Date Night (closed to Roosevelt)

[starting_over]

"You can do this, Samantha," she said out loud to her reflection in the mirror as she finished her makeup. "You've faced hardened criminals in open court, you learned to walk again, you can certainly handle dinner with an attractive man you've already seen socially a few times without turning into a complete idiot."

As pep talks go, it probably wasn't going to win any awards, but it did the job for her. She'd gone down at least a few degrees of nervousness. Enough that she was able to clasp the necklace around her neck finally. And almost, but not quite, stopped checking the her phone every few minutes, both for the time or any messages about something coming up.

She took one last look in the mirror, slipped on her shoes, and went out to the front part of the loft to do...something while she waited.

Comments

[starting_over]

"We might have to do movie night at your place, though. I don't know if you noticed, but my place is a little small and my 'couch' is really my bed. I didn't have room for anything else in there and since it was just me, it wasn't really an issue."

Samantha was grateful for the darkness of the truck's cab as it kept the deep blush on her cheeks, one resulting from thinking about lying on her bed with him, hidden from view. "Did you really? That's fantastic. I might have had a thing for jocks with brains when I was in school."

[comeonbro]

"My couch is open to you whenever you'd like to use it," Roosevelt said, almost adding that his bed and any other piece of furniture was too but this still was a first date after all. Not that things couldn't go that way but it was still pretty early.

"Well, I didn't really have a lot of brains. I did well enough to get into the Naval Academy but science and math were always a lot easier for me than literature."

[starting_over]

"You still knew enough to use a Shakespearean reference in context. That gets full marks from me," Samantha told him. "Besides, math and science are hard so if you understood them, you get even more points. I, on the other hand, nearly didn't graduate from college on time, and completely derail my scholarship to UMass law school because I came within a point of failing my third and final attempt at my one required math class."

To this day, she was positive the professor gave her more credit than she'd earned on the final because she'd worked so hard at it.

[comeonbro]

"I take it you don't have to be an expert on math to practice criminal law," Roosevelt said as he pulled his truck up into the parking spot outside his apartment. There was no doubt that Samantha was smart though, you didn't get as far as she did in law or business without being smart.

"Maybe a bit more when it comes to owning a business though?"

[starting_over]

"Nope, I didn't even have to worry about tweaking my billable hours," Samantha grinned. "As for the business, there are lovely software packages out there that help me do everything I need to do. If it gets too complex for the software, I will pull in my accountant. I'm a work smarter not harder type and thankfully, have someone I trust to help me with numbers and money things beyond my limited scope. I'm okay with numbers for the most part, but when they started using letters and weird looking symbols, my brain sort of shut off."

[comeonbro]

"Working smarter, not harder. Sounds like you would have made a good SEAL," h said with a grin as he parked the truck. He quickly hopped out and moved around to open her door, doing his best to remember all the ways his mother had told him to be polite on a date. Roosevelt always did best when he felt familiar with a person or situation. It had been so long since he'd been on a first date it felt like he needed training wheels.

[starting_over]

"I'd have never made it through training. One minute on a cold beach, covered in sand and wet clothes and I'd have been ringing the bell and packing my bags."

Unfortunately, she was out of the truck when she said it and the parking lot lights fully captured her blush when she realized what she'd revealed. Best to own up to it. "I might have done a little research about SEALs. In my off time."

[comeonbro]

"Just to see what you're getting into, all the problems that I might be?" he asked with a grin. Honestly he was a bit flattered that she had, although he couldn't quite resist teasing her a bit about it because he could see how much she was blushing. "I guess if you haven't run away yet that's good."

[starting_over]

"Oh, I knew you were trouble almost from the first," Samantha teased back, slipping her hand through his arm, "but I didn't know much about what you used to do apart from what I saw in movies. And considering how lawyers are usually portrayed in movies, I figured I better get the real story. So I found a documentary online about the course you had to go through to become a SEAL. You are amazing for having made it through that."

[comeonbro]

"Trouble? You must be thinking of someone else. I am definitely not trouble," Roosevelt said as he lead her up the stairs to his apartment. It wasn't anything fancy, although it was a bit bigger than hers and was clearly a man cave. It was well kept with a military tidiness but there was no mistaking that it clearly lacked a woman's touch.

"And really, at the time it doesn't seem impressive. It's hard, but you do it because you don't want to let down yourself but especially the others. They're counting on you, so you don't quit."

[starting_over]

"You're very much trouble," Samantha laughed softly, poking his stomach lightly as they entered his apartment and looked around. "I'm getting a very definite man cave vibe here," she commented, "which is a step up from my place, I have to say. I mean, it's nice, but small and cramped and very much gives the same feel as my place in Boston. A place to sleep, and to eat, but not to live. I think now that I'm more settled, I might need to change that up a little."

She turned to him. "Are you still in touch with the others you served with?"

