cammy relented. "God help me…" she muttered under her breath.

"I don't think He can," she heard Decapre say behind her, then a quiet chuckle when Cammy sighed in response. As much as she wanted to have her own talk with Decapre about what she'd heard, hopefully not too derivative of the one she'd had with Juni, what little she'd overheard of that told her it was better she had some alone time for now.

Besides, Cammy had other matters to attend to.

"Are you sure about this?"

"What did I say about overthinking, Cammy?" Juni playfully reminded her as she brought her in front of a full body mirror she kept in her room, giving her a proper view of the outfit she'd be wearing tonight. "See? Absolutely perfect."

Putting Juni's hyperbole aside, Cammy quite liked the outfit she'd helped her pick out. Given her and Kostas weren't going anywhere high end, they'd ended up going with a blue and white sundress and a pair of white ballet flats. But even so, she couldn't help but feel like something was missing.

"Oh, would you relax?" Juni urged her. "If you're that worried about impressing him, I can promise you that's going to take next to no effort."

"Really? Is he that shallow?"

"Now, now, don't be like that. Remember, don't put any pressure on him or on yourself. Just…be yourself."

"And now, you see the crux of the problem."

Judging from the silence that followed, Juni indeed knew exactly what she meant and didn't have an easy way to quell her worries. Rather than letting the silence hang, her sister gently patted her on the shoulder, maintaining her infectious smile. "Well, as much of yourself as you're willing to put forward," she amended her previous statement. "Again, no pressure."

Cammy couldn't help but sigh as she looked herself over in the mirror. She knew that Juni was right, that at this stage, there were no real expectations of her besides showing up and giving Kostas a fair shake. And she very much wanted to give him a fair shake.

"No pressure," she repeated after Juni, turning away from the mirror and retrieving her purse from a nearby chair. Somehow, this entire process had taken close to an hour to complete, meaning she had about that same amount of time before she had to meet Kostas. "Well, here goes nothing."

"Have fun! And remember to take pictures!" Juni called out to her.

"I will," Cammy called back, grabbing her keys and a pair of sunglasses off a shelf by the entryway, storing the former away in her purse and putting the latter on as she made her way to the door.

"And do play nice."

Stopping just as she was about to turn the knob, Cammy turned her head back towards their sofa, finding Decapre cooking up something or another in their open kitchen, to the point she didn't even bother glancing in her direction. Despite this, Cammy smiled for the first time that afternoon.

"I will," she repeated one more time before finally stepping out of their flat and setting off. It wasn't a terribly long way to the address Kostas provided, but she nevertheless found herself feeling…well, she couldn't quite say what. Definitely not anxious. Eager, perhaps?

Whatever it was, it led her to take out her phone and shoot him another text.

Kostas was already on the bus when he received it. He'd opted to play a few games of Solitaire to keep himself out of his head, but clearly that wasn't in the cards anymore. Putting his current session on pause, he checked his messages to see if it was good or bad news.

Are you on your way?

To be determined, he supposed. While they'd confirmed with each-other both yesterday and this morning that their date was going ahead as scheduled, Kostas knew that things didn't always turn out as planned. Still, if she'd ended up changing her mind, she could've just said nothing.

Yeah. I'm actually almost there

You?

Thankfully, he didn't even manage to make a move in his game before his concerns were put to rest.

Same.

Thought the trip would take me longer, to be honest.

Yet again, Kostas couldn't help but appreciate her responsiveness. He'd never had an easier time coordinating with anyone: friends, family, and especially other prospective partners. That alone made him determined not to fuck this up.

Not complaining. Guess we get to meet a little sooner than expected

He only managed to compose about half of his follow up message before Cammy sent a couple back.

Guess so.

Same plan otherwise?

He didn't know why, but Kostas found this rather straightforward response weirdly endearing. He could tell she wasn't much of a flirt, at least not in the traditional sense; if he had to guess, she liked to let her actions do most of the talking. And given she'd yet to back out, the message was clear.

Yep. If you can't find me for some reason, I'm wearing a black jacket

See you in a bit!

He briefly put his phone aside in order to get off the bus, but when he brought it back out upon exiting, he was met with an…odd reply.

I think I already do.

