[IC] Messengers of Heaven and Hell

[QueenSei]

As they made their way to Central Park, Abigail continued to hold onto him tightly as she quickly found out that Roman was a reckless, but experienced driver. She closed her eyes shut as she braced herself for a crash or something, but slowly opened them once Roman started to insist on paying for her.

“Alright fine! Just don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t want to abuse you or your money.” Abigail declared with a huff, just to get her point across. “I’m capable of paying too!” She squeaked immediately afterwards, hiding her face against his back as he wildly went around a truck while laughing like a maniac. She was seriously beginning to regret going with Roman to get ice cream, but at the same time, she was actually excited to do something different for a change. Even when Roman was driving like a crazy person, this was something that was less boring than what she would do.

After what seemed like a really short amount of time, Abigail felt Roman slow down to a stop, to which she quickly let go of him the second she felt him make his way off of the motorcycle. She couldn’t help but blush as Roman held a hand out to help her down while giving her a bow. Timidly, Abigail took his hand and got out of the motorcycle with his help. “Th-Thanks, but that really isn’t necessary.” Abigail told him, but looked around and smiled at the sight of Central Park. Due to her being busy or too tired, she hadn’t come to the park in a while. Being here made her happy. She stretched her arms out, then looked at Roman and smiled. “So, ice cream then?”

[Rogue Sloth]

“It’s not necessary,” Roman agreed. “Neither is saying ‘please’ or holding a door open for another person. It’s just courtesy, doll.” It amused him how unfamiliar chivalry seemed to be to Abigail. Any time he did anything remotely kind to her, she pushed back. It was almost as if… He paused, his green eyes sweeping over her curiously. Has she never been on a date before? He couldn’t believe it. A girl as pretty as her had to have been in a relationship at least once in her life, right? If not, he was going to have a much harder time trying to get her into bed with him. Damn my rotten luck.

Roman laughed when Abigail stretched her arms in obvious bliss. He stepped up beside her, resting his hand on the small of her back, “You know it, cutie.” He pushed her forward gently in the direction of one of the paths in the park. “I promise you won’t be disappointed. Jose sells the best ice cream in all of New York City.”

As they walked through Central Park, Roman took the time to look around at the other people that were there. Children ran around tossing Frisbees back and forth, college-age women laid around in sunny spots trying to tan, older men sat on benches reading newspapers, and joggers ran by training their bodies while the day was still warm. It was a peaceful scene—one that Roman wasn’t very fond of. He preferred the wildness of busy clubs and the bustle of city streets. Chaos was something that entertained him; something he thrived in. He knew it was strange, but he had always been that way, and he had come to accept it.

After a while, they came to a food cart labelled: “Ice Cream.” It was run by a short Hispanic man with a goatee. His face was overcome by a large, beaming smile when he saw Roman and Abigail approaching.

“Señor Sousa!” he greeted cheerfully. His words were thick with a Mexican accent. “Long time, eh?”

“Good to see you, Jose,” Roman replied. “Yeah, it has been a while, hasn’t it?” He hadn’t visited Jose’s cart since he ‘dated’ Cindy. In fact, he took every girl he ‘dated’ to get ice cream here. It was one of his trademark spots that just seemed to work. He flashed the man a smile and threw an arm around Abbigail’s shoulders, “My lady friend here would like some of your famous ice cream.”

“Ah,” Jose said with a knowing twinkle in his eye. He had known Roman long enough to understand what he was up to. “Of course. Anything for such a lovely señorita.”

Roman looked down at Abigail, leaving his arm draped over her shoulders, “You heard the man. You can have whatever you want, darling. So, what’ll it be?”

[QueenSei]

Abigail blushed slightly and looked away with an angry pout as Roman pointed out that he was only trying to be a gentleman and practice chivalry. As Abigail was led to where the ice cream was, she couldn’t help but get a bit shy at Roman’s touch. He was being very flirty and spontaneous, but she felt that she shouldn’t let her guard down so easily.

“Mmm, I can’t wait for that ice cream…” Abigail said in a tired sigh, but enjoyed the relaxing scenery of Central Park. She just liked nature, and being at a small bit of it while being in the middle of a big city such as New York, it was just really refreshing. That would also explain why she tries to practice Shintoism, but luckily for her, that religion wasn’t too strict.

Once they finally got to the ice cream cart, Abigail couldn’t help but smile back at Jose. His cheerfulness was really contagious, at least to her. Abigail was about to greet Jose when Roman threw an arm around her. She raised an eyebrow and gave him a questioning glance, before brushing it off and just went along with it. “Hello Jose, I’m Abigail. Roman had told me about your ice cream, I’m really excited to try it for myself!” She exclaimed happily, before giving Roman another look. He is trying to be super flirty with her, isn’t he?

“Well, I want some cookies and cream ice cream, and anything else you’d recommend to me Jose.” Abigail decided, smiling again. “Whatever ice cream you want me to try. I only ask that you put it in a cup.”

Jose nodded as he got his ice cream scooper ready, getting out some cookies and cream ice cream and served it in a waffle cup instead. “I believe that ice cream should be eaten with some sort of waffle cone. And as for my recommendation, I think you should try the birthday cake flavor. It’s my most famous flavor, and everyone loves it.” He explained, giving her another waffle cup with the flavor he had just mentioned. Abigail smiled and took her ice cream, before turning to Roman. “What are you getting Roman? You’re not gonna let me eat ice cream alone, are you?”

[Rogue Sloth]

Roman smiled to himself, pleased with how well their random little date was going. Abigail was clearly excited about getting ice cream, so it had been a good move for him to bring her to Jose’s cart. He watched as Jose gave her two small cups of ice cream, recommending his best-selling flavor to her—as he did with all of the other women Roman had brought to him in the past. In fact, things were going so well, he was tempted to try and bring her back to his apartment afterwards. Is it too soon though? He wondered, biting his lip impatiently. It was definitely too soon to tell whether or not she was still skittish around him. But he didn’t want to wait…

Shit, Roman took a step backwards, suddenly struck with dizziness. He muttered a short string of curses under his breath and rubbed his temple, willing it to go away. Not again. Not now. For as long as he could remember, he had suffered from occasional fainting spells. He had been to multiple doctors, and even some hippy natural-remedy believers—he had been desperate to try anything at that point—but no one could help him or find anything wrong. He narrowed his eyes, fixing his gaze on a nearby bush and fighting the urge to pass out. Fortunately, the spell passed within a few seconds, and he felt fine again. He sighed inwardly, That was close.

