Here's to First Dates. (Attn: Reign)
Will paced his apartment, rubbing his palms along his jeans. She had called the day before, she wanted to meet some where for coffee or something. It had been years, several decades, fine...more than a century, since he'd had a first date. He didn't date. Life did not need the complications of a woman, not to mention that beyond seduction he found himself shy and tongue tied. How in the nine hells was he going to pull off coffee or something?
Sighing, he moved to the little table that held his things and put them on his person in their proper places. He'd fed a few days ago so he was glad to not be distracted by hunger, well at least not that kind. He closed his eyes and pulled the spunky blonde into the foreground of his memory. She was lovely and had a way of speaking that left him wanting to know more and more about her.
Well, she wouldn't be the first human he'd fallen for, and she probably wouldn't be the last. A beat up dark brown leather coat completed his out fit of jeans, a grey and green striped Polo shirt that his shop assistant had given him for Christmas last year over a white t-shirt, dark brown hiking type boots, and a matching belt. He hoped he looked alright and not too out of sync with the rest of the world.
The sun had set just over an hour ago and the sky far off past the towers was still painted in brilliant pinks and golds. He made his way down to the street loosing sight of that glorious sky. He loved the sunset, it was a majestic end to the day and a perfect herald to the night. The coffee shop they were meeting at was not too far from the towers, but he left early enough so that he would either arrive early or allow for some fated mis-hap.
The brass bell tied to the door tinkled as he let himself in, mis-hap free. A quick scan of the room told him she had not yet arrived. He found a table that was both intimate and public. The lighting was low, and it was in the front corner near the window, apart from the other tables. The two chairs next to the low table were dark and plush, lending to people curling up and staying awhile, maybe ordering more than one drink, to while away the time. To him it seemed perfect, he hoped Reign agreed.
He squeezed her hand and Reign grinned and playfully tugged at his.
It seemed to her that was the second odd comment he’d made. Well not so much odd as anachronistic. He’d mentioned being apprenticed young and that didn’t stack up with what she knew of the world.
“You talk like you’re a hundred years old. I’ll grant you that you look good for your age but don’t you think I’m a little young for you if that’s the case?”
It was a tease and she flashed a wicked mischievous smile at him as she said it.
"Oh, but m'lady we age well in the Netherlands. I am actually one hundred and forty-seven. Shall I regale you with tales of the ravishes of Civil War or perhaps you would like to hear about the invention of the computer. Oh I know! I shall teach you how to dance."
He gave her a wink, and spun her into his arms, twirling her in a quick waltz. He stopped their motion smoothly, raised her hand to his lips and kissed the knuckles again. "My ma always told me I had an old soul. I spent much of my time with my nose in the family bible or the paper Da brought home. Living out in the middle of no where doesn't provide much more stimulation than that. So I occupied my brain in deep thinking when I had nothing to read. You know I was almost twenty before I saw a computer, and even older before I was introduced to a cell phone. Perhaps I should educate myself a bit better, but I rather enjoy lifes more simple pleasures."
It was the most he'd ever spoken to her and it felt good to share those things with her even if the time line was a bit...off.
“If you’re that old the Netherlands is a veritable fountain of youth. You should bottle the air and sell it.”
It was hard for her to imagine living that cut off, but then again she’d grown up in one of the biggest cities in the country so she’d seen a lot and always had something to do.
“I suppose that could be relaxing, maybe easier. I’ve never really cared for my cell phone but then again I don’t use it a lot. Of course I couldn’t live without my laptop, writing all that and the research and having to do it by hand.”
She grimaced playfully.
“You seem to have come out of it pretty well balanced though. I congratulate you and your folks and can't fault you for wanting to simplfy”
He gave a soft chuckle. He was enjoying himself immensely and was quite looking forward to doing this with her again. He only hoped she felt the same.
"I try and make it to the library about once a week and find a new book. I usually just walk down an aisle and pick a book at random. If I've read it I put it back and try again. Have you been to the library here. It's one of the most beautiful I've ever been in."
“I have it was a lovely place. Its very well stocked too I’ve found just about everything I’ve needed.”
The idea of reading at random made her want to drool. Too often she only read what she had to for her paper. It had been, hell was, one of her favorite past times but time was short lately.
“Fiction or non-fiction or both?”