Confused, Kostas looked around the surrounding street corner, finding no sign of her amidst the fairly sizable crowd. He really couldn't see how she could've possibly picked him out with such a limited description, at least not without him being able to do the same.

You want to give me a signal?

After sending this message, he observed his surroundings one more time, once again failing to see her anywhere. He must've done this upwards of three times before he started walking further up the street to see if that would help him spot her and still, he received nothing from her, not a text and certainly not a signaling wave. Was he being pranked?

"Looking for someone?"

"Jesus!" Kostas nearly jumped out of skin, sharply looking behind him to find a young woman in a blue sundress and orange sunglasses standing behind him. A quick lookover told him that this was indeed Cammy, what with the short blonde hair and scar on her right cheek. That left him with only one question.

"Where the hell did you come from?

"The bus stop down the road that way," she casually said while motioning to the right with her head. "Figured I'd go for a stroll while I waited for you and lo and behold, there you were."

It wasn't the most satisfying explanation in the world, but he could somehow tell that was the best one he was getting. "Well, sorry I kept you waiting," he decided to say.

"No need," she assured him. "You're still technically early."

"Technically. Right." For a moment, the two of them simply stood there on the street corner, with Kostas taking the chance to let the last of his freight subside before speaking again. "Hi, Cammy."

"Hello," she responded in kind, the subtlest hint of a smile forming on the edges of her mouth. "Checking to make sure it's me, are you?"

"I don't doubt it's you," he said. "I'm just wondering how I managed to miss you."

"When I look like this, you mean?"

"You do look quite nice."

"Mmm," she quietly hummed, making him a bit unsure as to how well she took the compliment. "Shall we?"

"Let's," he agreed, allowing the two of them to begin the short walk to their destination.

Thinking of topics for small talk proved to be a little more difficult than he expected, not just because he'd run through most of the things he wanted to ask her during their phone exchange, but also because of Cammy's uniquely imposing presence. Not physically imposing, given he was almost a head taller than her and more built. No, it was all in the way she carried herself: stoic, confident and assertive; like she was there with only one goal in mind and wouldn't tolerate any interruptions.

But instead of finding all this unnerving, it just added to that sense of mystery about her. Something about her just felt so dangerous, and he couldn't help but be drawn in.

"How's work, then?" Kostas finally broke the silence, drawing Cammy's gaze to him.

"Rather uneventful," she said. "I've been taking a bit of a step back recently - not quite a holiday, but close enough to one."

"By choice?"

"By suggestion. Juni thought it would be good for me."

"Has it been?"

There was a slight pause before she answered, like she genuinely had to weigh all the pros and cons before answering, as strange as that was. "It's been nice. Seeing more of her and Decapre is always nice," she said. "But I guess I'm just inherently restless."

"That a fancy way of saying workaholic?"

It was slightly faint, but that got a small chuckle out of her. "Sure," she conceded. "It helps that I never feel like I'm just working for the sake of working."

"I feel like a lot of people would envy that."

"Do you?"

Just like that, she turned the conversation around. Cammy's question didn't come across as judgemental or anything like that, but it wasn't one that he'd really stopped to consider until then. "Hmm…"

When he thought he was close to an answer, he saw the sign for the cafe they were supposed to be going to. "Cups & Felynes. That's us," he said to Cammy, whose attention was quickly drawn to the shop window as they got closer, where they could already see two tabby cats, one brown and the other cream-coloured, lounging on one those towers he'd often see in pet shops and the like. One of them raised its head to look at her through the window as she got a little closer and leaned forward to get a better look at it. As she did, Kostas saw her smile a proper, happy smile; just like that, she somehow seemed like a completely different person, even if he'd only really known her for a few hours at most. It was adorable.

"Go on in and get a closer look," he called out to get her attention while he opened the door. "I'll find us a spot."

Tearing herself away from the window, she strided over with her usual composure and entered the cafe while he held the door open for her, giving him a grateful look as she walked past. Following close behind her, he handled the arrangements with the greeter as promised, letting Cammy wander off to see the cats that had gotten her attention face-to-face. As absorbed as she ended up getting, she joined him in following the greeter to their seat, which thankfully wasn't too difficult for them to get.