It was perfect timing too, because in the next moment, Roman saw Abigail turn to ask him if he was going to let her eat by herself. “Of course not,” he replied. “It’s polite to let a lady go first. I’m gonna treat you right, doll.” He nodded at Jose. “My usual.”

“Peanut butter and rocky road,” the vendor said knowingly. “I always keep some in stock for mi cliente favorito.” He dropped one scoop of each flavor into a waffle cone and handed it to Roman, then took a step back and beamed at him and Abigail. “I must say, you two make a handsome couple.”

“Y’think so?” Roman chuckled. He appreciated Jose’s smooth compliments. It made his job so much easier. He looked down at Abigail and gave her a teasing wink, “What do you think, Abby? Would we be ‘cute’ together?”

[QueenSei]

Abigail genuinely smiled as Roman told her that he wasn’t going to let her eat ice cream alone. She much rather enjoy it with someone due to her somewhat lonely life. Which reminded her about the plans for later, with her helping out and volunteering. Biting her lip, she absentmindedly looked at her phone to check the time. It was still kinda early, but she still needed to be mindful of the time. Almost forgetting what she was doing, she focused back on Roman and Jose, who began to talk now.

She was quietly licking her birthday cake ice cream from her spoon, finding it that the flavor was really delicious… That was until Jose complimented on them looking like a good couple. Abigail’s eyes widened, opening her mouth to say something before quickly shutting it. She gave Jose a questioning look, then turned to Roman. Thinking seriously for a moment, she thought over how she should answer Roman’s question. She didn’t want to give him any ideas, seeing how flirty he was being with her. She didn’t know what to say, so she decided to tell the truth.

“W-Well.. Maybe it appears to be that way. I don’t know Roman well enough though, and I would rather get to know a guy before doing anything drastic.” Abigail declared, but shrugged. “But yeah, I guess from what I know about him, we could be a cute couple. I mean, he saved my life and called himself Spiderman.” She let out a friendly laughed before looking at Roman. Maybe humoring him a little wouldn’t hurt. “Who knows, maybe I could be his Mary Jane. Not today though!” She giggled. Abigail quickly started eating her ice cream again, which was already starting to melt.

“This ice cream is so good, Jose! Why didn’t I come here sooner?!” She exclaimed, thoroughly enjoying the frozen treat. “You make this all yourself?”

[Rogue Sloth]

Abigail’s words confirmed Roman’s suspicions that she wasn’t the type to move quickly with a man she just met. It looked like he was going to have to make a long-term investment if he wanted any sort of payout from her. Well, so be it. He didn’t have anything better to do with his time anyway. His days had become pretty routine as of late. He woke up, went to work, came home, got drunk off his ass, went to bed, repeat. Weekends were the only time things got mixed up. Maybe it would be fun to start dating again.

Almost as if on cue, Roman’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked the caller ID, then rolled his eyes. It was his boss again. “Sorry, Abby, I’ve gotta take this,” he shrugged and gave her an apologetic smile. “I promise I’ll just be a moment.” He stepped away from Abigail and Jose to answer the call, “What’s up, boss man?”

‘What’s up?’ the man echoed, barely suppressing his rage. That’s all you have to say to me right now? ‘What’s up?’ You’re two hours late for work, dumbass! Where have you been?

“My bad,” Roman said dismissively. “Look, I’m busy right now, but I’ll be there as soon as I can, okay?”

You’re on thin ice, Sousa, the voice growled. If you’re not here in fifteen minutes, you’re fired.

“Uh huh,” Roman drawled. He knew it was all talk. He was too valuable to the company to be let go over one late day—every few days. “Look, I’ll get there when I get there. Love you, miss you, see you soon, boss. Bye.” He hung up the phone before the other man had a chance to reply.

“Well, I hate to cut such a wonderful date short, but duty calls in the form of a small, angry man,” Roman sighed as he turned back to Abigail. “I tell you what: I’d like to pick up where we left off sometime.” He held up the cell phone that was still in his hand from the talk with his boss and winked at her. “Just put your number in here, and I’ll give you a call.”

[QueenSei]

“Hm? Oh, okay then. Go ahead.” Abigail replied after giving her ice cream a lick when Roman had said that he needed to take a call. She went back to talking to Jose about how he makes his ice cream, asking him a few questions like which flavor is the hardest one to make. Although one might consider it strange that she would be very interested as something as trivial like homemade ice cream, Abigail was actually very interested in people’s stories, and from what she can collect with what she knew about Jose, he seemed to take pride in his work.

After listening to his talk about how he makes his ice cream and a bit on his family, she watched as Roman bid farewell to his boss in a peculiar way before going back to Abigail and Jose. She was just finishing up her ice cream when he began to speak. She raised her eyebrow at the mention of their little outing as a date, but she just smiled.

“Aw, so soon?” Abigail asked in a bit of a sarcastic tone, but was actually caught by surprise when Roman offered to continue their date later, even showing her his phone for her to put her number in. Giving him a skeptical look, she took his phone and started putting her number in. She didn’t really wanted to do that, thinking about giving him a phony number just to mess with him, but she couldn’t do it without feeling guilty afterwards.

Giving back his phone, Abigail smiled sweetly at Roman for a split second before checking the time. Still early, but she could go to the orphanage now to get a head start on the work. “You don’t have to take me back if you’re late Roman. I have to go somewhere else anyways and it’s nearby. I can walk from here.” Abigail assured him, putting her phone back in her pocket. "Actually, you go ahead. Your boss seems plenty angry as it is. I could've sworn I could hear him from here!" She joked, turning to face Roman. "Thank you for buying me ice cream. And I guess for this date, though I didn't know we were on a date. This was.. nice. Maybe we can do this again, but don't get into trouble at work, got it? It'll make me feel better knowing your boss won't hunt you down."

[Rogue Sloth]

“Thanks, doll,” Roman grinned when Abigail handed back his phone. He looked at the new contact she had just added. The number looked real enough—it didn’t start with any bullshit triple digits like 800 or 555—but he had been burned too many times in the past to trust it right away. He tapped the messenger option on the contact and typed out a quick: Hello. “Here, I’ll send you a text so you have my number too,” he winked at her as he hit ‘send.’ “Just in case you ever need to call your friendly neighborhood Spiderman, y’know?” The offer was innocent enough, and he honestly didn’t mind if she had his phone number so soon. She seemed like a down-to-earth kind of girl who wouldn’t spam him with crazy messages. Plus, he would soon know if she gave him a fake or not. He wouldn’t have to worry about calling the number and having her dad or secret boyfriend answer, both of which had happened to him before.

