NOVEL NEXT 9. First Date (Tess)
After a brief discussion, Amy and I agreed on getting Chinese take-out. Neither of us felt like a fancy sit-down restaurant dinner. And while she didn't say it, I got the impression she wasn't entirely comfortable yet just being herself out in public. At the coffee shop this morning she definitely acted self-conscious and awkward.
So once we decided what we wanted, I called my regular place and gave them our order, then gave Amy the directions how to get there.
The two of us stayed more or less quiet for the remainder of the drive, and I found my thoughts wandering back to the encounter with Amy's roommate.
He seemed incredibly blasé about Amy's magical overnight transition. I was positive he had to know it was impossible. He thought she was trans so he knew enough about the subject to recognize her as in the closet or in denial, surely he'd have known people can't just completely transition overnight.
Which left me thinking the only explanation for his lack of reaction was the Goddess's magic. I wasn't sure how to feel about that, and I could understand why it upset Amy so much. On the other hand I was getting more curious about that magic, and the magic that changed Amy's clothes and things. I almost hoped I'd get a chance to see it in action.
When we got to the restaurant I left Amy in the car while I went in to pick up the food. They had it all ready so I was only in there a couple minutes, and from there it was just a very short drive back to my place.
I carried the food up while Amy brought her backpack, and as I led her into the apartment I asked "Do you drink wine? Or would you like something else with dinner?"
Amy thought about it for a moment then shrugged, "I guess I can try some wine."
"All right," I replied with a smile. "I'll grab the drinks and cutlery and stuff."
She put her backpack and purse on the floor by the sofa for now while I left the food on the coffee table. I went into my little kitchen and grabbed a couple plates, cutlery, and some napkins, then opened the fridge and got us both glasses of white wine.
Back in the living-room, Amy moved granny's scrapbook and journal to the corner table. She was just setting out and opening the food containers as I returned.
I sat down beside her and set out the drinks and dishes as I sort of apologized in advance, "The wine's nothing fancy. It's cheap-and-cheerful Riesling plonk, but it's cold and refreshing and I think it tastes all right."
Amy smiled, "Thanks Tess. I wouldn't know the difference anyways, I'm not much of a drinker."
We had a good little spread of food set out for the two of us, and I was positive there'd be enough leftovers for breakfast, maybe lunch too. We had spicy Szechuan beef and noodles, general tsao chicken, honey garlic pork, and vegetable fried rice. Plus an order of egg rolls and some deep-fried wontons.
As the two of us got started on the food, I offered "I can put on some music if you like? Or find something on TV?"
She finished eating a forkful of chicken then replied, "Music might be nice?"
A few minutes later I had one of my playlists going, but I kept the volume down at a reasonable level so we could still talk.
The food was good, the wine was acceptable, and the music was nice. And despite all the stress and mysteries of the day, I had to admit I was enjoying Amy's company. And it struck me her earlier tease was right, this sort of turned out like a date after all.
The two of us ate in silence for a few minutes, and it started feeling kind of awkward. I figured we needed to talk about something but didn't want to bring up the magic or Goddess stuff since Amy said she was tired of that earlier.
Instead I asked, "So it's Saturday night, middle of summer. What would you usually be doing tonight, if you weren't having dinner with me?"
Amy washed down some spicy beef with a couple gulps of wine, then blushed slightly and shrugged "Mike would bug me to go out drinking or partying with the guys, but I almost never did that. Saturday nights would usually be like every other night. I'd be at home alone, gaming on the computer. If I remembered to eat I'd probably just have a sandwich, or some left-overs. Or maybe just some chips. How about you?"
I had to blush as well, my answer wasn't much better. "I'd be home alone, reading or watching TV. Dinner would either be take-away, or left-overs from last night's take-away."
She commented as she drained the last of her wine, "Sounds like we're both a couple loners? More comfortable at home than out in a crowd."
"Maybe," I shrugged as I got up. I went into the kitchen and got the box of wine out of the fridge, then refilled both our glasses. "Going out alone isn't that great, unless you're going to singles places looking to hook up with someone. But going out as a couple is a lot nicer."
"Huh. I wouldn't know," she replied in a dejected tone. She picked up her glass and had a gulp of her wine then thanked me for the refill, while I put the box back in the fridge.
After I sat down with her again I had a few sips of wine then asked, "No girlfriend, I take it?"
"Or no boyfriend either?" I added.
"I've never been into guys so definitely no boyfriend," she said with a blush. Then she sighed, "No girlfriend either. For that matter, no friends at all really. Mike's the closest thing to a friend, but that's just because we're roommates. I've never been comfortable or confident enough to meet people."
"I'm sorry," I replied quietly. That didn't sound like a fun direction to take the conversation, and I assumed her discomfort or lack of confidence probably stemmed from dysphoria.
Amy seemed to have all but finished eating, she was just nibbling on a crispy wonton and sipping her wine. I was still worried about her not eating enough, but between the sandwich at lunch and what she ate just now I figured we didn't have to worry about her fainting again for a little while at least.