The cafe itself was a bit smaller than the one Kostas worked at, but had a similar cozy atmosphere about it. The place was well-lit and not super cluttered with things like tables, sofas and in this case, structures for the resident cats to climb around on, though there seemed to be just enough to keep them happily occupied. Not that Kostas would know - he'd never been too much of a cat person, so he couldn't make a judgment on how adequate the accommodation was.

Cammy, on the other hand, clearly loved what she was saying. Her head kept turning from side to side as a new cat caught her eye; if he hadn't been there, he felt she would've gone off to inspect each and every one of them. Even when they found a cat resting on one of the armchairs they were supposed to be seated at, she was a little hesitant to shoo it off, instead taking the time to greet and pet it before scooping it off and putting it back on the floor.

He definitely made the right call bringing her here.

"Sorry about that," Cammy apologized once they were settled in, finally taking off her sunglasses and setting it down on the table.

"About what? That's half the reason we're here, isn't it?"

"I wouldn't say that. It's certainly a reason, but…" "A pretty big reason. You can be honest," he cut in, partly because he wanted to have a little fun with her and partly because he knew exactly where she meant to go with that statement.

"I was going to say I'll try not to let myself get too distracted," she said, making a point to lean forward to show he had her undivided attention. "On that note, I don't believe I've gotten an answer from you yet."

Rather than asking her for clarification, Kostas tried his best to recall her earlier question himself. "Oh, right," he said when it came back to him. "No, I wouldn't say I'm one of those people."

"Really? So you're satisfied with where you are right now?"

"Well, I'm definitely not working my dream job, if that's what you think I meant," said Kostas. "But I like it well enough. My supervisor is reasonable enough, the vibes of the place are nice and I guess most importantly, I don't feel like a leech."

"A leech? To whom?"

"My cousin. He's been letting me stay with him while I'm in school; him and my uncle back home are also where I've been getting most of my tuition money from. Figured I'd at least try to pitch in a little to make up for that."

"I see," said Cammy. "That's…commendable."

The pause in her compliment was due to an orange cat leaping up onto the table separating them, paying the two of them no mind at first. Looking back over to her for a second, he found her staring at him like a kid would look at their parents when they saw something they really wanted, a type of thing that was very hard to say no to.

"All yours," he told her, watching as she clicked her tongue in order to get its attention, after which she started petting it on the head.

"You're not going to join in?" Cammy asked after a little while.

"I'm good," said Kostas. "I prefer to just admire animals for the most part."

"Why not make an exception?" Upon saying this, she stopped with her pampering, leaning back in her chair and turning her eyes back on him. "Go on, before it runs off," she prompted while motioning to the cat, which already seemed to be getting restless.

Realizing he didn't have much of a choice, Kostas reached out in order to pet its back, only to stop when he saw Cammy raise a finger in warning. "Best not to surprise it," she explained. "Get its attention first."

Figuring she knew what she was talking about, he mimicked the clicking noise she'd used earlier and succeeded in getting their visitor to turn towards him. "There you go," he quietly said to it as he tried reaching out to it again, but stopped yet again when the cat started sniffing his hand.

"That's good what you're doing," he heard Cammy say. "Try touching it now."

After letting it sniff his hand for a little bit longer, Kostas reached behind the cat's head and gently stroked along its back; when he saw no resistance, he repeated the motion a few more times, occasionally glancing Cammy's way in case she had any more insight to share.

"You should probably stop now," she eventually said. "They typically don't like being touched there for too long."

"Oh." Upon hearing that, he reluctantly took his hands off the cat, which he noticed seemed just a bit more tense than before. "Sorry, buddy."

In response, the cat simply yawned and circled their table one more time before leaping back down to the floor, much to Cammy's clear disappointment.

"Shame. I quite liked him."

"We can go and try to get him back," Kostas suggested, feeling ever so slightly guilty for scaring him off.

"If he wants to come back, he'll come back," she said before turning back to him. "Now, where were…"

A new distraction came in the form of their greeter, a girl that would've been just barely older than Kostas, who came up to check on them. Before she got too close, he could hear Cammy quietly sigh to herself.

"I see the residents are treating you well?", she said.

"Quite," Cammy politely replied. "You have an excellent group here."