“If you say so,” Roman shrugged when she said he didn’t have to drive her home. Just then, he heard her phone ping from a received text. “Looks like my message went through. Well then, I should ‘get my ass to work,’ as my boss always says. I’ll be seeing you, Abby. Later!” He turned to head back to his bike, giving Jose a quick goodbye as he left the two behind.

His first date with Abigail—even though she didn’t know it was a date—was a success.

--

October 2, 2015
New York, NY – Precision Horizons Co.
11:19AM

Roman arrived at Precision Horizons exactly sixteen minutes after his boss had called. It was a move that would obviously irritate the man, since he had instructed him to show up within fifteen minutes, but that was the intention. He headed to his office, where his supervisor was waiting with a scowl on his face, “You’ve got some nerve, Sousa.”

“Oh?” Roman said nonchalantly. “I can go home if you’d like.”

“You know that’s not what I meant,” the man snarled. “You can’t keep doing this. You’re costing this company a lot of money by not showing up for your full shift. I’m starting to wonder if I should make some calls about changing your pay to hourly.”

“You do that, and I’ll just find somewhere else to work,” Roman sighed, leaning against the doorframe and examining his nails as if they were more interesting than the current conversation. “I’m sure it won’t take long for another company to take me in as soon as I start shopping my resume around. I’ve built up quite a reputation among the progressive tech companies in this city.”

“Damn you,” his boss spat. He clenched and unclenched his fist, and Roman could almost hear the thoughts that must have been going through his mind: Sousa gets whatever he wants just because he’s good at his job; I have so little control over him, I’m more like his servant than his boss; I wish I could fire him without getting a pink slip, myself… The man’s frustration was so satisfying. Oh, how he loved chaos.

“Anyway,” Roman continued, taking a seat at his desk. “Fill me in on the meeting, would you?”

His supervisor opened his mouth quickly, as if he had a few choice words to say, but changed his mind. “We met with a representative from a major retail corporation to pitch our new security cameras. As you know, they’re still majorly under tested, which is why…” he swallowed as if the next words were difficult to say. “We needed you there to sell it to him.”

“Ah, the 3060L model, right?” Roman nodded sagely. He knew exactly what camera his boss was talking about. It was a high-tech security device that would be placed in various locations around a building with the capability to capture every corner of it. Each camera had facial-recognition software, and a one-way connection to the local police database. If any customer in the building had a criminal record of any kind, the cameras were programmed to keep the person in view on the security team’s monitors at all times. The target person was also shown in red on the black-and-white footage, making him or her easy to spot.

“Don’t worry about it, boss. I’ll call them up later and make the sale over the phone.”

“Mhm,” the man grunted. “It would have been easier if you had just shown up to the meeting like you were supposed to.”

“Oh well,” Roman shrugged. “I’m here now, and I’m gonna make it happen. You know I’ve never lost a sale.”

“So you keep reminding me,” his supervisor scribbled down a phone number on a sticky note and stuck it to Roman’s desk. “Just call the damn number. Also, one of the other department heads emailed you a project for today. Something to do with a fussy client of theirs.”

“Sure thing,” Roman gave him a two-fingered salute. He opened his laptop while his boss turned to walk out of the office. He paused as a devilish grin crossed his lips. “Oh, and by the way… I’m sure it wouldn’t be out of order for me to request a raise. You know, for all the trouble I’ve been through today.”

“What?” the man spun around, eyes wide with a mixture of anger and disbelief.

“You heard me,” Roman held his gaze evenly. “I would like a five percent raise. Nothing much. Put in a good word for me with the higher ups, would you?”

“You’re already making more than the other salesmen at your rank.”

“I’m outperforming all of them. Your point is moot. Now then, I would like a raise,” Roman smiled pleasantly; kindly; innocently. His boss was visibly squirming under the pressure. They both knew Roman had already won, no matter how much his boss fought back against his puppet strings. If he didn’t do what Sousa wanted, his hire would leave and he would get fired for losing Precision Horizon’s top-performing salesman. If he did do what Sousa wanted, he would continue to be backhandedly turned into his hire’s lackey. Both options were demeaning. The man ground his teeth in bitterness at his own helpless situation. Then, Roman put the sealing nail into the coffin: the one word that made his supervisor’s struggle even more painful. A word that, in its pleasant simplicity, made him feel like he was drowning.

“Please.”

[QueenSei]

Abigail giggled at the Spidey reference, already liking it more now. Maybe I could start calling him that whenever I see him… Seeing that Roman did menrion about another date, she figured that she’ll be seeing more of him. “That sounds good. I’ll keep that in mind.” Abigail replied, when she heard her phone ping. She smiled and took it out, immediately adding his number to her contacts. Giving him a pout and a sigh, Abigail waved goodbye as Roman left. Rolling her eyes and laughing to herself, the girl bid goodbye to Jose and thanked him for his delicious ice cream, before beginning to walk to the orphanage she was volunteering in.

---

Abigail was pulling boxes out of a white pickup truck along with her friends and other volunteers, when a little boy came out of the orphanage excitedly. He ran to Abigail, giving her leg a hug and immediately sat down to make her stop and notice him.

“Abigail!! When you’re done with your work, will you come play with us? We want to play hide and seek with you!!” The boy asked, looking up at her with big blue eyes. He was small for his age, but so full of energy. Dark, spikey hair, with freckles peppering part of his face, he was a cute kid, and a happy one at that. He always looked for Abigail whenever she came to volunteer, and Abigail had grown really fond of him.

Abigail laughed, then tried to drag her leg as she made her way back to the orphanage with the box of clothes. “If you let me work Damian, then I can.” She replied, while playfully attempting to shake him off. “The sooner I finish, the sooner I can go play.”

“Okay, I’ll wait for you!!” He shouted before letting go of her leg, running back inside. A guy walked over with a box of shoes, chuckling at Abigail. “Don’t you ever get annoyed by those kids?” He asked, walking along with Abigail. “Not even a tiny bit?”

