Table 6 (closed)

[maybenotacreep]

"Hi." He held up the index card with a nervous grin and set it on the table as he sat down.
"I'm a little nervous." He admitted. "Have you ever done one of these before?"

 

[littlebluebird]

“Hey there.” She greets him with a smile, tucks an errant strand of hair behind her ear, and adjusts her glasses.

“No, first time, and yeah,” she nods and confides, “me too.” She takes a breath, selects a card on the table, and glances back up at him. “Ready?”

She turns the card over, ”Cats or Dogs?”

 

[maybenotacreep]

She was cute. Matt was sucker for a girl in glasses.

"Oh no. Controversy right out the gate." He held up a finger as if making a legal argument. "First...for the record...I like, and have owned, both." Then a slight laugh. "But its one hundred percent dogs."

 

[littlebluebird]

She laughs and shakes her head, his humor diffusing some of her nervous tension. She motions her hands, palms facing him in understanding, before bringing them back to the table. “It’s cats for me. They’re more independent.”

She surveys the cards laid before them and replies, “Oh, I’m sure there’s a mix of duds and hard hitters in here—ah!” Realization zipping across her features.

“I was so focused that my manners completely left me.” She extends her hand. “My name’s Risa. Like Lisa but with an R.”

 

[maybenotacreep]

"Oh! Yes. Matt. Like Cat but with an M."

He immediately regretted the lame joke, cringing inwardly.

He began to reach his hand across the table to shake hers, and managed to promptly upset his water glass. Soaking the cuff of his crisp, powder blue dress shirt.

 

[littlebluebird]

Oh no!

Her chuckle at his joke turns into mild alarm as her hands reactively spring across the table to steady his glass and catch his wrist.

“Ah, a little wet but it’s just water. It’ll dry in a minute,” she reassures. She grabs a napkin and presses it against his cuff, then slips her other hand in his.

“Pleasure meeting you, Matt.”

 

[maybenotacreep]

He blushed slightly. "Well I'm very glad to meet you as well. Not sure about the pleasure part, since I'm doing a pretty good job of embarrassing myself."

That smile.

Her shook her soft hand with the usual awkward internal debate about how firm a 'date' handshake should be. He opted for fairly soft.

 

[littlebluebird]

She notes the blush across his cheeks and finds him sweet.

“You’re not embarrassing yourself. If you hadn’t knocked your water, chances are high it would’ve been me, and honestly,” she eyes her own water and shifts it out of arm’s range before dropping her voice to conspiratorial tones, “I may still do so. The night is young.”

She matches his handshake with a reassuring squeeze and sits back to wave her hand. “I believe it’s dealer’s choice.”

 

[maybenotacreep]

"Either you are as clumsy as me. OR. You are telling a white lie to make me feel better. So that's a point for you in either case. Well done."

He reached up to loosen the dark blue knit tie, and started rolling up his damp sleeve. "Since I've already blown the 'sharp dressed guy' thing."

He pulled the next card. "Okay. When meeting a person of the opposite sex, what is the first thing you notice?"

 

[littlebluebird]

“I’m not the type to needlessly soothe someone’s ego, and I assure you I can be—shit.”

Upon shifting her position to bring her knee to her chest, she had nailed the underside of the table with a loud bang; the sound disturbing both their glasses and cards, and drawing the attention of other tables.

On a wince she finishes her sentence, “…just as clumsy as you. God, that smarts.”

She taps the table tries to laugh it off. “Well, with any sex, not just the opposite, it’s their presence. The energy they bring to the room. But if we’re talking physical attributes, I dunno, eyes? Windows of the soul?”

 

[maybenotacreep]

He winces in sympathy as her knee strikes the table, but can't help laughing at the perfect timing.

He takes an imaginary drink of his empty water glass with a slight shake of his head, and a conspiritorial look that say 'play it cool, nothing happened'

"Eyes are a solid choice. You stole my answer, so I have pick something else." He drummed the table with his fingers a moment.

"Ok, you gotta hear me out on this one, cause its gonna sound weird. On women specifically. Shoes." He sat up straighter with a grin as he rushed to explain his answer.

"And it has nothing to do with feet! They can give you clues about personality or intentions. A short girl wearing boots with really tall blocky heels night be sensitive about her height. A girl at a bar with six inch stilettos, doing that awkward stilt walk is obviously hoping to attract attention."

"It's always a little interesting to see how much a woman might compromise between comfort and looks."

Too late Matt considers that he has no idea what kind of shoes Risa is wearing, and he may have just walked into a mine field depending on how she takes his poorly explained insights.

 

[littlebluebird]

She can’t help but smile at his act to play it cool and nods in gratitude.

“Shoes.” She shakes her head. “That’s not weird at all. A man who takes in details. I can definitely appreciate that.” Risa finds the genuine exuberance of his answers both endearing and refreshing.