"Don't I know it. So, is there anything I can get you two while you make yourself comfortable?"

This question gave Kostas an idea - a bit of a risky idea, but one he only had a split second to decide whether he should go through on. "An espresso and some lemon cake for me," he said before Cammy could get a word in, before adding on, "And a mocha and some apple pie for the lady."

He could feel his date looking at him out of the corner of her eye; sneaking a quick peek himself, he could tell right away that he'd surprised her and given she wasn't glaring at him, he would assume pleasantly.

"What he said," she confirmed with the greeter, which came as a relief to Kostas.

After taking a moment to take a quick note of their orders, the greeter looked back up at them. "We'll get that for you right away. Sorry if I interrupted you."

"Thank you," Kostas said to her before she went off, leaving him and Cammy alone once again. Both of them remained silent after they turned back towards each-other and Kostas couldn't help but smile as she narrowed her eyes at him; however, it only took a few seconds for her to give a smile of her own.

"You have a good memory," she complimented.

"We get a lot of regulars. Usually they order more or less the same thing, so I've gotten pretty good at making mental notes of those."

"Have you now?"

"You sound like you don't believe me," he noted.

"Oh, not at all. I just get the feeling your memory's somewhat selective in that regard."

"Some people's usuals are easier to remember than others," he acknowledged. "Juni, for example, almost always orders what you ordered for her the day we met - a caramel mocha and a bit of cheesecake. Pretty easy."

"She doesn't have the most varied diet in the world," Cammy said. "It also doesn't take very much to satisfy her in that regard."

"I noticed." And he didn't just say that for the sake of conversation. Almost every time he saw her, Juni did the exact same thing; ordered her usual, chatted with him for a little bit while it was prepared, then sat down and read for upwards of an hour while she enjoyed her drink. She really did seem like someone who enjoyed and cherished the simple things in life.

"Say, you three all live together, right?"

At first, Cammy seemed a little confused about how he knew this, but it wasn't long until she realized why. "Oh, right. Juni told you, I take it?"

"Yep," he confirmed. "Sorry if it feels like I'm cheating a little, by the way."

"Please, that girl is an open book," she said. "I'd be more concerned if you didn't know half of these things."

"You think she's a good judge of character?"

"Should I not?"

That shut him up really quick. She didn't even change her tone of voice, but just the way she stared him down after the fact gave him the slightest twinge of fear. All this was in spite of how obvious the answer he should be giving her was.

"Ye…no. No, you shouldn't."

Cammy seemed to find this little stumble of his very, very amusing, if the smug smirk on her face was anything to go by. "Thought so," she casually stated, which left him a bit unsure of whether he should feel relieved or not. "So, then, what else would you like to know about my…living arrangements?"

"Nothing much," he said as his confidence returned to him. "How're you finding it?"

"Why, I couldn't ask for better flatmates. Juni and I have been living together for the better part of a decade now; Decapre only moved in with us a few years back, but she's settled in quite well."

Kostas recalled the vague comments Cammy had made about her past with Decapre, which made that whole arrangement rather interesting to him. "And what brought that about, if you don't mind me asking?"

"She…let's just say she needed some time to get back on her feet. Juni and I told her she was welcome to stay with us for as long as she needed, but she's been pretty eager to get to a point where she can support herself."

"Really? Good for her," he commented, and sincerely at that. He could always respect initiative like that.

"Good for her, indeed," Cammy concurred, though he noticed something slightly off about the way she said it.

"You don't sound super thrilled about that," he noted.

Apparently, he'd managed to take her by surprise, given it took a moment before she spoke again. "Hmm, shrewd, too," she noted to herself out loud, both complimenting him and acknowledging his observation at the same time. "I'm happy for her, I really am, but I sometimes feel like I'm doing her harm as well as good."

"How's that?"

"Being with us…well, me specifically, tends to bring back unpleasant memories for her. She's said so herself. She doesn't hold that against me or anything like that, but I know that's not something you want to deal with day in, day out."

"I can imagine," was all Kostas managed to say to that at first. Given how complicated this whole situation seemed to be, it really wasn't his place to make any judgements or conclusions about it; really, he probably should just keep his nose out of it entirely.