“Are you kidding me? These kids are fun to be around! And they’re all great, even if they have no family..” The young woman sighed softly after saying that, setting down the box in the storage room. “That’s why it makes me sad when I remember that these kids are at an orphanage. Of course, they’re in good hands here, but sometimes I wish I could adopt some of these kids, like little Damian, you know? Ugh, it really sucks.. I just wish I could do more, you get me Jordan?”

“Yeah.. You’re really making these kids happy by being here Abby, so don’t fuss over that. But.. why can’t you adopt again?” Jordan asked curiously.

Abigail sighed, unpacking the box. “I don’t have a stable enough job, and I’m not married yet. Although I could technically adopt a kid when I’m still single, I would have a better chance at being accepted as an adopted parent if I was married. And.. I wouldn’t consider myself good enough to be a good mom right now. Maybe if I’m a bit older I could.”

Jordan leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed after he set down his box. He shook his head, whistling a bit. “You are incredible, miss Abigail. You really are such a saint sometimes, it’s unbelievable!” He exclaimed, receiving a pout from Abigail. “I’m just a person who cares a lot about people. I’m no saint, in my opinion. If I was, I’d be the next Mother Teresa, but no. I’m just another Abigail.” She sighed, walking out the door while patting his shoulder, leading him out to the living room. “Do you plan on staying longer? We might need more players for hide and seek.” Abigail asked, looking at him with a smile.

Jordan chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Fine, I got nothing better to do after this. But this time, I’m gonna be looking!”

“That’s not up to me, you’ll have to bring it up to the kids.” Abigail laughed before going back for more boxes, with Jordan trailing behind, complaining.

“On another note, I actually met a guy.” Abigail added, with Jordan now interested. “A guy? What do you mean?”

“This customer I met at work saved me from these thugs who tried to rob me.” The girl explained, with Jordan gasping. “Really? Wow, so he became like, your knight in shining armor?”

“I guess. He looked like bad news when I got into this incident with him, but after he saved me, he took me out for ice cream. Said it was our little date-”

“He went on a date with you without you knowing?? That’s hella smooth right there.” Abigail laughed at this, shaking her head. “Yeah, yeah. He had to leave early though, he was late to work. So he told me that he’d like to continue our date later, and we gave exchanged numbers. I still feel iffy about the guy, but I’ll give him a chance. He’s pretty nice to me..”

Jordan was intrigued, leaning in to listen to everything Abigail was saying. Excitedly, he started to ask, “Is he a bad boy kinda guy? Is he hot? Tell me, I gotta know everything!”

Abigail rolled her eyes and laughed. Take it to her friend Jordan to be that one sassy, bisexual friend who loves to gossip. “He’s handsome, I can tell you thar. But you know me, I don’t just pay attention to looks when it comes to dating guys. But, so far, he’s been sweet to me. If we do continue that date, we’ll see how things go.” Letting out a sigh, she smiled to herself and shook her head. “Yeah.. Maybe I’ll be his Mary Jane and he’ll be my Spiderman, but who knows…”

“Aw, that sounds cute! I hope things work out for you two, you sound cute as a couple!”

“You’re not the first person to say that..” Abigail sighed and smiled, before thinking of something.

Humming a little, Abigail took out her phone and saw the message that Roman had sent before he left. With Jordan watching over her shoulder, she decided to send him a friendly text. Hopefully it won’t get him into any trouble or anything at work.

‘Hope you got to work safely. Thanks for the ice cream by the way!’

[Rogue Sloth]

A regular work day at Precision Horizons Co. was, in a word: dull. At least, that’s how it felt to Roman. Unlike the other salesmen in his division, Roman typically met his quota within the span of two or three hours—it just depended on whether or not he felt like putting in much effort. Today was no different. He finished the phone call with the retail company in thirty minutes, and was well under way with the other project he had been assigned when Abigail’s text came in.

His phone chimed and he raised a brow inquisitively when her name appeared on the lock screen. Interesting. She was more forward than he first thought. He usually prided himself on being a judge of character—it was necessary since he dealt with so many feisty women, whom he needed to take precautions against—but it seemed like he had been off the mark with this girl. He picked up his cell and opened the message:

Hope you got to work safely. Thanks for the ice cream by the way!

Roman tapped a pen against his desk twice, a smirk tugging at his lip. It was still forward of her to text him so soon, but at least the message wasn’t anything crazy. No need to worry. He set the phone down again and continued working on his project. He didn’t want to respond right away and seem like he had been waiting for her to talk to him. To Roman, flirting was a well-rehearsed dance, full of grace and precision. Every action he chose to take had the opportunity to help or hinder his cause, and he wasn’t the kind of man to give less than one hundred percent when it came to getting what he wanted.

He finished his project after about another twenty minutes of work, and spent another two hours after that making sales calls to potential clients. He met his quota easily. With no more incentive to work—the company had a cap on commissions—he decided to take a break and finally text Abigail back:

Got to work just fine. Also, no problem at all! Happy to treat a pretty lady like you ;)

With that done, Roman glanced at the clock. There were about two hours left to kill before the day was over. Normally, he would just go home early, but he wanted to wait and see if his boss put in a request for his raise or not. He sighed and rocked back in his chair. There wasn’t much to do, and he wasn’t about to keep working without commissions. He peered out the door of his private office at his coworkers, who all shared a large room separated by cubicles. There wasn’t anyone he particularly wanted to talk to, and he doubted any of them wanted to talk to him. He had a reputation for causing trouble.

When Roman first started working at P.H. Co., he had been just as successful with clients as he was now. With so much free time, he got into quite a bit of mischief at his coworkers’ expense. He would flirt with the women, spread scandalous rumors about people he disliked, and blatantly distract any of the salesmen whom he deemed as any sort of threat to his own success at the company. It was part of the reason why his boss agreed to let him upgrade to a private office space.

Unfortunately, his past behavior left him with nothing to do but watch Netflix on his work computer for the next two hours. He had figured out how to get around the firewall long ago, so it wasn’t hard to access the streaming site. He yawned. Wish I could have a beer right about now…

[QueenSei]

Some time had passed after Abigail sent her text to Roman, but she was quickly pulled into an intense game of hide and seek. She hid and ran with the rest of the kids from Jordan, who ended up being the seeker. After an hour of playing and running around, everyone decided to stop and take a break.