I finished up what was on my plate then just relaxed next to her as I sipped my wine and the two of us listened to the music playing in the background.
After a few minutes she broke the silence, "So when you're not all alone, what sort of stuff would you do? Like with a friend, or a girlfriend?"
I smiled, "There's the usual sort of date things? Dinner and a movie, or dancing. Though we don't have a lot of options around here for that. Beyond the typical stuff, there's all kinds of things that are fun to do with a friend. Especially in summer when the weather's good."
She looked curious, so I continued "There's loads of hiking trails and scenic places to visit around here? Like for an afternoon or a day-trip. Even just going on a picnic in a local park can be fun. Basically anything can be a fun date activity when you do it with someone you like? Go-kart racing, arcades, going into the city and doing touristy things, heck even spending a day at the museum or an art gallery can be special when you do it with someone you love."
Amy had a thoughtful look on her face as she nodded slowly. She had some more wine then said "I guess I never really thought about that sort of thing. It makes sense though."
After that we were both quiet again for a little while. She still looked thoughtful, and I was trying not to let my mood drop, while both of us sipped our drinks.
Half the things I mentioned were things I used to enjoy doing with Christine, and thinking about them left me feeling hurt and lonely again. Not to mention it reminded me how much I enjoyed doing some of those things, but doing them alone was too painful.
We were both just about finished our second glasses of wine and neither of us had touched any food in a while, so I finally started packaging up the left-overs. Amy helped, and a few minutes later it was all tucked away in the fridge for later.
"Want some more wine?" I offered, since we were both there in the kitchen.
She nodded, "Yeah, thanks."
I refilled both our glasses, then we sat down together on the sofa once more.
After another gulp of wine Amy asked in a sort of tentative voice, "Maybe we could go for a walk or something tomorrow? Or a hike? It's been forever since I was out in nature, and it sounds kind of nice."
I turned to look at her for a few seconds as I tried to figure out what she was thinking. I'd literally just mentioned that as a fun date idea and now she was asking to do that with me. Was she asking me on a date? Or did she just want to go for a walk in a park? And if it was a date, then what was tonight? She's the one who teased that I was asking her on a date when I suggested she stay here and have dinner with me.
I couldn't deny that I was attracted to her. I was almost captivated from the moment she walked into the coffee shop this morning.
"It's fine if you don't want to do that," Amy said after a half minute, but she sounded like she was trying to hide her disappointment. "I'm sorry if I made it weird or I shouldn't have asked that."
"No," I shook my head. "Sorry I was just... It caught me a bit off-guard? I'd honestly really like that Amy. I haven't done that sort of thing since last summer and I kind of miss it? I'd love to go walking or hiking with you tomorrow."
Amy's eyes lit up as she smiled, "Thanks Tess. I'm already looking forward to it."
She looked a little relieved that I wasn't upset, but more than that she looked excited, and happy. And that sent a little flutter through me. I'd already seen her smile a few times today. There were sad smiles, wry smiles, amused smiles, but I was positive this was the first time I'd seen a happy smile on her face. And seeing it did things to me. Especially knowing that her happy smile was because I agreed to go a 'date' with her tomorrow.
Rather than respond I just sat there staring at her beautiful smiling face and sparkling purple eyes.
I finally snapped out of it when she drained the last of her glass then stood up and excused herself. She picked up her backpack and disappeared into the bathroom.
While I waited for her to return I sat back on the sofa again and had a bit more of my drink. I was feeling a little tipsy, and I wasn't sure if that was due to how my heart started racing when Amy smiled at me or if it was due to being nearly finished my third glass of wine.
She was in there for about ten minutes, then when she emerged she was wearing nothing but a large black nightshirt. Her face was flushed as she made her way back over to me, and I noticed she wasn't all that steady on her feet. She dropped her backpack next to the sofa then sat down beside me.
"I am not used to that at all," she stated with a frown. She brought her hands up to her chest then proceeded to massage herself through the nightshirt.
I stared at her as she rubbed under her boobs and around the sides of them, before it finally hit me she was talking about wearing a bra. And she wasn't trying to be lewd, she was probably just sore from wearing the unfamiliar garment a little too tight.
Before I could get myself in trouble by saying anything silly or suggestive, I decided to follow her lead.
I finished my drink then excused myself. I visited the washroom first and took a minute to remove my make-up, then went into my bedroom. I stripped off my clothes and tossed everything in my hamper then looked in my closet. After a second or two of indecision, I picked out a cute dark-green satin babydoll. It wasn't sheer, but it was a lot sexier than the track-pants and t-shirt I usually used as pyjamas.
When I emerged from my bedroom, Amy looked up at me and her eyes widened as her breath caught in her chest for a moment. She continued to stare as I approached, and she gulped slightly as I sat down right next to her on the sofa.
I smiled and asked, "What would you like to do now?"
Rather than answer she just bit her lower lip and stared. Her eyes flicked up and down over me and her cheeks flushed slightly.
It was exactly the sort of reaction I was hoping for.