She hums then, pensive for a moment. “And your thoughts of a woman of average height wearing flats?”

Of course she’s referring to herself and putting him on the spot.

 

[maybenotacreep]

“Assuming we are still in the early ‘sweeping generalizations' stage, flats suggest someone that isn’t trying too hard, so generally a sign of confidence.”

Matt then raises a quizzical eyebrow thinking.. “Also usually a sign of superior intelligence and exceedingly good taste.” He smirks slightly. “You’re wearing flats aren’t you?”

 

[littlebluebird]

She places her hand over her heart in theatric surprise. “My good sir, such astute observations. Why I am, indeed. You must be quite brilliant yourself.”

Her eyes dance as she reveals the next card. “Do you have any tattoos?”

 

[maybenotacreep]

Matt cringes at the question. "Oh man. It's so lame. But in my defense I got it freshman year in college and my friends and I thought it was funny."

"It's the broken image icon you get on Windows when it can't load an image. 'Ha ha. It's supposed to be a tattoo but the image couldn't he found'. Such s dumb joke.

"But it's on my shoulder, so you'll have to get my shirt off of you want to see it."

Did he just say that? How embarrassing.

 

[littlebluebird]

“That is hilarious and clever, especially for a first tattoo. And I love that you did it with friends; bonds you together to that time in your life.” She smiles with mirth and responds to its location. “Duly noted and challenge accepted.”

She looks around, then stands up and slides the waistband of her crimson skirt a few inches off her hip. “In college, a friend of mine expressed interest in tattooing, so I let her practice on me.” She points to a symbol of The Rebel Alliance about the size of a half dollar off her hip bone.

“And then…” she pauses for effect and reaches for the hem of her skirt to reveal her left quad adorned with a hare standing amongst blue jacaranda blooms. Then switches to her right to reveal a fox amongst cherry blossoms and autumn foliage. Swashes of vibrant color sweep across olive tones of her skin. “After several years of practice and apprenticeship I commissioned her for my fox and hare.”

Her eyes narrow in at the top of her knee and she sighs at the blooming pink and light purple. “Apparently this table will be leaving its mark on me as well.”

 

[maybenotacreep]

He smiled at the first tattoo, happy to see he was with a fellow ‘nerd'. But he was not totally prepared for the other two. The work was beautiful, but he could not help his lizard brain insisting he take in the exquisite curves of her legs.


He is blushing slightly when she looks back at him.


“Nice color work.” Had his voice just cracked a little? “The tattoos are not half bad either.” he said jokingly.


“Seriously though, those are gorgeous, she does great work. I'm jealous.” He picked up his water glass and remembered it was empty.


He waved for a waitress. “Can I buy you a drink?”

 

[littlebluebird]

Risa expresses her thanks then slightly raises her brows and teases, “Thirsty after my little show?”

She hums for a moment, “I’m happy with water, but if you’re thinking of cocktails, I’d love an Old Fashioned.”

 

[maybenotacreep]

She wasn't wrong. This woman seemed very confident and he was hoping a little liquid courage would help him keep up.

"It was quite the show. My secret plan is to ply you with alcohol until you're tipsy enough to give me an encore." He replied with an exaggerated grin while drumming his steepled fingers together like a bad bond villain.

He orders two old fashions when the waitress arrives. Then pulls the next card. Something about being a morning or evening person.

"Interesting." He says looking at the card. "Do you believe in kissing on the first date?"

 

[littlebluebird]

She laughs at his impression of a scheming villain. “You don’t need to get me inebriated, Mr. Smithers. I like you,” she says simply.

Risa meets his grey-blue eyes as an image of her reaching across the table and gently wrapping her hand around his navy tie with a soft, “C’mere…” flashes across her mind. She quickly shutters her eyes, and drops her gaze to the table to reset herself; heat tinting her cheeks.

“I think with the right person and right timing, yeah,” she nods. “Kissing on the first date can happen.”

 

[maybenotacreep]

I like you.

The words caused a tingle on the back of his neck.

Was this really going as well as it seemed like it was? He felt like he was punching a little above his weight class. This girl was gorgeous. But maybe that was it. He’d gone in thinking he probably didn’t have a shot, and so he hadn’t put the effort into trying to be impressive.

“I agree. No use setting artificial deadlines for things that should just happen naturally if you just get out of their way.” He leaned forward to speak a little softer. “ A good night kiss is the classic thumbs up or down on a first date. But what about next level? If things really click, like it really went great. Do you wait for a second date for a full on teenage makeout session?”

 

[littlebluebird]

Risa takes a sip of her water, bemused by his eagerness, then leans in bringing their faces a few hand spans apart.

“If things really click. Everything goes great. Vibes are vibing. Stars align. Moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie.” She shrugs with a smile, “A full on teenage makeout session, dry humping included, can be in the cards for a first date.”

She laughs as she turns over the next card. “Speaking of: Are you for or against pineapple on pizza?”