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]

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."

[comeonbro]

"Cheese and pepperoni? Cheese and pepperoni? No vegetables? No olives? At least tell me you want some marinara for dipping later?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. Because otherwise it was bit boring, although if that's what she enjoyed most then he wouldn't give her a hard time about it. At least not much of one.

"Fine, you put your boring ingredients on and then we'll stick it in the oven."

[starting_over]

"I normally have onions, red peppers and extra garlic," she sniffed then bumped his hip with hers. "I was trying to be considerate since it might take a bit of the fun out of things if you pass out from the force of my breath mid-kiss. But yes, I definitely want a lot of marinara for dipping."

She touched her fingertip into the red sauce and tasted it. "Especially marinara this good."

[comeonbro]

"Are you sure? Because I've got a breathing mask here from the fire station I could throw on," he said, grinning as he bumped her hip back while he started to fill his calzone up. Most of what went into his was all kinds of different meats and cheeses. She might end up worrying about his breath.

"I'm glad you like it. I'll have to tell Sal his grandmother's recipe wins your approval."

[starting_over]

When Samantha saw what he was putting into his, she shrugged and added onions to hers, looking up at him with a twinkle in her eye as she did so. "Who's Sal?" she asked.

[comeonbro]

Roosevelt gave a little smile as he saw her add the onions. He had a feeling that her concerns about them wouldn't turn out to be nothing. When he was kissing her he didn't think he would notice anything but that bit of electricity he felt the first time they had done it.

"Another fire fighter. Very, very Italian. Fortunately his grandmother is not the sort to believe family recipes should be kept secret."

[starting_over]

Finished with her calzone, Samantha stood back to let him do what needed to be done with them. "Then we'll toast to Sal, and his grandmother, for being the sharing types," she commented with a semi-serious nod, "so that we can enjoy their genius in all things marinara."

[comeonbro]

"That is an excellent idea. Speaking of which..."

Roosevelt covered the calzones with the egg before tossing them in the oven and grabbing a bottle of wine he had sitting out on the counter. Pouring them each a glass he raised it up for a toast.

"To Sal and his grandmother then, being the sharing types."

[starting_over]

"To Sal and his sharing grandmother," Samantha agreed and touched her glass to his before taking a sip. She let the wine sit in her mouth a moment before swallowing, appreciating the taste. "You have a good eye for wines, too. This is fabulous."

Because red wine was one of her weaknesses, she checked the bottle to note the label and type before taking another drink. Then she turned to look up at him with a teasing little smile. "Trying to get me drunk?"

[comeonbro]

"How much you drink and what or who you do because of it is entirely up to you," Roosevelt said with a smile. He really didn't think that either of them needed to be drunk for that but it certainly wasn't going to hurt. Besides, it would be fun to see what she was like when she got a bit tipsy. Giggly, maybe?

[starting_over]

"I think I'll avoid that tonight. I tend to be a sloppy drunk," Samantha told him over the rim of her glass. "I start out okay, then I get the giggles, then I just turn into an angsty, crying mess. It's rarely a pretty sight. Thankfully, I only get that way on beer or vodka. Wine, I just get mellowed out and then fall asleep."

She set the glass down and turned to him, hands on his hips. "Unless I have reason to stay awake."

[comeonbro]

Roosevelt really liked the feel of her hands on his hips, of having her so close to him. It was new yet comfortable, which was definitely good. It had been a long, long time since he had felt this way about something. There had been attempts at relationships but nothing that felt so right fairly early on.

"I think we can manage to keep you up for a bit longer," he said, leaning down to press his lips against hers.

[starting_over]

Samantha's fingers slid into the soft hair at the base of his skull as his lips touched hers. She wondered for a second what the little mewling sound was until she realized it came from her. Had she ever purred like that? She didn't think so, but she liked it. She liked him and the way he made her feel. A lot.

"I think you might be able to at that," she concluded with a grin when the kiss broke.

[comeonbro]

The sound she made sent goosebumps along his skin and he definitely wanted to hear more of it from her. Even if kissing her didn't already feel amazing he would kiss her just for that sound. Her foresaw a lot of kissing in their future.

"All sorts of ideas," he said, giving a mischievous grin as his fingers trailed up her side. "Like finding out if you're ticklish?"

[starting_over]

The squeak she made was very undignified and nearly had her spilling her wine in an effort to get away from his searching fingers. "Nope," she said, in direct contrast to her words. "I'm not ticklish in the slightest."

[comeonbro]

"Oh really? Are you sure? Because I haven't checked everywhere yet," Roosevelt said, waggling his eyebrows playfully. He was definitely going to check a few more places.

"Now why don't you just stand there while I check other places to see if you're ticklish..."

[starting_over]

"Oh no you don't," Samantha replied with her hands up in a warding off gesture as she backed away. "Keep those hands to yourself."

Then, without a word, she turned and ran. A stupid move, really, because his place wasn't much bigger than hers and she was soon at a dead end.

[comeonbro]

She'd chosen to run in the direction of his bed, which was behind a small screen to separate it from the rest of the place. That was convenient because it was a soft place that he could (carefully) tackle her. Grinning he hopped over the couch and started to corner her toward the bed.

"It's important. For the relationship. We should know each others ticklish spots," he said with a laugh, lunging to drag her onto the bed.

[starting_over]

"Does that mean you have some?" she asked from her corner, eyes darting left and right as if to gauge her chances of escape. She was pretty sure those chances fell into the fat-slim-none category, but she was going to take a chance anyway. "I'll have to investigate that--"

She broke off mid-word and jumped onto the bed in a vain escape plan.

[comeonbro]

"I'm not going to tell you," he said, laughing as he caught her legs so that he could tickle her feet. At least he was going to start at her feet and if she was okay with it Roosevelt planned to investigate more than that. He also hoped that she was going to thoroughly check if he was ticklish as well. "You'll have to find out for yourself Miss Hardy."

[starting_over]

Samantha squeaked again when he caught her legs and she went sprawling onto the bed. Immediately, she tried to get her feet free and inch her way up the mattress towards the headboard to get away. "Oh I will. Believe me. Revenge will be mine. I guarantee that."

Of course, first she'd have to stop giggling and squeaking like a little girl.