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Considering the man sitting across from her didn't bolt at her first words Clem sat there for a moment in silence and took a sip of her wine. Setting it back down on the table she ran her finger over the rim of the glass as she contemplated what to say next before starting up again.

"Well you didn't run, I suppose that is a good sign. Though I might just have caused you to freeze. You know they say that the human condition gives us two responses to confrontation. Those two being either fight or flight. What many fail to realise is there is a third response. Freeze. Hope that isn't the case here granted if it is it could prove to be interesting. Would mean you are just stuck there and I can continue to make you feel uncomfortable if that is the case," she said with a slight chuckle and in a playful manner. Granted while she was teasing she was being as serious as a heart attack at the same time. When people froze on her show she milked it for all it was worth, it was what she was paid to do.

"Hrm, I guess I could run down the usual boring facts. Where I attended college; Harvard. What I majored in; Law. What my favorite color is; black. If I have been married; Yes. Currently divorced. Ex husband was a client of mine I was hired to defend for my first case; he was a television producer. Apparently liked my moxy; granted that was a word I was unaware people still used outside of a 1950's reference. Helped launch my career but after he joined the Church of Scientology... Well let us just say things went down hill fast. We still work together, easier to divorce a spouse than it is to divorce a producer and manager. Mores the pity. So he will just have to put up with my words on his life choice until he decides to let me out of the contract. Freedom of choice and such does not mean freedom from ridicule. People tend to confuse this far too often."

Tilting her head to the side she checked her watch for the time, they were about half way done, she figured she should bite her tongue for now and see what all he wanted to say either in rebuttal or how much he actually changed the subject from this point on. "And what about you?"

Interacting with Clementine Morgan @Lady Amalthea

"Well look at that, we do!" he chuckles as his date commented on their similar clothing colours. "And I'm well thanks. How 'bout you?"

That was when Wadsworth came into the room, quickly turning into a flurry of frustration. Dylan look around the room to see many were yet to turn up. The reason of their lack of appearance must have been unknown to their 'date director', as Dylan had decided to call him. Wadsworth, however, quite successfully kept the smile plastered on his face as he changed the men's position so each was placed with a woman. He turned back to the one seated in front of him. As they'd both appeared there was no need to change.

The bell rang.

Dylan was going to pass the opportunity of starting onto Clementine but she already started, raging ahead. Dylan nodded so she knew he was listening. He kept a soft smile on his lips, she seemed nice enough but he could tell that the two of them wouldn't get along famously, too many differences. The chat would be nice though and it would be a good way to get to know someone.

When she stopped Dylan was about to reply before stopping himself. He wasn't too sure on what to say, or how to say it. Would he mention his religon? His old career? Given, he wasn't the best at conversation in such a setting. Clementine, however, spoke with ease. He hadn't been frozen in thought for that long? Or had he... Regardless Clementine continued and Dylan was a little appreciative for that.

Dylan gave a small chuckle, "Don't think you've scared me frozen yet but feel free to keep trying," he jokes, leaning back in his seat. He listened as the young woman in front of him spoke on. It wasn't long, however, before she was asking Dylan about himself.

"Well, as for me, I'm a Christian. I suppose it's something I've grown up with, my parents were never heavy on the religion thing, I probably see more in it than them but I shouldn't judge. My line of work isn't quite as interesting. I'm a tattoo artist, ex-soldier actually. Being Australian I really don't know much about American politics despite what's represented on wide spread media." Dylan looked up at the woman to see if she had any interest in what he had to say.

"Born and raised in the Australian city of Cairns. I haven't lived elsewhere unless you count when I was at the war in Iraq." He gets lost in himself slightly as memories of screams and bullets haunt his thoughts. He attempts to shake them out, looking blankly for a bit longer before remembering his current situation.

"Sorry. Uh, yeah. A back injury put me out of action so I took a tattooing course where I met my ex. We had 2 beautiful kids together before we divorced, I don't really know why I loved her in the first place really..."

"Uh..." He racks to his brain for a new thought but Wadsworth rang his bell. "Looks like this is my queue," he straightens his arm, waiting for Clementine to accept the invitation and shake his hand. "I enjoy getting know you and, K, I suppose I'll see you around," and, with that, he let Wadsworth swoop him away to his next blind date

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Imogen considered the man before her and she couldn’t help but give a smile when he tripped over his own feet but it wasn’t in a cruel way, more just that it was adorable really. After she had finished rambling her introduction (that she had totally not been practicing all the way on the boat here, no sir) she listened to his reply. Maybe she had prematurely judged him. She could see his eyes lighting up ever so slightly when he mentioned games but then he seemed to close up again when he called himself very boring. Then he apologised for being, what Imogen considered, human and tripping up.

“Dinnae ya worry, we all trip from time t’time. It was adorable anyway, never fret.” A warm smile played on her face as she considered the guy across the table from her. He was only a year younger than her too which was nice, took even more of the edge off. In fact he made her feel very relaxed all things considered. She decided to save her travel stories to share for another time and opted to try and get him to open up about himself some more.

“Ya mentioned games. What kind o’ games do ya like playin’? Got any favourites?” Imogen had dabbled in games during high school but hadn’t had much time to spare when she had started to go off travelling and then with the twins coming along as a nice big surprise, she had pretty much lived a life of travel tickets, diapers and toys. It’d be nice to hear about things not to do with that side of her life for now, even if she really did want to gush about her girls she knew this wasn’t the best time to do it.

Kosuke seemed to wonder why she smiled when the Japanese male tripped up. But at least she didn’t seem to mind at all in all honesty, it made him feel more comfortable about himself and he felt like he could probably be even more relaxed than normal, not having to worry about his tripping antics or his clumsy attitude. “I guess so.” He answered ever so casually, just like always. Maybe he could get used to speaking to this female after all. Already seemingly interested.

”Oh, urm well…” He started his sentence before trying to remember EVERY game he has played from his childhood. But then again, using his observational skills from games he decided to keep it low to what he plays occasionally. ”I play many games, usually I play Super Mario Brothers on my 3ds and on the PS2 I will usually play Final Fantasy or Dark Cloud” He seemed to open up more slightly. Imogen leaned in as she listened to him talk, it was nice to see him opening up some more. She didn’t feel like this was so much of an uncaring date now.

”When I play my games, I feel solitude and I feel a lot of excitement because the most exciting thing that has happened to me was my grades and getting a job at gamestop… So yeah…”

“Well that’s not exactly a bad thing. Wha’ were your grades for? Ya meanin’ school or college? Not tha’ it matters but I jus’ mean that it’s good tha’ ya got excited over your grades no matter wha’ they were for.” A light nod of her head and a gentle smile of encouragement showed on her face and she took another sip of her water.

“Ya know, I used t’play Super Mario Brothers when I was at school. Was one o’ m’favourite games. Had it on the GameBoy Classic. I had ‘eh yellow one. Was one o’ m’favourite things to do when my lil sister didn’t steal it from me.” She laughed a little and rested her hands in her lap as she crossed her legs under the table. Her right foot began to bounce a little as she continued. “Did ya ever find that King Bowser Koopa was too easy to beat sometimes? Like, I felt like ya just had t’mash buttons to win!”

