http://i.imgur.com/wCUI83z.jpg
“Yea… That would be really amazing, Chris.”
He smiled at her and pulled out his phone. The tapas place was easy to google and had an online table reservation form. Just as neatly, there was an Uber already on the spot. One nice thing about being at a convention center is that the drivers were probably constantly just shuttling back and forth from the lobby entrance to the nearby restaurants at this point.
“Hey cool, they’ll be ready as soon as we get downstairs. It’s like things are all lining up for us.”
He offered his arm and it was like she was anticipating it - like they were a couple. He couldn’t help beaming, and the kiss on the cheek just made it better. It seemed hard to really look back and see how they’d gone from acquaintances to casual friends to … well … whatever they were now. He felt like if he looked to closely at things it might all disappear into a mirage, so he should just enjoy each moment.
In the lobby when eyes turned to look at them, he knew they weren’t looking at the cosplayer Fiona, they were looking at the really cute woman on his arm. Well, aside from one fan who recognized her out of costume. Chris figured that was going to get more common, and on the plus side that would mean that they’d been successful in getting her face and work out there. He didn’t even know how many business cards they had gone through today; there wasn’t much left of the stack he’d shoved into his pockets.
He gave a small laugh to himself, then nudged Fiona with his elbow. “Look at the corner by that red painting.” There was a couple there, pretty clearly into each other and ignoring the world going by, but Chris also recognized them as the muscular Radioactive Man and whip-thin Fallout Boy that had been doing hilarious rounds of the floor today as well. They made as cute a couple out of costume as they had been dynamic in their live riparte. No wonder they played off of each other so well.
Chris gave a little mock bow, perhaps inspired by the playfulness of the ex-comic couple, and held Fiona’s hand as she climbed into the back of the Honda Civic. With a glance at the hatchback he realized this probably would have been easier for all their luggage than the classic taxi sedan.
“You guys were for ‘La poca luz’, right?” the lady said from the front. “Great choice. You mind my advice?” she asked as she wheeled into the traffic with a sure foot on the gas.
“Yeah sure - what do you like there?” Chris gave Fiona a smile. Often when a stranger asks if you want their advice, they’re likely to give it to you anyway.
“So paella is huge and pretty good, but you’re not likely to want to take leftovers to your hotel room, so skip it and do the Tapas Especial. You’ll get a lot of great stuff to choose from and it makes for a wonderful, long romantic meal.” She looked at Chris in the rear-view and gave him a wink. With his hand wrapped around hers, it probably looked pretty much like a typical date night to any observer. “Oh, and definitely get the fried goat cheese. And the house sangria, it’s perfect for it.”
Chris laughed. “You sound like a regular. Time for your dinner break?”
“Nah, not while there are so many people like you heading to dinner. Gotta make my rent. I’ll just think of you two having a wonderful long talk while I much my granola bars up here.”
Chris looked over at Fiona. He couldn’t deny - it really was a date with her, after all this time, wasn’t it?
“We should probably talk at the restaurant, huh?”, Fiona said.
His heart dropped. “We should talk.” had never been a sentence that was followed by anything good for Chris. But looking at her face, she seemed really happy. Like really, really happy. He tried to keep his smile up, hoping that the sudden lurch in his stomach didn’t show.
“Yeah, yeah, definitely.” He squeezed her hand just as the car gave a sudden swerve towards the curb.
“Here ya go!” their driver announced. “You two have a great night.” Chris helped Fiona out while thanking the driver. “Don’t forget the sangria!” she called as she pulled away.
A elegant young woman in a little black dress greeted them at the door and with a quick check of her list led them into the buzz of the restaurant. Still holding Fiona’s hand, Chris followed, trying not to look at the hostess’s backside - it wasn’t as nice as Fiona’s anyway.
The back of the restaurant was much quieter than the front near the bar, with lots of small booths each lit by a small light in the middle of the table. Each light looked like a unique piece of art, different from booth to booth. Their booth was a half-circle, one bench seat wrapping around allowing the occupants to either sit across from each other or sit close together and look out on the rest of the restaurant floor.
“After you” Chris nodded to Fiona.
“Your waitress will be Maria.” the hostess said. “Can I put in anything to get you started with?”
“We’ll take a pitcher of the house sangria, please?” Chris grinned at Fiona and slid in next to her.