[comeonbro]

"I don't know what you're talking about. This is clearly a gender neutral cave," Roosevelt said with a grin. It was sort of true, the kayak and the exercise equipment and giant TV could all be appreciated by any gender. But it was still very clearly a guy's place.

"I am with most of them. A few of them didn't... settle back into civilian life very well and it's hard to keep tabs on them. I'm in the Reserves though so I still have a group that I regularly train with."

[starting_over]

"It must be a difficult transition," Samantha nodded, "I can't even imagine."

She looked up at him with an impish smiled on her face. "The Reserves, huh? So that means there's a chance I'll see you in uniform at some point?" Deciding to be completely ridiculous, she added an eyelash flutter in with the grin.

[comeonbro]

"I promise when there's a function where I am in dress uniform and can bring a guest, I will take you," he said. It was maybe a bit presumptuous, this was only their first official date after all, but he had a feeling there were going to be a lot more after this one.

[starting_over]

"I'm going to hold you to that, Roosevelt," Samantha told him with another poke to his chest. "So. Are you going to give me the tour or is it straight to dinner for us?"

[comeonbro]

"I hope you do hold me," he said with a smile. It was a cheesy line but so far she had really seemed flushed and embarrassed by any time he said something like that. It was cute.

"But there's not much to it," he said, gesturing to the place. Being a studio it was mostly one big room but it was kind of sectioned off. "Kayak is there. Kitchen and dining room in the corner. TV and couch there. Exercise equipment... everywhere. That bookshelf is the library. And the bed is over there."

[starting_over]

"I'm very much hoping to," she responded with the blush he expected, her eyes darting down for just a second before rising back to look him in the eye. If her tongue darted out to wet her lips, it was just because they were dry.

"It's still better than mine which, if I'm honest, looks more like an efficiency hotel room than a home. Yours has touches that make it yours, like the books and the kayak, even the exercise stuff. I've got a bed, a TV, and a small table, all of which I bought at a discount place when I decided to live above the shop."

[comeonbro]

"You've been a bit busy to decorate," Roosevelt pointed out, almost mesmerized by the way her tongue licked her lips. It made him think of that mouth on his and that tongue... Well, doing lots of things. "I've been living here for a pretty long time. I'm sure you'll get the place feeling more like a home soon."

[starting_over]

"Or, more to the point, I didn't have anything to decorate with. My former landlord sold everything he could four months into my coma. He kept a few boxes with my clothes, my legal books, and some personal stuff he said he 'didn't feel right' about selling." Samantha shrugged - it was just one of those things that was, and there was nothing she could do to change it.

Something she could do something about was the way he looked at her. "You know, if you keep staring at my mouth, I'm going to start thinking you want to kiss me again."

[comeonbro]

"Well, it's an especially good way to start over, isn't it?" he asked with a grin. Maybe some day they should go out and find some stuff for her place. If she wanted to get any furniture Roosevelt even knew some people that could help lift heavy stuff.

"Really? I would have hoped you would have started thinking that a while ago. I haven't stopped thinking about it since that first time."

[starting_over]

Samantha let out a breath and exhaled on a little laugh. "Well, thank God for that. I thought I was the only one turning that over and over in my head every time I had a free minute." Her grin turned wry. "I suppose I should pretend to be angry with you about scrambling my brain, but I'd never manage it. I can lie in court, but face to face is different."

[comeonbro]

"I don't think I'd be all that apologetic even if you were angry," he said, still smiling at her. It was a relief to know that they were on the same page, so to speak. Especially considering how much Roosevelt had enjoyed that kiss.

"Although that puts us in a predicament. I would love to kiss you again but once I do I'm not sure I'll want to stop anytime soon. Dinner might end up very delayed."

[starting_over]

Samantha felt her eyelashes flutter at the same time she felt a matching sensation in her stomach, both about the promise of more kissing later but of the not wanting to stop. As much as she wanted to throw her arms around him and start that long bout of kissing, she didn't. There would be time for that later.

"Then I suppose you'd better feed me quickly," she replied, adding a quick wink.

[comeonbro]

Roosevelt felt his heart beat a bit faster at the fluttering of her eyelashes and couldn't help but be a bit disappointed that she wanted to wait. Although the fact that she wanted to eat quickly was a good sign. Maybe she just didn't want to have to stop because they were starving once they really got going.

"Well, we'd better get started then. Tonight is calzones. I've already got the dough made and rolled out, you just need to pick your toppings," he said as he headed over to the kitchen and grinned as he tossed her an apron. "Suit up, Hardy."

[starting_over]

Giggling, Samantha slipped the apron over her head and went to stand beside him. "I'm pretty easy. Cheese and pepperoni will be fine. Normally I'd add onions, but...," she trailed off, then looked up at him with a wink. "You're welcome."