”It was for school, didn’t go to college and just immediately got the job at gameshop” Kosuke mentioned as he smiled softly at her. Imogen tucked her hair behind her left ear as she saw him smile. “Yeah, I got quite worried for my grades for obvious reasons. I know I wasn’t top of my class, but I wasn’t at the bottom of my class either. So to get high grades was very nice.” He spoke with honesty as he remembered when he got his grades and opened that envelope. It was a very exciting moment indeed and his parents congratulated him. It was nice to see him opening up like this, Imogen listened intently and nodded along as he explained his story.

Suddenly, Kosuke’s face lit up the moment she mentioned she used to play Super Mario Brothers on the classic gameboy. Imogen smiled brightly when she saw Kosuke getting really into his element and she couldn’t help but keep the smile as she listened to him. Kosuke really felt like the game was so good and addictive for it’s time. ”He really was!” Kosuke answered. “It was either fireballs and a button mash or just rush to the edge of the map and the bridge fell, then Bowser just went bye bye, it did kinda frustrate me when toad kept saying that the princess was in another castle”

Kosuke realised he spoke just a bit too much and instantly clammed back up and swept his hair back normally “sorry, I love the games a lot” Imogen just gave a light chuckle and waved her hand dismissively at him. “Don’t ya worry your pretty lil’ head. I enjoyed watchin’ ya talk ‘bout them, ya really lit up and that was lovely t’see.” At that moment the bell rang for the men to move tables and Imogen jumped in her seat, not realising how much time had passed.

“Oh that’s a shame! It was lovely talkin’ to ya Kos… Ko… Kosu-ke? Kosuke? Am I sayin’ that right? I’m sorry, it’s m’accent.” She giggled a little and gave an apologetic smile before reaching a hand out to him to shake. Kosuke took her hand and gave a slight bow of his head before waving to Imogen. As he walked away he stumbled over the leg of the table as his foot caught on it. He almost fell flat on his face again but managed to correct himself just before he hit the floor. So embarrassing. He made his way towards his next date.

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Clementine nodded towards her previous date; he had been interesting enough but with his religious views she doubted she could see anything long term. She understood being raised with it, that was one of the reasons she had left the church and developed the views she now had. Granted she could see him being a friend, someone just to hang out with but romantically she just didn't feel anything. None of that spark that one would normally look for.

She leaned back in her seat and waited for her next date as she took a sip of wine. Her brow arched as she watched one of the men trip on a table leg and nearly spill out right on to her table. "Oh please don't let this be my date, please don't let this be my date, please don't let this be my date," she thought over and over again in her mind. As he straightened up and came closer she could only cringe inwardly. The bell rang signaling the start of the new round. It was her date. "Fuck...."

Plastering on a smile she kept a tight hold of her wine glass, refusing to set it back on the table. If his entrance was any indication it was better to hold on to it than risk him hitting the table and sending it spilling out into her lap. "You must be Kosuke," she said in a friendly enough voice as she glanced down at her paper to see the name on the list. She was glad for her years as a commentator on live television; she was used to pronouncing various names from all over the world. Even if the guy was a klutz she didn't want to trip over her own tongue and mispronounce his name.

I'm Clementine, just call me Clem. I guess I should do what I did earlier and just ramble off the shit about me that normally sends people running. Makes it easier that way. I am host Political Rants on Comedy Central. I don't have a filter for my mouth. I don't believe in a god. I am as liberal as they come. Went to Harvard. And mostly here because I am sick of sitting in bars and such. Divorced but still work with my ex husband. Yeah, that about covers it," she rambled off quickly as she leaned back in her seat and got comfortable; bracing herself just in case he fell out of the chair.

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Christian was surprised, he actually enjoyed his first date. She was pretty, fun to speak with and they seemed to have several outlooks on life in common. It could have gone a lot worse. Speaking with Wadsworth he confirmed who his next date was since some of the first dates had been switched around. Once he was sure who he was paired with he looked around. Then his eyes fell on Krista and his smile lit up once again. Well, she was cute. Granted it seemed all the women were, so that was a plus, but if all he was interested in was looks he would have just hooked up with another traveler in one of his tours. His mother wanted him to actually try this time for something.

Stepping over to Krista he smiled broadly towards her as he tried to smooth his hair down and then rubbed the back of his neck. "Evening, I'm Christian and you must be Krista," he said sweetly as he pulled the chair out and had a seat as the bell rang. "Pleased to meet ya. Hope you are enjoying yourself so far. So, tell me some things about you if you wouldn't mind," he added as he got comfortable. Always let the lady go first, he heard in his mind, his mothers words ringing through.

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Lukas excused himself from Wadsworth with a nod and smile, confirming his date with a lady named Veronica Bryant. It's safe to say he didn't struggle to find her at all; in a sea of ladies dressed up nicely she was sure... different. Not that Lukas would judge, if it were up to him he'd wear beach shorts and a tee too rather than the stuffy blazer he'd never worn unless it was a job interview.

The first date went pretty well, he guessed. Miss Hal— Krista seemed pleasant enough. He could only hope that he could say the same for the rest of the evening. Luka approached Veronica's table slowly, his hand adjusting the sleeve of his blazer above his elbow. "Miss Bryant?" He asked, just to confirm. She was definitely pretty, and it didn't seem like she cared much about impressing people, which was impressive in it's own right.

"I'm Lukas Jackson, it's a pleasure to meet you." He introduced himself to the lady in the pink tee, giving her his usual charming smile before taking a seat opposite her. "I hope you're enjoying your evening this far, mind if you tell me a little about yourself?" He didn't quite want to drop the whole single-dad-widower thing on her straight away, but he didn't think she was the type to judge.

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'He's a cute one.'

The man in front of her was definitely a looker, and she recognised him as the man that was soaked this morning during introductions. At least this time there was no body of water around the both of them to make things more awkward. The thought made her chuckle awkwardly, the embarrassment from taking an unplanned dip in the water still going strong.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Christian. I'd introduce myself now but you already know my name." She smiled as he took a seat. She poured him a cup of water, sliding it over in his direction before pouring herself some more. The jug was empty by the time she filled her glass again.

"Well, for starters I'm a high school teacher, I teach Biology. It pays good enough, and I like children so it works, even if the children are hormonal and often quite annoying. Uh, I got a puppy named Bean — short for Kidney Bean — because of the spots on his back resembling kidney beans." She took a moment to laugh to herself, before continuing. "Um, I'm not religious at all, but honestly I don't know if there's a man sitting upstairs watching all of us but if you do believe in a god then that's all fine—" Krista mildly knew she was rambling slightly, so she stopped and cleared her throat.

"And what about you? Any interesting details you think I should know about?"

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"Well I am glad I could make someone laugh," she chuckled as she sat there, running her finger over the rim of her glass. He wasn't particularly talkative and didn't really tell her much about himself. He was cute enough but it was beginning to feel like trying to pull teeth to get him to say anything. Sure she was used to talking because of what she did for a living but if you were going to make the effort to come out on a trip like this, why not let people get to know you.

Okay, games... Hrm, she really didn't know much about games. She didn't play them, at least not on a console or a computer. Not since she was younger. She really couldn't even remember the names of the games she had played. She was never drawn into the and lost interest quickly. They just never seemed to be deep enough with a rich enough story to keep her wanting to play.