Sitting criss-crossed on the floor, Abigail got her phone that had been on the table when she saw a message. Unlocking her phone, she smiled slightly when she saw who it was from. Being able to see her smile, Jordan ran over to Abigail and sat down, leaning in to see what she was smiling about.

"Who are you texting?" He questioned. "Is it your hero?! Your Spiderman?? What did he say?! Are you going on another date?!"

"Ah! Get off me!" Abigail laughed while she pushed him off of her. "Chill out, jeez! I haven't even opened the message yet, calm down!" She laughed. "I'll tell you in a bit, gosh."

Abigail let out a sigh before opening up her message:

Got to work just fine. Also, no problem at all! Happy to treat a pretty lady like you ;)

Abigail started to smile before Jordan spoke excitedly. "Holy crap, he is DEFINITELY flirting with you!!" Jordan laughed while slapping her arm repeatedly.

"Quit it, Jordan! We literally met yesterday, chill!" Abigail whined, before texting back:

Haha, thanks. Maybe next time I should treat you to something.

Thinking about it after sending that, Abigail sighed a bit before texting again:

Well, I don't want to bother you anymore. You must be busy at work. Sorry! ><

Putting her phone in her pocket while Jordan fangirled a bit more, Abigail sighed loudly as she fell on her back, laying on the floor. "I'm exhausted. I think I'm gonna go straight home." Abigail groaned, throwing her forearm against her eyes.

Jordan looked over her and tsked. "I mean, Abby, you were at work when a problem started up with that guy who was flirting with you, then you were about to be mugged shortly after you started to go home,before getting saved by your Spiderman guy who also took you on an unexpected date. If I were you, I'd be hella exhausted, at least mentally." Abigail groaned again, loudly this time, knowing her had a point.

Another hour later, Jordan dropped off Abigail at her apartment, and the girl trudged up to her bed before jumping onto it. She sighed tiredly, turning over to her back. "Good thing I don't work for the next two days..." Abigail said to herself tiredly. "I'm too exhausted..."

[Rogue Sloth]

The day dragged on as slowly as it possibly could have for Roman. He spent most of the time playing online poker, trying to earn a little extra cash by gambling since he couldn’t make anything more on commissions. Unfortunately, his rotten luck continued to ruin his day and he finished with a loss of two hundred. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, resting his arms behind his head. Bye bye, grocery money.

Ten minutes before five, his boss came back into his office. The man’s face was scrunched in his usual oh-so-friendly manner, and his fingers were curled tightly around a piece of paper in his hand. He stepped up to Roman’s desk and dropped the sheet in front of him. “Congratulations,” he curled his lip. “My superior decided to add another thirty-five hundred to your salary.”

“Great,” Roman smirked. He picked up the paper, which was a signed confirmation of the five percent pay increase, and put it in his file cabinet. “Make sure you let her know just how grateful I am for the raise.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll show her, yourself,” his boss said dryly. The man was well aware of his hire’s reputation with women.

“Maybe I will,” Roman shrugged. “Why? You’re not jealous, are you?” He laughed as the other man just blubbered in response. “Relax, boss. You’re not my type anyway.” He got up from his desk and put his laptop back into his bag, which he swung securely over his shoulder. “See you on Monday,” he said on his way out of the office.

--

October 2, 2015
New York, NY – Roman’s Apartment
5:37PM

Roman sat down at the small, dingy dining room table in his small, dingy apartment. He set down a paper bag of Chinese takeout he had picked up on his way home and picked up the remote to his small, dingy TV. Turning it on, he flipped through channels until he found a news report about a robbery in Times Square. He watched the story as he ate, attempting to use the chopsticks that had come with the food—although he eventually gave up and grabbed a fork from the kitchen.

He pulled his phone from his pocket to see that Abby had texted him again earlier that day… twice. She was more persistent than he had expected. He smiled to himself. It had been a long time since a woman had pursued him like this. He wasn’t used to it, but maybe it would be fun. He opened the text thread to find her new messages:

Haha, thanks. Maybe next time I should treat you to something.
Well, I don’t want to bother you anymore. You must be busy at work. Sorry! ><

Eager, yet bashful, Roman thought, popping another bite of orange chicken into his mouth. She’s an interesting one, alright. He tapped out a short reply:

Don’t worry about it. Home now.

He drummed his fingers on the table, thinking for a moment more before typing one more message:

I can’t say no to free food. How about dinner tomorrow at 6?

Setting the phone aside, Roman finished off the last of his food and tossed out the trash. He sat down heavily on the couch and flipped through more channels on the TV. However, before he could settle on something to watch, his phone buzzed from the dining table. He groaned and got back up to see who was calling him during his quiet time. Checking the caller ID, he found that it was his half-brother, Isaac. He stared at the screen in surprise. He hadn’t heard from his brother in almost a year.

Roman answered the call, “Hello?”

“Roman!” the younger man’s cheery voice boomed loudly in his phone’s speaker. “How’s it going, my brother from another mother?”

“What do you want, Isaac?” Roman said blandly.

“Come on,” he could almost see his brother pouting. “I know it’s been a while, but I can still call my big bro without needing a favor, can’t I?”

“I’m hanging up now,” Roman sighed.

“No, wait, wait, wait!” Isaac protested hastily. “Alright, fine. I’m coming to New York on Monday, and my lodging fell through. I was wondering if I could crash on your couch for a few days.”

“Why don’t you just stay with your girlfriend?”

“That’s the thing,” Isaac exhaled. “I was coming to visit her, but we just broke up. It’s too late for me to get a refund on my plane tickets, and I can’t get anyone to buy them off of me. I figured I might as well make a vacation out of this whole mess.”

“And you just expect me to drop my plans to take you in last minute?” Roman said.

“Please? I’ll pay you. How does twenty dollars a day sound?”

“Make it fifty and you have yourself a deal.”

“Thirty.”

“Forty.”

“Fine! Whatever. Just let me stay with you, jackass.”

“A pleasure doing business with you, little bro,” Roman grinned. “I’ll see you on Monday.” He hung up the phone and sat back down on the couch, flipping through channels once more, although every once in a while he checked to see if Abby had responded to his last text. He wasn’t sure why, but he felt more eager than usual to know if she would accept his offer for a second date.

She’s really something else to have me so hooked, he thought, finally settling on an old-fashioned monster movie. I just hope she’s as good in bed as she is good-looking. If he was going to be playing a long game, he wanted a worthy payout at the end.