Her steered them around a group of teenagers that were doing their teenage huddle around someones car, while a couple of them use skate boards, thing. "My favorite non-fiction are usually biographies or auto-biographies. I find people, past and present worth immersing myself in."
“I read a biography of Lucretia Borgia in high school, just for fun. You should have seen the looks I got carrying it around. Since then I’ve generally stuck to fiction.”
She eyed the kids slightly suspiciously, she hadn’t spent a lot of time in the classroom but enough to make her slightly leery of kids. Which was terrible, most of them were decent.
“I missed the whole vampire thing. I’ve never read so much as a chapter of an Anne Rice novel. I know a lot of folks go in for it. Any recommendations?”
"Anne Rice is a good place to wet your feet, but if you want something more modern and much more fun look for the Laurell Hamilton series that center around Anita Blake. She's a vampire hunter that gets herself mixed up in all kinds of strange things. There are a great many fantastical creatures in Hamilton's universe. Were-animals, fairies, ghosts, zombies, mythical legends come to life. And Anita just sort of stumbles her way into it all. I also recommend Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series and Savannah Russe's Darkwing Chronicles. Though that series takes vampirism to a whole different place. It turns the poor creatures into giant bats that work for the military."
He realized he's begun to babble so he stopped talking and smiled at Reign. No where in any literature that he'd read did they actually get vampirism right. Vamps didn't turn pale and ghostly, or loose their heart beat or die from silver bullets or a stake through the heart and every singe vampire novel stuck to those like they were the only thing that could keep the reality from ever being brought to life. Not that it mattered in the grand scheme of things, so he pushed it aside to brood over some other time.
“Tell me you don’t have any glue on fangs or a black cape in your closet at home do you?”
She stepped playfully into him trying to get him to go a bit off stride as she slipped into a bad Transylvanian accent.
“So this is not a recent interest is it? You’ve done your research I can see.”
Grinning madly she dropped the accent and leaned hard in the general direction of a store display. It was a bit unusual it was jazz albums and artifacts; ticket stubs, old programs from concerts, autographed napkins. Unabashedly she stuck her nose to the glass and began to skim things hoping something would catch her eye –and- be in her price range.
“Do you like jazz at all?”
He fangs weren't removable, but he wasn't about to show them to her, that would just be stupid. He took a side step to keep from stumbling when she nudged him and he caught her around the waist, giving her side a gentle squeeze.
"No, I've been interested in them since I was young. The concept is fascinating, and if you are going to do accents like that you should get the lisp right."
He slid around behind her as she pressed her face to the display, he kept his hands on her waist, but refrained from pressing his body to her's. He wanted to, oh heaven help him he wanted to. He wanted to press into her, and nuzzle his nose in her neck and breath deeply of her, kiss a line down that neck and...he took a small breath and shook his head a little. That was no way to think of a lady and he was not going to give in to his more baser instincts, not with Reign.
"I like most music. I'm not fond of rap or the metal genre, but smooth things like classical and music with soul like jazz are right up my alley."
Reign was turning this over in her mind and half thinking aloud as she continued to peruse the display. Even thinking about vampires and looking for something cool she was still aware of where Will was.
Knowing he was behind her and not seeing anything she could have Reign turned and grinned up at him. It was as flirty as she got, standing close to him and smiling hoping he might get a little bolder than he had been so far.
“There’s nothing wrong with a good metal fest once in a while, so long as it’s done with class.”
He slid his tongue gently along her lower lip, then pulled the ripe flesh into his mouth and sucked gently. He let her lips slide from his, pressed his lips against her's once more and pulled away. He stayed close and smiled at her.
"I hope that wasn't too forward of me."
“Not at all. I was hoping you might.”
Honesty was the best policy in a case like this.
Grinning up at him she thought fast. Really, she wasn’t up for making out on the street and at the very least, the mood had turned a bit more intimate.
“Did you want to come back to my place for a drink?”
Great… now she sounded like a cheap floozy. Maybe this was why she didn’t date much?
"I would love to."
He moved away from her slightly and enclosed her hand in his. "Did you walk or drive tonight?"
At least he wasn’t taking this the wrong way, at least she didn’t think he was, and that was good.
With more confidence than she felt she took his hand and found her car making the short drive to her place.
((OOC… permission to move Will… both out))