"I see, well do you enjoy working there or do you only work there for the discount they give you so you can buy more games? They do give you a discount right?" she asked. She really wasn't sure. She had never worked in a game shop, so she had no idea if they did give a discount or not. Heck everywhere she had worked had either been with her fathers campaign or in the political world in another form or fashion. Those were places you made contacts, not granted discounts.

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Christian smiled as Krista spoke. She seemed friendly enough, pretty, and was rather endearing as she talked about her puppy dog. "Okay that is a cute reason to name your dog that. Have a picture?" he asked enthusiastically. He wasn't trying to play her, he actually wanted to see Bean. He loved dogs and people always had these interesting names for them with these weird reasons behind them. Hers actually seemed logical and it wasn't the old standby name like Spike.

"Me? Oh I am a tour guide. Got me own thing going, set up vacations for groups of people and we all go together to different places. Then I take them on a more private tour than they would be getting on one of them cruise ships or bigger agencies. Take them to where the local folk like to go, tell them about the little known histories and such. Always loved history and traveling, so it be a good fit for me. Was gonna be a teacher but I dunno, I doubt I could handle sitting still long enough to grade the papers," he said with a light laugh and a bright smile on his face.

"What about you? Why's you become a teacher?" he asked her, interested to know what drew her into the profession that he actually avoided.

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Darren moved over to his next date, Imogen Badcocke. He chuckled a little at the surname and looked up from his list of names to see where the table number was. He spotted a cute, little blonde sitting in a navy blue dress with a white ruffle around the neck. He could see her legs crossed beneath the table and saw that they pretty much didn’t seem to end. He gulped a little and made his way over. He actually felt a little nervous, this girl was seriously cute and he wasn’t used to feeling nervous. Why the hell did he feel nervous?

Imogen looked up and spotted a very tall, bearded gentleman making his way towards her table. He’d arrived just before her, if she recalled correctly, and he was definitely a looker. She could tell he took care of himself just by the way he walked. She stood up and held a hand out to him to shake it. "Hiya, it’s me, Imogen." She smiled a little at the dumb reference to one of her favourite childhood games and Darren snorted with laughter as he shook her hand firmly. "Baldur’s Gate fan, eh? Least I know you’re not too young for me by that reference. I’m Darren. It is most definitely a pleasure to meet you."

They both sat down in their chairs and looked across the table to each other nervously. There was definitely an initial attraction between the two. They smiled to each other and waited for the bell to ring. The waiter walked over and offered them some drinks.

"I’ll take a glass of red wine please."
"I’ll take a glass of red wine please."

They both looked to each other and laughed heartily as the waiter looked between the two and began to pour them each a glass of red wine. Moving away from the table, the waiter shook his head and moved onto the next table. The bell rang and Darren contained his laughter long enough to squeeze a question out.

"So, besides being a fan of old computer games and having good taste in drinks, what is a beautiful girl like you doing in a place like this?" Imogen let her laughter abate and took a small sip of her glass of wine and licked her lips lightly to catch the drops that her mouth had missed.

"Well I’m here t’get m’parents off m’back ‘bout gettin’ a fella truth be told. What ‘bout ya?" She gently placed her glass down and leaned forward on the table, her chin resting in her palms as she watched her newest date. "Well I’m here to try and find someone that is pretty much it. It’s been six years since I last had anything serious so that’s probably as good a reason as any to try more extreme measures." He gave Imogen a dazzling smile and took a sip of his own drink before setting it back down, his fingers playing with the stem of the glass.

"So Imogen, where are you from? Your accent sounds… Irish? I think."

"Correct, sir. I am from a small town called Carrigower but you won’t know where that is unless you’re from me homeland. What about ya? I daren’t try t’guess where you’re from." Imogen giggled and sipped from her glass.

"I’m from the beautiful vistas of Poulsbo in Washington State. I love the rainy, mountain air.” He held his arms out and took in a deep breath then coughed as he realised he’d breathed in too much, too fast. “Oh… wow… sorry about that." He pounded his fist on his chest and cleared his throat before grabbing is drink and taking a mouthful.

Imogen let out a light chuckle and considered the man across from her. He was attractive, seemed sweet and was definitely flattering. "So what do ya do for a livin’, Darren?"

"Well I’m a personal trainer and physical therapist. I tend to lose myself in my work but since it helps others, I’m okay with it. What about you? Surely you do something equally interesting as yourself?" He grinned and leaned back in his chair, his right arm resting over the back of it as he watched her.

Tucking her hair behind her ears, Imogen pursed her lips and smiled. "Actually I’m a single mother. I have two beautiful lil twin girls. They’re called Jenna and Jemma." She slipped her picture of her girls from her purse and slid it across the table to Darren. He picked it up and smiled at the image. "They’re gorgeous, just like their mommy." He handed the image back and his fingers brushed against hers.

Imogen’s face exploded in heat and she chewed the inside of her cheek as she took the photograph back from her date. She carefully placed it back in her bag as she swallowed and took another drink before continuing. "But besides m’two girls, I work part time as a waitress. So nothin’ quite as interestin’ as yaself." She lightly shrugged her shoulders and gave a small smile.

"Nah, each to their own. We aren’t all meant to be the same thing. That’s why we’re all different, right?" He sat forward and placed his hands on the table and watched her. She really was pretty and she seemed sweet and interesting too. This was a far better date than his last, Imogen at least asked questions about him instead of it being very one sided like it had been with Mauriah.

"That's true. Fair play, bud, fair play. So... what do ya do for fun?" Imogen crossed her legs the other way and leaned forward on her knees as she listened in to Darren's reply.

"Well I love listening to music and do a lot of hiking, water sports, sports, running... anything athletic you'll probably find me trying it out. And you?"

"Well I love hikin' too when I get the chance! It's grand doin' it while listenin' to music. Then ya can stand at the top o' a mountain and just air guitar your heart out!" She grinned like a cat that had got the cream and blushed as she admitted what she did on her hikes.

Darren laughed and sat forward further, clapping his hands together. "That's brilliant! Let me guess, you do something like this..." Darren then stood up and began to do air guitar right there in the middle of the main room, to absolutely no music that made sense. Imogen snorted with laughter and covered her mouth with her hand as she let it all out. "That's exactly what I do!"

Grinning at how much he'd managed to entertain Imogen, Darren was pleased as punch with himself and sat down, chuckling away with her and then felt his stomach drop as he heard the bell ringing. "Damn, that's a shame. I was enjoying myself."

Imogen nodded and smiled brightly at Darren. "Me too. It was lovely t'meet ya Darren. We'll talk soon?" She held her hand out to shake Darren's hand and he gently took hers and kissed the back of it, giving her a little wink as he did so. "Definitely. Pleasure, Miss Badcocke. Hell of a name by the way..." He smirked at her and then waved before making his way to his next date for the evening.

Imogen sat with a minor blush on her face and pursed her lips as she smiled to herself.