[QueenSei]

Abigail had spent time continuing her volunteer work while playing hide and seek with Jordan and the kids. She went out to get groceries after leaving the orphanage, and she struggled to get to her apartment door opened, but she made it in either way. Abigail let out a sigh of relief as she placed the reusable grocery bags onto the counter, looking up at the ceiling as she stretched out her back. Hunger began to gnaw at her stomach as it growled, and Abigail groaned before taking out the pots and pans, getting everything ready for a home cooked meal.

—-

October 2, 2015
New York, NY — Abigail’s apartment
5:55pm

Abigail had just about finished her delicious dish of yellow curry with potatoes, carrots, beef and tofu added to it along with white rice, when she heard her phone ping. The apartment was dimly lit, with her living room only illuminated by a dim lamp, and her kitchen only being lit by the light that hung over the table.

The girl reached out and grabbed her phone from the opposite end of the table, chewing on a soft and squishy cube of tofu covered in curry. She looked at her notifications and instantly smiled when she saw that it was Roman. She didn’t quite understand why, but he was someone she looked forward to talk to right now. It was weird in her opinion, since they literally just met, but something was making her attracted to him. At least for now it would be platonic.

She checked the message after setting her fork down, her eyes widening in surprise as she read what Roman texted her.

Don’t worry about it. Home now.
I can’t say no to free food. How about dinner tomorrow at 6?

Abigail couldn't help but smile and roll her eyes. Was this the official date that Roman wanted to take her in? Taking another forkful of curry vegetables and rice, she sighed and tapped her fingers on the table, staring at the screen. She really didn't want to eat out, she just wanted to stay home, where it was safe. Humming softly, she sat upright and began to text.

Hm. Well, that depends, is this a date?

Thinking about it some more, Abigail decided to text again.

Whatever this is, I don't want to go out anywhere. Are you okay coming over to my apartment? I make really good food!

It was an innocent enough offer, and Abigail thought that Roman would understand, with what had happened to her earlier and all. She was a bit concerned as to what he would say. If he agreed, then that meant she's letting a guy she just met into her home. And if he doesn't want to come over.... Then that just means she has to go outside and trust this man more. Or something like that. Abigail was too hungry and exhausted to actually think logically at the moment. Eating more of her dinner, she got up to get a glass of water, thinking up some recipes that she can try if Roman decided to come over for dinner. Whatever the case may be, she might need to run to the grocery store again tomorrow. Thinking of that just made her uneasy. Maybe she should call Jordan over?

Rubbing her face, Abigail brushed the thoughts off as she decided to wait for Roman to respond first. Just go one thing at a time. No need to rush.

[Rogue Sloth]

It didn’t take long for Roman’s phone to chime with an incoming text from Abigail. He checked to find a new message from her asking if he was inviting her on another date. For some reason, the question surprised him. He would have thought it was implied that he was asking her out again. She really must not have been on many dates if she needed clarification. He was just about to reply, when a second text came in that caught him even more off guard:

Whatever this is, I don't want to go out anywhere. Are you okay coming over to my apartment? I make really good food!

She wants me to come to her place? His lip curled upward in a smirk. How trusting. He would have thought it would take at least four or five dates before she let him come to her apartment. Maybe three if he was lucky. For her to invite him over after just one was both unexpected and encouraging. After all, if she was willing to move fast with him in that way, it wasn’t too far of a stretch to assume she could be willing to move fast in the way he wanted, right?

He tapped out a reply:

A home cooked dinner? You spoil me, doll ;) Just me send your address and I’ll be there tomorrow.

Pressing ‘send’ on the text, Roman stood up from the couch and raised his arms over his head in a long stretch. Normally, he would have gone out to a bar on a Friday night, but after everything that had happened the night before, he decided he would rather stay home and keep watching movies alone—especially since it turned out Cindy was tailing his ass and trying to ruin his chances with any other women.

He walked over to the kitchen and opened up a cabinet, taking out a bottle of whiskey. Just because he wasn’t going out didn’t mean he couldn’t get shit faced by himself. He brought the bottle back over to the couch, kicking his feet up on the table and pouring himself a glass. Lifting the drink to his mouth, he downed the whole thing in one gulp, grimacing at the burn of the alcohol on his throat.

After pouring a couple more glasses and repeating the process, Roman sank down into the couch, lying on his side as he watched a low-budget Godzilla destroy a city. He yawned tiredly, letting the whiskey work its magic on his system. His head was already fuzzy with drunkenness. He smiled to himself. He would definitely get a good night’s sleep tonight.

--

October 3, 2015
New York, NY – Roman’s Apartment
9:45AM

Roman woke up on his living room couch with the TV still glowing in the corner. He sat up slowly, testing to see if he had another hangover. Fortunately, he seemed to have escaped from one this time. He glanced at the time on his phone, wondering when he had fallen asleep last night. Whenever it was, he felt like he had slept for a solid twelve hours at least. It certainly made up for the shitty three hours he had gotten the day before.

He got up and headed to his bedroom to get ready for the day. He had a date with Abby later that evening, after all, so he needed to turn on the charm. He wanted to make sure she was crazy about him after their dinner together, and the first step to that was looking presentable.

Roman took a long shower—he had all day to get ready for the date, so there was no reason to rush—before he went to his closet to pick out something to wear. Most of the clothes he owned were nothing fancy, but after a bit of searching, he found something halfway decent. He put on a maroon button-down shirt and a pair of black jeans, and then went to the bathroom to trim his beard down to a neat stubble and run a comb through his hair. Lastly, he searched his closet one more time and found a black tie, which he threw on to complete the look.

He stood in front of a full-length mirror that was attached to his bedroom door and grinned at his reflection, adjusting his tie so it laid straighter against his chest. I clean up pretty nice, if I do say so myself, he thought confidently. Hopefully Abby will think so too.

[QueenSei]

Abigail was finishing up the rest of her food when she received Roman’s text saying that he agreed to their date at Abigail’s place, which made her excited but also instantly regret. Even so, she texted him her address, and warned him to not be late. She picked up the dirty dishes and placed them in the sink, rinsing them a bit after she put her phone in her pocket. Right, now for the next step, just figuring out what she should make. Abigail loved to cook. And she loves to cook so much, she knows lots of dishes she could make. But now she has the problem of what to actually make since she had just met Roman.