“Yea… That would be really amazing, Chris.”
He smiled at her and pulled out his phone. The tapas place was easy to google and had an online table reservation form. Just as neatly, there was an Uber already on the spot. One nice thing about being at a convention center is that the drivers were probably constantly just shuttling back and forth from the lobby entrance to the nearby restaurants at this point.
“Hey cool, they’ll be ready as soon as we get downstairs. It’s like things are all lining up for us.”
He offered his arm and it was like she was anticipating it - like they were a couple. He couldn’t help beaming, and the kiss on the cheek just made it better. It seemed hard to really look back and see how they’d gone from acquaintances to casual friends to … well … whatever they were now. He felt like if he looked to closely at things it might all disappear into a mirage, so he should just enjoy each moment.
In the lobby when eyes turned to look at them, he knew they weren’t looking at the cosplayer Fiona, they were looking at the really cute woman on his arm. Well, aside from one fan who recognized her out of costume. Chris figured that was going to get more common, and on the plus side that would mean that they’d been successful in getting her face and work out there. He didn’t even know how many business cards they had gone through today; there wasn’t much left of the stack he’d shoved into his pockets.
He gave a small laugh to himself, then nudged Fiona with his elbow. “Look at the corner by that red painting.” There was a couple there, pretty clearly into each other and ignoring the world going by, but Chris also recognized them as the muscular Radioactive Man and whip-thin Fallout Boy that had been doing hilarious rounds of the floor today as well. They made as cute a couple out of costume as they had been dynamic in their live riparte. No wonder they played off of each other so well.
Chris gave a little mock bow, perhaps inspired by the playfulness of the ex-comic couple, and held Fiona’s hand as she climbed into the back of the Honda Civic. With a glance at the hatchback he realized this probably would have been easier for all their luggage than the classic taxi sedan.
“You guys were for ‘La poca luz’, right?” the lady said from the front. “Great choice. You mind my advice?” she asked as she wheeled into the traffic with a sure foot on the gas.
“Yeah sure - what do you like there?” Chris gave Fiona a smile. Often when a stranger asks if you want their advice, they’re likely to give it to you anyway.
“So paella is huge and pretty good, but you’re not likely to want to take leftovers to your hotel room, so skip it and do the Tapas Especial. You’ll get a lot of great stuff to choose from and it makes for a wonderful, long romantic meal.” She looked at Chris in the rear-view and gave him a wink. With his hand wrapped around hers, it probably looked pretty much like a typical date night to any observer. “Oh, and definitely get the fried goat cheese. And the house sangria, it’s perfect for it.”
Chris laughed. “You sound like a regular. Time for your dinner break?”
“Nah, not while there are so many people like you heading to dinner. Gotta make my rent. I’ll just think of you two having a wonderful long talk while I much my granola bars up here.”
Chris looked over at Fiona. He couldn’t deny - it really was a date with her, after all this time, wasn’t it?
“We should probably talk at the restaurant, huh?”, Fiona said.
His heart dropped. “We should talk.” had never been a sentence that was followed by anything good for Chris. But looking at her face, she seemed really happy. Like really, really happy. He tried to keep his smile up, hoping that the sudden lurch in his stomach didn’t show.
“Yeah, yeah, definitely.” He squeezed her hand just as the car gave a sudden swerve towards the curb.
“Here ya go!” their driver announced. “You two have a great night.” Chris helped Fiona out while thanking the driver. “Don’t forget the sangria!” she called as she pulled away.
A elegant young woman in a little black dress greeted them at the door and with a quick check of her list led them into the buzz of the restaurant. Still holding Fiona’s hand, Chris followed, trying not to look at the hostess’s backside - it wasn’t as nice as Fiona’s anyway.
The back of the restaurant was much quieter than the front near the bar, with lots of small booths each lit by a small light in the middle of the table. Each light looked like a unique piece of art, different from booth to booth. Their booth was a half-circle, one bench seat wrapping around allowing the occupants to either sit across from each other or sit close together and look out on the rest of the restaurant floor.
“After you” Chris nodded to Fiona.
“Your waitress will be Maria.” the hostess said. “Can I put in anything to get you started with?”
“We’ll take a pitcher of the house sangria, please?” Chris grinned at Fiona and slid in next to her.