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Maurice and Mauriah sat across from one another at the small table in a room that continually closed inward. Mauriah had wanted to avoid this confrontation for as long as possible, but it seemed that fate wasn't that kind. In her head, she cursed Lady Luck and her evident grudge against her. Maurice, despite leaning back in his chair didn't look very comfortable at all. His body language was tense, and his shoulders were visibly tightened. Mauriah sat with her arms and legs crossed, an impenetrable wall of irritation. Maurice swirled his drink in its glass to fill up the all consuming silence between them. It did little to help.

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"So, Mom misses you," Maurice ventured to say.

Mauriah answered with a grimace.

"You should go visit her some time."

"You're right," she sighed, as she fixed her hair with one hand but somehow still coming across as having her arms crossed. "I should."

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"I see." He looked down.

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"So did the last guy you talk to seem good?"

"Eh."

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"Leona, the woman I was matched up with was pretty energetic, but I don't think you'd like her."

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"I got you your birthday gift a couple weeks ago. I was going to mail it after getting back from this trip."

"Nice, nice. I've still been trying to find something for you."

"Mmhmm."

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The bell for the next change of partners rang and both the twins bodies visibly relaxed some. Maurice got out of the chair and almost left, but he turned back to say one last thing to Mauriah before going to the next table.

"So I guess I'll see you later or something? It would be nice to meet up again in a different situation because it really is nice to see you again."

Dylan allowed Wadsworth to lead him away, the prior meeting running through his head. Most definitely not the best date but, in saying that, it could have been much, much worse. He hoped that his next date and him may share some interests, or at least have something to chat about even if they weren't all that compatible. As Wadsworth lead him through the setup of table the destination was soon obvious. A small-framed woman with brown hair. She was cute, yes, but more that fact was noted in a way one may describe a sibling or even a friend, not in the way one would think of someone they wanted to date. Maybe he was overthinking this? It wouldn't surprise him, he did that a lot. Now wasn't a time for that. He slapped on a smile and approached the young woman, giving her a slight wave.

Natasha watched as Christian was led away, quite pleased with how successfully that went. She was sure she'd already found the man that topped her list of this bunch of people. She shook her head slightly. She wasn't usually this rash when it came to choices and thoughts so why was she now? She gave a sigh and shook her head slightly. Looking up she could see another man approaching. Not as tall as her last date, much to Natasha's pleasure. Christian was an amazing date and she was looking forward to getting to know him better, however, he was about a foot taller than her and the less significant height difference was nice. Natasha stood as he approached and gave him a small wave and a gentle smile in return greeting him and shaking his hand as she introduced herself. The pair sat awaiting for the bell.

It rang.

"Ladies first, tell me a bit about yourself," Dylan says, leaning back in his seat slightly, offering the girl a kind smile.

Natasha smiled in reply before starting. "Well, to start off with, I'm Natasha. Freelance journalist. What about yourself?"

"Nice! I'm sure that's an interesting job! I'm Dylan. I'm a tattoo artist myself, ex-soldier, God knows I'm not smart enough to be a journalist," he chuckles, watching the young woman's soft brown eyes watch him, eyeing him up and down.

Tattoo artist, that'd be right. Dylan had tattoos covering a very vast majority of his arms and neck. It wasn't that Natasha didn't like tattoos, though she doubted she would ever get one herself, needles made her fidgety, but there's point when it gets a little too much and Natasha felt that was the case with this man, each to their own though. She rests her chin gently on her hands and leans forward, supporting the weight by placing her elbows on the table. "A soldier though, I doubt that wouldn't be interesting. What did you leave?"

That was a question Dylan was hoping not to hear, at least not so soon on. He finds a sudden interest in the tablecloth as he tries to think of what to say exactly. "It was an injury that stopped me but... it really wasn't a great experience. I prefer to not talk about it."

It seemed Natasha pressed a heartstring a little too hard, she seemed to do that often with the inquisitive ways she had picked up from her job. She downed the want to press him for answers and offered him a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry..." she offers not certain whether she was sorry for delving into such a topic, for his injury or the effect it had on him. All three it seemed, when she tried to look into herself enough to know.

The woman in front of him looked sympathetic on the topic and Dylan decided to cut in before he felt too much so. "Really, please, don't. If it wasn't for that injury I would have never met my ex, I guess she was a bit of a mistake but without her I wouldn't have my two beautiful children," he couldn't help but chuckle slightly as Natasha sat up straight abruptly.

Natasha loved children, just adored them and over the course of the conversation she had grown a lot of respect for the man, being a shoulder and all, but holding his position as father dear earned him more of her respect. "Do you... do you happen to have a picture?" she asks.

Dylan was more than happy to show Natasha pictures of his children and the two got lost in the conversation it wasn't long before the bell rang again. The pair exchanged farewells as Dylan went to find Wadsworth and allowed the man to lead him to his next table

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...At least she was honest. Lukas nodded along as she introduced herself quickly, and he wondered whether she'd said the exact same thing to her date the previous round. "No, not construction. I'm a chef at an Italian place known as Basil. Honestly I don't like dressing up this much but if I want to make a good impression then I feel like must."

"Well, I'm a single father, have a young son that I adore to bits. Unfortunately I don't enjoy reading the newspaper, I don't have that much time to do so but I'll check out your comic strip the first opportunity I have. I'm sure Brendan will enjoy it." He wondered if he was talking a bit too much about his son rather than about himself. Lukas rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, before continuing.

"I like cooking -- I mean, I wouldn't be a chef if I didn't but I find making food the best way to show my creativity. My drawing is atrocious, and I can't tell or write stories that well. I hope that one day I can start up my own restaurant, but that will only happen once I've improved my business skills."

"What do you like to do for fun?" He asked.

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Krista smiled bashfully as Christian asked her for a picture. She rummaged through her purse and pulled out her phone, where she showed him the lock screen - it was of her and Bean lying on the grass on the park. Bean was a friendly brown and white Jack Russell, the kidney bean shaped spot of black fur on his back that you could briefly see in the picture.

"Tour guide? You really must love travelling a lot! Sadly I haven't had much of an opportunity to travel due to family issues and the lack of money. A start-up teaching salary doesn't pay as much as people say," She said, tucking her phone back into her purse.

"I just always knew I wanted to be a teacher." She responded, "I used to be the person that people would come up to for help with homework, and I used to tutor the children that I used to babysit while in high school. The teaching part is fun enough, sure, but grading can be quite the pain if you don't like sitting in one place for more than a few hours."

"Actually, I'm hoping to save up enough money so I can move to a new country to teach. It sounds both interesting and frightening all at once, but the sound of it is just thrilling to me. I haven't figured out quite the place yet, but maybe one day it can happen."

"What about you? Where have you travelled to so far?"

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Clementine felt kind of bad for the guy, it seemed he really didn't have anything else to talk about but games. Granted she didn't hold that against him, it just wasn't her thing. It seemed these two didn't have a lot in common but he was friendly enough, even if a klutz. She just hoped when the round was over he didn't knock their table over. Just in case though she pushed her chair back a bit and kept her wine glass in her hand. You know, just in case.