Humming to herself, she figured she could always text Roman tomorrow to ask what he likes, then call Jordan over to help her with groceries and other errands that involve leaving the house. She relaxed more with that plan, finishing washing the dishes before she walked over to her closet, getting into her pajamas so she can go to bed. The rest of the things she needs to do, she will figure out tomorrow. Right now, all she wants to do is sleep after the chain of events that happened to her.

As she laid down and got comfortable, she couldn’t help but think about Roman. It felt really weird, but she thought nothing of it. He was a weird guy after all.

—-

October 3, 2015
New York, NY - Abigail’s apartment
12:07 pm

Abigail woke up pretty early, like she normally does, and made herself some breakfast after taking a shower and getting ready for the day, although not yet for the date. Abigail made breakfast while calling Jordan to come over to her house to help. After a bunch of excited questioning and annoying teasing, Jordan agreed and Abigail ate her breakfast as she waited.

Once Jordan arrived, Abigail decided to explain to him what was happening, to which Jordan began to gush over excitedly.

“You’re having your Spider-Man over, AND you’re making him dinner?!” He exclaimed, grabbing her by the shoulders. “You really know what you’re doing! You know what they say, a way to a man’s head is through his stomach!”

“No no no, that wasn’t what I want to do! I’m not trying to win him over!” Abigail tried to explain herself.

Jordan frowned, suddenly letting her go. “Then what are you trying to do with this date??”

“Well, I wanted to repay him for saving me, and for buying me ice cream.” Abigail replied timidly, looking at the ground while she rubbed the back of her neck.

Jordan let out an exaggerated sigh and rolled his eyes. “You’re too weird Abigail. But whatever. You should keep him though, in my honest opinion.” He huffed, as Abigail gave him a nervous laugh and handed him the list of things she needed for the dinner.

While Jordan went out to do the errands, Abigail began cleaning up her apartment. It wasn’t dirty, but there was things that were out of place, like her laundry being on the couch, since she was too busy at work to actually put them away. At present time, she had finished up folding laundry and was tidying up her books when she looked at the time and decided it would be a good idea to ask Roman if there was anything he didn’t want.

Hey Roman! I just wanted to know if you wanted anything in particular for dinner, or if you have anything that you don’t want in your food?

Sending the text, she went back to getting everything organized. Jordan was out getting her some shoes st the moment, as he had good sense of style and knew what Abigail would like to wear. She had a dress in mind that she wanted to wear, nothing too fancy, but she felt that she should get shoes as well. Jordan was also supposed to help her with her hair, but Abigail didn’t know what she wanted. She can decide later anyway, it was still pretty early.

[Rogue Sloth]

Roman spent the rest of his morning doing very little. He made himself some bacon and eggs for breakfast, lazily browsed social media for a while, and then decided to run some over-due errands. Slipping on a pair of black shoes, he headed out to his bike and went to the nearest Target to pick up some food and other living essentials that he had been procrastinating on buying.

He made a short trip of it, purchasing a few TV dinners, paper towels, and solo cups. It was nothing special. However, the grocery run wasn’t completely uneventful.

When he got back to his motorcycle, he stowed the items in the saddlebags he had hitched to the back and climbed on to drive home. Just as he was about to turn the key in the ignition, he spotted something small and white out of the corner of his eye. He looked up to see a piece of paper tucked into the corner of his windshield. “What the hell,” he groaned. In his experience, paper in a windshield was never a good sign. It was always a ticket or a note left by some do-gooder apologizing for hitting his bike.

He swung his leg back over the side of the motorcycle and walked around to the front, plucking the paper out from beneath his wiper blade. He looked at it curiously. It definitely wasn’t a ticket, but he also couldn’t see any damage to his bike. Maybe somebody had thought they hit him and just left the note to be safe? Either way, it was weird. He opened up the folded sheet and stared at it in surprise. Now he was sure it was a note, but it was the strangest note he had ever seen.

There’s been a change of plans. Come to this address tomorrow morning at 8 o’clock sharp:
476 5th Ave

P.S: Say nothing to Abigail Astor

“The hell is this shit?” Roman balled up the paper and stuffed it in his pocket. He got on his bike again and backed out of his parking space, his heart beating slightly faster with nervousness. He wanted to believe whoever had left the note had mistaken him for someone else, but the last line was too personal. This mystery person had meant it for him… and they knew about his interactions with Abby.

--

October 3, 2015
New York, NY – Roman’s Apartment
2:26PM

Roman stared at the wrinkled piece of paper on his dining room table. He had gotten home a little over an hour ago, but he couldn’t do anything else until he figured out who had written it. Someone had been stalking him, and he was going to find out who.

Suddenly, Cindy’s face flashed into his mind, and he felt a pang of anger. Of course. It had to be her. She had been trying to ruin his life ever since he had left her. She must have left the note to spook him and ruin his relationship with Abigail somehow. He picked up his phone and furiously punched in her number, drumming his fingers impatiently on the table as he waited for her to pick up.

“You have some nerve calling me, asshole,” Cindy growled across the line.

“I wouldn’t be calling you if you would just leave me alone,” Roman snapped. “What’s up with the note you left on my bike, huh?”

There was a brief pause before she replied, “What are you talking about?”

“The note,” Roman repeated, growing irritable. “Don’t play dumb. I know it was you. You’re trying to sabotage my date with Abby tonight, aren’t you?”

“You’re an idiot. I didn’t leave you a note, and I have no idea who Abby is—although if you give me her number, I’d be happy to give her a thorough picture of who she’s going out with.”

“It really wasn’t you?” Roman faltered. If Cindy didn’t know about Abby, the note couldn’t have come from her.

“No, it wasn’t,” Cindy said sternly. “Maybe you’ve made more enemies than you realize, Roman. Check your list more closely before you accuse me next time. Goodbye.” The line went dead as she hung up on him.

Roman stared at his phone. It didn’t make sense. It had to be Cindy. Who else would have left him such a cryptic note? He raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. Maybe he could just ignore it—pretend like he never saw it. After all, it was pretty risky to show up to a meeting when he didn’t know who had sent him the invitation. Maybe, if he didn’t go, the whole thing would just go away.

I should just forget the whole thing, he crumpled the note up again and tossed it into the trash.

Just then, his phone chirped with a new text from Abigail:

Hey Roman! I just wanted to know if you wanted anything in particular for dinner, or if you have anything that you don’t want in your food?