"You're not prying," Cammy suddenly assured him, which made him realize he must've gone silent for a good while. "I'm not scared to admit any of this."

"Oh, that's good," he awkwardly replied, slightly shifting in his seat as he readjusted herself. He hadn't forgotten what she'd said to him the last time they talked, about how he should feel free to ask her whatever questions he wanted, but he didn't see that as meaning he didn't have to think twice about what he said. After all, there were plenty of things he probably didn't want her asking him at this stage.

"Anyway, it's good that you're helping her out," he added on, deciding to keep things light.

"She'd do the same for me," Cammy said without a moment's hesitation. He might not know the exact details about her past with Decapre, but there was no doubting how much she cared for her.

"Do you have any siblings, Kostas?"

For the first time that day, he found himself just a little hesitant to answer. "Oh, no, I'm an only child."

"Do you ever wish you did?"

"It's not something I've ever really thought about," he admitted. "I guess my cousin sort of filled that void for me."

"Ah, right, your cousin," she said. "You haven't mentioned his name yet, have you?"

"Michalis," Kostas answered. "But he just goes by Michael nowadays."

"I think I prefer Michalis. Greek names are quite lovely," she noted in a way that almost seemed random, if it weren't for the fact she maintained constant eye contact with him. Try as he might, he couldn't help but get just a little flustered.

"Are you two close?"

"Well, he hasn't kicked me out yet, so…" Once again, he succeeded in getting a small chuckle out of her.

"It was an honest question."

"I know, I know," he conceded, resolving to give her a proper answer this time. "Yeah, I'd say we're pretty close. Granted, he's like a decade older than me, but he's been there to keep me out of trouble, get me out of trouble and whatever else…well, pretty much as long as I can remember."

"Ah, so he's more of a role model for you, then?"

"I don't think I'd ever say that to him, but sure."

"And why is that?" With the way Cammy perked up, he could tell he'd piqued her curiosity. He also noticed that there were one or two burning questions she was refraining from asking him, which he was sure were on her mind as they spoke.

Well, he assumed they were, anyway. And if they were, he appreciated her restraint.

"I don't know," he said. "I guess I'm not really sure how I'd go about doing it."

"It doesn't need to be complicated. Really, you don't even need to use those exact words. Gratitude can be expressed in a lot of different ways."

"Gratitude…" For whatever reason, that word stuck out to him. "I've never acted ungrateful to him," he said, not as a response to what Cammy said, but as more of a general observation.

"And maybe for you two, that's enough," she acknowledged. "But if you ever feel like it isn't, do consider being a bit more open with him."

This wasn't exactly groundbreaking advice, but it did make Kostas briefly stop and consider his lot. Sometimes, he did feel like he was riding on Michael's coattails, but at the same time, his cousin was always adamant that all he wanted was to give him the means to make something of himself.

"He expects me to do well, so I'm going to do well," he said to Cammy. "I guess I can always tell him something to that same effect, but I say talk is cheap."

There was a brief pause where his date seemed to digest what he'd told her. "Hmm, interesting," she soon uttered. "I take it you're the 'actions over words' type, then?"

"Guess so," was all he could say. "Are you?"

"Mostly," she replied. "But I do think kind words from the right person can go a long way."

The catch to that statement seemed pretty obvious to him, and it wasn't one he disagreed with. "I'll keep that in mind," he told her.

"You do that." Leaning back into her armchair, Cammy maintained eye contact with him across the table. There was something so intense about it all, and the longer it went on, the more he felt that strange thrill stirring up again. That's not to say that Kostas was scared of her at that moment - far from it. He didn't get the sense that she was silently judging him or picking him apart for weaknesses - no, somehow, he got the sense that she was just as intrigued by him as he was by her.

"You haven't exhausted that list already, have you?"

He could tell she was teasing him, almost daring him to go ahead and disappoint her, knowing full well he had no intention of doing so.

"Not even close."

...

Author's Note: I wasn't originally going to split the first date over two chapters, but this one was already getting pretty wordy and there's still a good bit for me to get through, so I figured I may as well release this portion to tide you all over until it's done. I don't think it'll take too long for the second portion to come out if it comes as easily as this one did, so hopefully you'll see it before the end of the month.