At his question she had to think for a moment. "I am not sure I actually find any of them funny when they occur. I am kind of just looking at the information in front of me, the research and making blunt observations. Though, we did have one not long ago with all the Trump nonsense. He is basically just comedic fodder at this point. I went on about how anyone that could think that he should be Commander-In-Chief should be sterilized. Looking back on it I am really beginning to think that should be made into law. It kind of scares me to think that so many support him but then I think about how stupid the average person is remember that half the population is dumber than that. Really frightening stuff," she said shuddering to herself as the bell rang. Looking over towards Wadsworth before looking back to him she smiled slightly.

"Guess our time is up. It was nice talking to you. Maybe you can show me a game or two later on while we are here. Would like to see what you see in it," she said kindly as she waited for him to leave and her next date to show up. This night was sure shaping up to be something different.

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"Tis a shame lass. If you ever can, you should really give it a try. Traveling is freeing," he said with that broad smile of his as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Finding a business card he handed it over to her. "Give me a call sometime, even if this whole thing falls through wouldn't mind giving you some advice on some places to go check out." He wasn't trying to score another client at this point, he just wanted to help. Was how he was and from what she was saying he wondered if she had ever been anywhere fun, like really fun and let go.

"Oh all over. I just got back from India. That was an experience. The hotel was run down, majorly. But it had character, which I love. The thing was they had this goat that kept running wild through the hotel and the streets. It caused so much havoc and destruction but you couldn't hate it. He was just looking for a meal. And for a goat, a meal is everything in his sight," he laughed remembering Mr. Clops destructive path.

As the bell rang he sighed a bit. He was enjoying his conversation with her and hated for it to end but their time was up. Rising from his place he took her hand and kissed the back of it softly. "I had a lot of fun. Hope to see you again," he said kindly before walking off as he slipped his wallet back into his pocket.

Looking down at his list he saw who was next and made his way over to Veronica's table. With a smile and a bit of a bow he chuckled before he took a seat. "Well hello there young lady. Me name be Christian and it looks like I'm the next neanderthal for you to have to put up with tonight. Hope that is okay."

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Location: Main Room
Interacting With: Lukas Jackson @Aewin

_{Collab with @Lady Amalthea}

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"That's a good question, actually," Veronica responded when asked about her hobbies, taking longer than a moment to consider her response. She didn't have a whole lot of hobbies, and her idea of fun wasa long nap followed by a hearty meal...being lazy, in other words, but somehow she assumed that would not go over so well. "Oh...you know, sketching, eating, sleeping, all the makings of a dull set of hobbies," she admitted at last, not wanting to get off of her honesty train now. "My ideal day is doing as little as possible for as long as possible, and that pretty much summed up my early twenties. I know, I'm totally exciting, right?"

Veronica was of the mindset that taking the piss out of herself was a far better way to be honest than by lying or bending the truth to sound more impressive than you are. Veronica knew who she was, knew that her flaws certainly outweighed her positives, and she owned that knowledge. It wasn't her problem if people didn't respond to that.

"But if I ever find myself in your restaurant, you can hook a girl up with some free fettuccine, right?"

Time, however, seemed to fly by and before she knew it, the bell had dinged and she was waving Lukas away. Veronica leaned back in her chair, sighing, wondering how many more people she had left. Two down. X to go. It wasn't so bad. Maybe one of them would smile and have it be genuine. Veronica wasn't smiling when the next date arrived, not out of any judgment towards him but because she was still fully in 'relaxation' mode and had to snap back to 'dating' mode.

She did, at least, offer him her hand to shake after introductions, only to drop it awkwardly to the table as he sat down first. Christian happily taking her hand and shaking it before he took a proper seat.

"Oy, guvnor," Veronica began, noticing the accent and responding with a very, very poor imitation of one of her own, "Ay'm Veronica and 'ow's about we go for a bender down at the pub, mate, you what?" Veronica was laughing, amusing herself with her terrible attempt at an accent, but she assumed the man opposite her wouldn't be. Christian couldn't help but laugh at her impersonation, his eyes beaming as he cupped his hand loosely over his bright smile.

"Oh Lass! Ye be a natural! Tell ya, I would swear I would be talkin' to the Queen herself," he laughed as he leaned back in his seat

"Veronica," she replied in her regular tone, still chuckling to herself, "I don't think you're a neanderthal. They didn't have curly hair." Veronica gestured to Christian's hair as she made her point. "So, Christian, you wanna hype yourself up first or should I do the honors?"

"Ay, maybe they didn't. Or maybe they did but all that dirt and gunk just never let their curls fly," he said as he leaned forward and laced his fingers together on the table. She seemed like she could be fun. "I'd normally say Ladies first but since there is still a chance I could be a Neanderthal after all I might as well take the leap. From London, was gonna be a teacher but ended up being a Travel Guide instead. What about you? Other than working to be able to stand in for the Queen when she receives calls from folk she doesn't want to deal with?" His head tilted to the side, happy to be easily conversing with her so far. The others he had been around hadn't been bad at all but with her he felt a bit more relaxed. Maybe it was her, maybe it was the three glasses of wine he had already downed that evening. Either way he was having fun and that was all that mattered to him.

Veronica chuckled, actually chuckled, for the first time tonight; it was nice to know that someone didn't get all upset and fake offended by a bit of harmless fun. That alone was sure to make her feel more at ease, more natural. Granted even if he didn't respond well to it Veronica wasn't about to stop, but at least now she didn't have to go on the offensive. "That's a bit of a curve, isn't it? What happened, teaching degree fall through?" Veronica asked, almost sounding genuinely curious. "Then again, I guess a tour guide is kinda like a history teacher for tourists. Do you, like, work at a museum or something? Buckingham Palace?"

"God no!" he said making a gagging face while laughing. "Think I'd go nuts working in a place I had to sit still. I have my own small company. I have the degree but again, sitting. Grading papers all day would just drive me nuts. I love me some good traveling ya know? Figured I could turn that into something. So I did. I take smaller groups to more out of the way locations and show them the local sights. The shit people don't normally get to see on them big cruise ships. Lots of fun! Just got back from India actually," he said picking up his glass of wine and leaning back in his seat to get comfortable.

Veronica leaned forward in her seat, engaging more in the conversation instead of merely preparing herself to brush it off and roll her eyes. "I always assumed tour guides were just, like, volunteers. Me, though? I'm a cartoonist. I draw a comic strip for newspapers. You heard of Garfield or Peanuts? Like that, only mine's about single people and the hilarity of dating. Like you I had lofty dreams once, I wanted to be an animator and I want to make graphic novels but instead I write four panel - eight on Sundays - little strips that most people who read papers just toss in the bin."

She paused a moment, offering a self deprecating grin. "But, you know, it pays the bills."

"Oh now girl, you have my attention. I only's read the comics! A bunch of fun in the middle of a crap ton of bad. Which ones you write? Wanna know so next time I do I can go 'Hey! I know the girl that does this!' and makes people all oooh's and awww's that I knows me a celebrity!" he exclaimed happily. He loved comics. Not the graphic novel types but he got a kick out the newspaper ones and the little stills. Was his usual reading material.

Veronica arced an eyebrow at that, unsure if he was being sincere or just humoring her. She hardly considered herself a celebrity, it wasn't as if she was a published author or something, but still she had to admit that even if it was just humoring her...it felt nice. Better than the blank stares that she had been used to whenever she had to talk about how she earned a living. "I just do the one, it's called Swingles and a lot of it is based on true stories or things I've experienced. Honestly...I didn't take you for the type to be into comic strips. Guess that's the egg on my face. But on the other hand...now I can tell my friends, if I had any, that I know a tour guide. I'll be totally popular."

Christian leaned forward in his chair and scooted closer to her, seemingly to examine her a bit before he shrugged and leaned back once again chuckling. "Well, it must be an invisible egg if that is the case cause I'm not seeing anything. Dunno how knowing a tour would make ya popular but hey, if it does, works for me," he laughed as he pulled out his wallet and slipped a business card over to her. "I'm gonna have to read the comics more closely now. Have a website I can read older versions of the comic or is I gonna have to back order papers to get me hands on them?"

If this was 'humoring her' then she had to admire his commitment. It was past the point where it seemed that he was feigning interest, which said to Veronica that he was sincere. Or her meter for detecting this sort of stuff was on the fritz, but for once she wanted to err on the side of hopeful. "I have them all posted on my website," Veronica said as she slid the offered business card the rest of the way towards her. "I don't have a fancy business card, but all my work is on 'swinglescomic.com', including my email for people that want commissions. Not that I'm hinting anything, of course."

"You know, this is probably the longest I've had to talk about myself. It's weird. I don't hate it as much as I assumed I would."

Christian took the card and looked it over before sticking into his wallet for safe keeping. At her mention of commissions her brow arched deeply. "Oh, Christian The Smiling Guide!" he said holding his hands up in the air as if he was a Broadway Producer framing the title of a play in lights. "Now I like the sound of that," he said laughing, the number of stories he had about people he had run into. "Got the first story to. Mr. Clops, a goat on a rampage through an India Hotel. True story!" he laughed thinking back on it.

Leaning forward a bit he glanced around the room and then over to her with a cheeky grin on his face. "So, is this trip to actually find someone or you just looking for new ideas? I gotta know."

The grin was not returned as the question was posed to her. She knew why she was here, she wouldn't sugar coat it, but somewhere in the back of her head she was wondering if her admission would spoil the otherwise kinda lighthearted and nice time they were having for these minutes. Still, she wasn't about to hide behind a lie after being honest so far. "Well, I told myself that it was for ideas for my comic, but that's because I didn't want to admit that...it'd be nice to have an actual relationship for once in my life. It's easy to make fun of single people because I've been one my whole life and it's like...some of the people here have been MARRIED and I'm still waiting for someone to agree to a second date, how's that fair, right? So, even though it took a lot of pushing - and I mean A LOT of pushing - from my mom...I'm here to hopefully find...something real." Veronica shocked herself with how open she had been, but such was the side effect of actual conversation.

"You're probably someone that's never had problems with the opposite sex, right? Or, you know, same sex, I don't judge."

Christian leaned back and laced his fingers together as he rested his elbows on the arms of his chair. He was surprised, not that it took a lot of convincing to her her there. He had run into the same thing with his mother. The fact she had problems getting a second date was baffling to him. Even with as rushed these little dates were and as awkward they could be he was having fun with her. At her question he shook his head and pursed his lips a bit before he answered. "Oh well, neither actually, or both. Depending on how you look at it. I'm Sapiosexual. So for me it has never been about the appearance or the gender but about the mind. So um, yeah I have, a lot of problems. Why my mother pushed me for this. I dunno, guess I am so used to small talk I never delved deeper cause I am so used to dealing with people a day or two and then never seeing them again," he said shrugging a bit before smiling over to her.

"As far as a second date goes, well... hope I'm not bein' too bold but I think I'd like me a second go with ya," he said sincerely and it showed on his face. The man had no talent for deception. He had had fun on the other dates so far, no one really put him off granted few people ever did but Veronica was the first he really felt like there was more there that he wanted to get to know.

"Mothers, right?" Veronica asked with a shrug of her shoulders and a chuckle from her lips. "The stories I have about my mother..." She let that trail off intentionally, not wanting to get onto a topic that would take far longer than fifteen minutes to conclude. "You're attracted to the mind? Damn, and here I thought things were going well," she was laughing, that was a welcome change to her night so far. "But you go ahead and be bold. I don't want to say anything that will bite me in the ass later, but from where I'm sitting you've done well on my list."

Christian laughed along with her, she was a lot of fun and was quick to make a joke. He appreciated that type of personality. It was refreshing compared to others who couldn't take a joke. He was about to say something when he heard the bell ring signalling the end of their fifteen minutes and pouted like a little boy as his shoulders slumped a bit. "Well hell, I was having me some fun," he said shaking his head before he looked back over to Veronica and smiled as he stood up. "Come here lass, gives me a hug before I have to go deal with someone else. Need the strength I do," he laughed as he held his arms out, looking like a big teddy bear right then.

Veronica was actually upset to hear the bell go off; funny how decent experiences make time fly by compared to the awkward ones. And this was certainly slotted into the decent tab. One positive experience to counteract the initial negative one, that was a solid average and hopefully it would continue throughout the evening. Veronica even managed to throw caution to the wind and, after a quick shrug, indulged the request by giving Christian a hug. If it was against some unspoken rule or whatever, she didn't care; hell, she hoped it might make her next dates feel that much more motivated. "I know not everyone will be as cool as I am, but don't hold that against them. I'm sure they're nice people. And if they aren't, well, at least you got a hug out of the night."

"Ay lass you set the bar high," he laughed as he gave her a big hug.

As the hug broke and Veronica returned to her chair, it was with a bit of optimism towards the rest of the night. The question now was how long that optimism would last. Smiling he grabbed his paper and headed off to the next round, hoping it would be as good as ths one had gone, but if not oh well. He had a high ranker on his list now.

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Just like his previous date, the time flew by and it was time for Lukas to meet his new partner. Looking at Veronica one more time, he nodded. "I'm sure I can figure something out." The dolt in him even decided to wink at Veronica, before he stood up and excused himself from Veronica's table. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Veronica. I hope we can talk soon." And soon enough, he was off to find his new date.

Wadsworth pointed towards the next table, a lovely looking brunette sitting waiting for him. Lukas approached her with a wide smile, taking in her appearance. She was certainly a cutie, "Miss Parks?" He said, standing on the other side of the table. Lukas gave her a grin, "My name is Lukas Jackson and I'm here to entertain you for the next fifteen minutes." Lukas sat down.

Let the date begin.

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"A goat?" Krista laughed. That certainly seemed like a fun experience - Krista imagined a goat running rampant in a somewhat rundown hotel with people chasing after it unsuccessfully and she couldn't help but let out a giggle at the funny sight. "Strangely enough, that story has just made me hungry."

Poor goat.

Krista waved off Christian with a smile, and a polite thank you before she played with her thumbs. Christian seemed like a free spirit, someone that didn't want to be tied down in one place for long and that was what Krista hopes to be soon. Looking up as her next date approached, she smiled warmly again.

"Hi, I'm Krista Hale!" The past dates went great, and it was obviously impacting her mood. "I'm a high school teacher. I teach biology to the students that care - or don't, I still talk at them anyway whether they like it or not." She then let out a nervous laugh. She didn't want to make him think that she was a chatterbox when she clearly was not.

"So, tell me something about yourself?"

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Maurice sighed as he made his way from the last table to the next. Mauriah could be such a handful sometimes, but maybe more time on this trip would soften her up some. Then he could really talk to her for once. He realized that he had to get on with the round of dates, so he dragged his thoughts out of familial drama as one would drag their canoe from stormy waters to the wet, but far safer sand of the bank. He put on a jovial expression and held out his hand to Imogen.

"Hey, I'm Maurice. What's up?"

Imogen looked up and smiled to her latest date, brightly as she was still entertained from her previous date with Darren. Wow he was huge. She stood up in order to not feel so small but felt entirely smaller as she did so. She took his hand and shook it as firmly as she could, hoping he didn't think she was some tiny dainty little flower of a woman.

"Hiya, m'names Imogen. Nice t'meet ya." Letting go of his hand, Imogen sat down and smiled over to him. "So, would ya like t'go first or shall I?" She had a sort of infectious smile that just radiated happiness and joy, her body language was relaxed enough but it was clear she was a litle nervous and unsure talking to new people every fifteen minutes looking to find some form of connection or spark.

"I'll go first. Any good shows you've watched recently?" Asking about occupation and stuff seemed to be a common opening topic, so he made a mental note to try to avoid the topic, if only to not wear it out by going over the same information constantly. He figured that it would be easier for both parties to relax with a more inane topic, even if it meant potentially sacrificing more "substantial" conversation.

That was certainly a different topic than anyone had chosen so far and it made Imogen smile. Unfortunately she wasn't going to be too entertaining in this conversation and wondered if she'd bore Maurice if she was honest. She opted to not lie and grinned sheepishly as she began to answer. "Actually my telly is dominated by the kids' shows. In The Night Garden, Tweenies, BoohBaah... the list goes on and on. I'm a single mum ye see. Twin girls, five years old and cute as buttons. Although I wouldn't mind hearin' more about adult telly if ye don't mind obligin' a girl?" She gave Maruice a warm smile before taking a sip from her glass of water, finishing it off and grabbing the jug to pour some more into her glass.

"Actually, I've been watching some pretty trashy shows recently. The kind of reality television most people wouldn't admit to watching. I think yesterday I watched a couple episodes of Tour of a Lifetime, a show about a crew of Grand Canyon tour guides and Iron Plunger which is a competition show between plumbers hosted by Jeff Foxworthy for some odd reason. When you watch the show it seems like the most obvious thing, but when you really think about it, he doesn't really belong there." Maurice took a sip of water. So Imogen was a single mom? That was fine, he liked kids. He didn't want to admit it, but he had no idea what any of the shows mentioned by Imogen were, but if they were children's shows then he wouldn't really need to know too much more. The general gist of them would probably be familiar enough.

"Those sound rather colourful t'say the least, heh." Imogen couldn't help but chuckle at the descriptions of those shows. "Next ye'll be tellin' me tha' there's a show 'bout people buyin' crap from other people's storage units." She let out some laughter and considered Maurice. He seemed harmless, polite too, and appeared to be pretty nice so far. Good start. "So besides watchin' trashy telly, ye got any other time wastin' activities ye do for fun? I quite like goin' for walks and hikes m'self."

"Maybe I should get into producing reality tv with an idea like that. Call it like 'Garage Treasure Hunters' or something like that. I travel a lot for my job so I do a lot of portable gaming and reading. I also consider myself somethin' of a connoisseur of breakfast restaurants considering how many I've been to." Maurice paused in his conversation to pop his back. "So do you go like, mountain hiking or just on strolls through forests and stuff?"

"Both if I'm bein' honest. Granted I mostly hike big hills rather than mountains day t'day but I quite like the mountain hikes when I can get out t'them. So ye travel for work, eh? Ye miss home a lot or d'ye prefer bein' on the road? Also, remind me t'ask you for breakfast recommendations come mornin'." Imogen then felt her face flood with heat as she realised how suggestive that sounded, she totally hadn't intended it but she couldn't help but giggle at the silliness of it. "I'm so sorry! That sounds so suggestive and presumptive! Apologies! I'll blame it on bein' blonde if ye don't mind, haha..." She buried her face in her hands but continued to chuckle, hoping Maurice would find the humour in her words rather than the lewdness.

"Ohoho," Maurice chuckled bringing his hand up to his mouth,"well I wasn't going to take it that way, but now that you've brought it up I have no choice but to do so." Maurice wiggled his eyebrows a couple times with a smirk plastered across his face and held it like that for a few seconds before the whole charade crumbled in on itself and he broke down into a fit of giggling. "Seriously speaking, I don't mind being on the road a lot when I have enough space, but it's nice when you get back home and you can just collapse on your own bed. That said, I've been in way too many tiny cars for extended periods of time for my liking."

Letting the laughter roll out, Imogen beamed at Maurice and enjoyed his joke. He had a sense of humour, that was nice to see. He could make fun of himself which was a really good trait and Imogen couldn't help but find herself liking the company of this large and imposing figure of a man. "Yeah, I get ye. Yer own bed is the best thing in the world when yer not in it e'ryday. So what exactly do ye do that makes ye need to travel so much? Also, out m'own curiousity, what kinds o' places have ye travelled to?" She leaned forward on the table, becoming even more engaged in the conversation than she had been. She loved talking about travelling, it was one of her favourite things and she couldn't wait until her girls were more grown up so that she could take them to different and exciting places with her.

"I'm a wrestler, so I travel around the country to perform at different venues." Nodding as she heard what he did for a living, Imogen's eyes widened in surprise and understanding. "Well that explains the size o' ye." She giggled a little and let him continue. "At the moment I haven't done much traveling outside of my home state of Texas, but in college I also did a lot of travelling in the country because of my sport team membership. At this point, I think I've at least passed through almost every state in the continental US. I also visited Kyoto one time while I was on Spring Break because at the time I thought I wouldn't have another chance to leave the country. What about you, do you do any travelling?" Well he ended up talking about his job anyway despite trying to steer clear of it, but at least he arrived at it naturally, rather than opening with it just to try having something to talk about. And honestly, if the rest of the dates in this round ended up going as well as this one, Maurice would feel at least satisfied in the price he paid for the trip (assuming something terrible doesn't occur to ruin the rest of the week).

Taking a sip from her glass, Imogen's face lit up as he talked about his travelling around the US. She hadn't done that quite yet but it was definitely on her bucket list. She bounced on her seat a little as she got excited to talk about her travels and opened her mouth to start when the bell rang. "Awww, bummer! Well jus' quickly 'fore ye go, I've done a lot of travelling before I had me girls but I'll fill ye in on that when we next talk, if that suits ye?" She stood up and shook Maurice's hand and gave him a warm, genuine smile. "Until next time."

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Darren had bid farewell to Imogen and couldn't help but smile to himself, he really liked her so far. He'd be interested in speaking with her again. Letting himself be guided by the piece of paper and names, Darren looked up to spy his next date and his jaw almost dropped. She was definitely a looker but she had this rough "don't mess with me or I'll cut you with words" kind of look to her. He wasn't sure if he was just being judgemental but he usually had a good sense for these things as he liked to try and avoid people like that. Perhaps he should just go and talk to her before passing his first impression already.

Clementine held onto the table as her previous date left. Seeing him bolt for the door she perked a brow and then chuckled to herself. Was it something she said? Oh well, maybe she saved the rest of the girls from having to hook up with a guy that would rather play video games than get his bowchicawahwah on. Shrugging to herself she looked over as her new date arrived and smiled slightly. "One word about video games and I am flipping the table on this guy," she thought to herself.

Shaking his head, Darren walked forward and held his hand out to Clementine to shake it in greeting before taking his seat. Clementine took his hand and shook it gently before leaning back in her seat and getting comfortable. "Hey there, I'm Darren as you may already know. Lovely to meet you. Would you like to start or shall I?" He kept a bright and charming smile on his face as he got himself comfortable in his chair.

"Please do, most have been leaving me to do all the talking. Be a nice change," she said with a smirk on her lips before taking a long sip of her wine. After that last date and the fact it hadn't been spilt, which was a miracle, she needed it.

Chuckling Darren shook his head and smiled. "They must all be playing up to the sage old advice of "ladies first" most likely." Darren flagged a waiter down and asked for another glass of red wine. He was a little sad that they weren't larger glasses but that was probably a good thing right now, all things considered.

Sipping from the freshly poured glass, Darren placed it down gently and smiled to Clementine. "Apologies, wanted to wet my whistle before talking. Nothing worse than cotton mouth on a date. Well where to start..." Darren scrunched up his face a little as he considered what to launch into first. Probably best just covering the basics. "Well I'm from Washington state, small but beautiful place called Poulsbo. I'm a physical therapist and fitness instructor with an education in dietetics. Figured I'd include that one to show I'm a smart, healthy, active kind of guy. Girls like that, right?" He raised an eyebrow and laughed a little at his poor attempt at humour. God he was probably embarassing himself, why did he feel like he was embarrassing himself with this woman?

"So you're a wannabe jock with less of an education than most high school gym teachers? Yeah, great way to start. Very impressive indeed," she chuckled as she placed her glass on the table and threaded her fingers together as she leaned forward. "Now, did you go for this job because A) Your a perv that likes touching people who can't fight back? B) Like putting people down who are already struggling with body issues? or C) my personal favorite just want an excuse to force spinach smoothies down peoples throats?" She might have been harsh in her critique of his chosen profession but the odd thing was that there was no malice or judgement in her voice. It was perfectly neutral and sounded like she was genuinely interested.

Smirking, Darren sat back in his chair and considered her words before answering. "You could say that, yeah. I'm not dumb but I know where my strengths lie and that is definitely in the physical realms. I can mentally function and that's good enough for me. I love my job." He grabbed his glass of wine and took a mouthful before setting the glass back down gently. "Can this be multiple choice? I mean, I am a pervert but perhaps just not in the way you are suggesting but I get where you got that from. I have dealt with some right pieces of work in this industry, let me tell you. One guy spent more time carressing his clients asses than he did training them. The other one is that spinach smoothies can be delicious! You just have to... season them... like a soup. Okay, maybe they are disgusting. Nevermind that one then. I'll pick A with a twist. Enough about me though, it's your turn. That is unless you want to tear me apart some and hope that I start to cry sometime soon for your amusement?" He shrugged his broad shoulders and gave a playful smile with his last words.

Clementine couldn't help but to crack a bit of a smile. That was not the answer she was expecting. She was half expecting an eye roll and silence or for it to go the other way where he went of on a rant as if he had been completely serious and not just poking the bear to gauge his reaction like she did everyone. This was a pleasant surprise and by the end of his little speech she was chuckling a bit as she ran her finger over the rim of her wine glass. Apparently his words had struck a chord with this woman and she seemed to relax some which was nice to see. Darren physically felt his shoulders loosening as she seemed to be less serious than he had originally assumed she might be. This was nice.

"Oh darlin', I'll save the crying for my amusement until at least the third date," she said before taking a slow sip of her wine as she watched him over the rim. Setting it down on the table she stretched a bit before lacing her fingers together as she did much of the time on her show and leaned forward. "Oh well as far as I am concerned. I grew up in the deep south, right in the middle of Squeal Like A Pig Central. Father is a Senator, real douche. So I have daddy issues but I didn't realize it until well after I was brained washed by the cult of the South. I mean the Southern Baptist Conservative Church. I drank a lot of koolaid. After I broke free I found myself huddled in a book at Yale, got my Law degree. First case landed me a husband and a show on Comedy Central, dropped the husband when he became a placenta eating Scientologist, but we are still friends, despite our differences in diet. And now I am here wondering when you are going to ask me to show you my lunge so you can correct my form and grab my ass." Shrugging slightly she raised her palms up a bit before leaning back in her chair once again with a slight smile on her lips.

Well that was something you didn't hear much from a woman. She was very open, honest and blunt with her views and history and that was really refreshing. Darren had been so used to dealing with women who hid everything and made themselves look to be more or less than they really were and here this gorgeous specimen was being the exact and complete opposite of that stereotype. Women in the dating pool always seemed to hide their problems but here she was making fun of it and accepting it as part of who she is rather than making it seem like an issue. Darren definitely liked that.

Chuckling to himself, his shoulders shaking with each breath of air, Darren smiled and flashed his teeth as he stood up from his chair and bowed to Clementine. "I would be honoured if you were to lunge for me, madam. I would be kindly obliged to see if your derriere is as pert as your wit." He was smirking at her but if she took up his offer then hey! He wasn't going to complain. His hands were held as though he were politely ushering her into the position if she chose to take it. He stopped bowing and looked up to meet her eyes, giving her a quick wink before placing a hand on his chair as though he was pulling it out to sit again. "That is a genuine and open offer but it can be kept as an IOU for later if you'd prefer?" The smirk played on his lips again and he stood for a moment, waiting to see how good of a sense of humour Clementine actually had.

Clementine sat up, looking a bit insulted as she downed her glass of wine in one gulp. Glaring at him slightly as she set it down hard on the table as she swallowed. Then the smirked crawled over her lips as she stepped over and placed her hands on her hips. Darren eyed her up and down as she stood and he raised his brow in slight surprise as she actually seemed to be going for the fun part of the joke. "So, like this?" she asked and then the bell rang and she laughed brightly as she stood there. "Seems like your hands on my rear will just have to wait for date number two," she said still laughing as she stepped over to him and gave him a little bit of a hug, right before she grabbed his rear end. He hadn't been expecting it and his eyes widened as he felt her fingers grabbing him but all he did was laugh. "Turn about it how I play," she teased before slipping her butt back into her seat.

Darren practically fell over laughing at the whole situation and grinned wide as she gave her a smirk in return for the ass grab. "Until next time, Clem. I'll be holding you to that date number two offer and I will be expecting some ass-tion. Consider yourself warned." It was an awful play on words but it made him chuckle and he waved to Clementine before making his way over to his next date for the evening. That had certainly been interesting and entertaining.

"I look forward to it," she chuckled as she leaned back in her seat a bit as she watched him leave. The date had gone better than expected. She had to wonder how date two would go, hopefully as well if not better. Glancing around she waited for her next victim, I mean date.

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