He chewed on the inside of his lip, thinking over the question before he simply replied:

Surprise me.

Sending the text, he got up from the dining table and headed back to his room. What was he worrying about? He had a date with a beautiful woman tonight. Life was good, and he wasn’t about to let a stupid piece of paper change that.

--

October 3, 2015
New York, NY – Abigail’s Apartment
5:57PM

Roman stood outside of Abigail’s apartment, holding a small bouquet of flowers he had picked up on his way over. He did a quick adjustment of his tie, making sure it was still on straight, and then ran a hand through his hair one more time to fix it up. Lastly, he double checked the number on the door with the number she had sent him over text. He didn’t want to show up to the wrong place, after all.

Once he was confident that he had the right apartment, he knocked twice and stood back, leaning against the balcony railing as he waited for her to answer the door.

[QueenSei]

Receiving Roman’s text, Abigail hummed before smiling at an idea she had. She quickly finished putting some books she had in her arms on a bookshelf before she called Jordan to add more things to the list. She was determined to make a really delicious dinner for this date.

—

October 3, 2015
New York, NY - Abigail’s apartment
5:51pm

Abigail had just finished getting ready, having her dress and new shoes on while she finished cooking the dinner, which was a dish called chicken in creamy white wine sauce. It was better than it sounded, especially with the aroma of the vegetables and chicken simmering together. Jordan had left an hour ago, after having helped Abigail get herself ready and did her hair. Her hair wasn’t too fancy, just brushed and fluffed, while having a hair ornament holding up a bit of her hair from the side so it would look more sophisticated.

While she was finishing up adding the rest of the ingredients of the dish, Abigail began to feel slightly nervous. It was already getting close to the date, and she had just realized what she was actually doing now. She was letting a guy she just met into her house, for dinner! Why was she moving things so fast???

Abigail didn’t exactly know why, but she knew that strangely enough, she felt relaxed with Roman around. As bizarre as that sounded, given that he picked a fight with two men right after first talking to Abigail, and then beat up the thieves who tried to mug her. And how crazy he drove his motorcycle.

Thinking back on that memory, Abigail began to blush as she remembered how she held onto him, resting her head against his back. It felt... really nice. Abigail blushed profusely as she snapped herself out of that thought, turning off the stove burner and covered up the pan with a lid, getting the plates, cups and silverware and began to set up the table. She mentally scolded herself for thinking that way about a guy she just met, but deep down, she couldn’t help be feel slightly warm and fuzzy with that memory.

Quickly enough, she suddenly heard knocking at the door, which pulled her out of her thoughts and caused her to look at the clock on the wall. It was already near 6 o’clock, so it must’ve been Roman. Setting down the last of the silverware, Abigail quickly walked to the door, opening it up to see Roman holding a bouquet of flowers, but not after noticing how nice he looked in his clothes. Blushing a bit, Abigail broke into a bright smile.

“Hi Roman! Wow, you look nice!” She exclaimed happily, before moving to the side to let him in. “Come in, I just finished cooking dinner.” She said, and once he entered, looked at the bouquet of flowers again. “And you brought flowers too? You’re so sweet!”

[Rogue Sloth]

Roman’s first thought when Abigail answered the door was: Damn. His dark eyes swept over her form. He hadn’t expected her to dress up too since they were going to be having dinner at her own apartment, but here she was, standing in front of him in a smoking hot outfit. He licked his lips. She looked incredible. He was definitely glad he had decided to pursue a second date with her now. He just hoped the payoff wouldn’t take too much longer.

“Me?” he pressed a hand to his chest in exaggerated surprise when she complimented him. “I’m just glad I put on something kind of decent. You look gorgeous, Abby.” He stepped inside once she had invited him in, taking a moment to look around.

It was easy to tell that the apartment belonged to a woman. The place was much cleaner than his bachelor pad, and it smelled a lot better too—although that was partly due to the scent of delicious-smelling food that came from the kitchen. There was also a table that was already adorned with plates and silverware for dinner. He could tell that she had spent quite a bit of time preparing for their date.

“It’s the least I could do, since you offered to make me dinner,” Roman smiled when she mentioned the flowers he had brought over. “I figured if you provide the food, I should bring the ambience, you know?” He shrugged. “If you have a vase, I’ll put these on the table.”

P.S: Don’t tell Abigail Astor. The words from the note flitted unexpectedly through his mind, and his smile faltered. It was such a specific demand. He wondered why the mystery person didn’t want Abby to know about the meeting. She didn’t look like anything special, aside from her inexplicable beauty. It didn’t make sense why someone would want him to keep something like that from her.

He toyed with the idea of telling her just to spite his stalker, but something made him hold his tongue. Perhaps it was his instinct for self-preservation—he didn’t know who this person was or what they wanted with him, after all—but he couldn’t bring himself to disregard the note so easily.

It’s not like it matters, anyway, he reminded himself. I already decided I’m not going.

“So, what’s for dinner?” Roman asked, putting aside his thoughts about the note. “It smells great.”

[QueenSei]

Abigail blushed and giggled lightly as she received Roman’s compliment. “Thank you, I really like this dress.” She said timidly, smiling at him as she led him inside. “I’ll get the vase, you can go sit down!” She offered, hurrying over to the cupboards in search of a vase. She eventually found one on the top shelf, reaching up on her tippy toes to get it, before she filled the vase with some water and placed it in the middle of the table for Roman to set it up.

At the mention of the aroma, Abigail smiled, walking over to the stove and removed the lid from the pan.

“It’s a dish called Chicken in Creamy White Wine Sauce.” She explained, taking a fabric square trivet and the pan over after she put on an oven mitt, going back to the table and placed the trivet down in the space next to the vase, placing the pan on it afterwards. “It’s basically chicken and vegetables. If you want some rice, I have some ready in my rice cooker.” She offered, taking his plate and started serving him some food.

“Oh, I also have drinks! Do you want water, soda? I also have juice if you want that.” Abigail added, giggling shyly. “Sorry, I think I’m a little overexcited. Maybe a little nervous?” She admitted, giving back his plate after she served his food, getting her plate to do the same for her. She soon sighed. “To be completely honest with you, these two dates are sorta... my first dates?” Abigail gave Roman a nervous smile, placing the pan back in its spot.

“I went to an all-girl’s boarding school, and at times I would be homeschooled by my parents when they have to Ben relocated for some time, so there wasn’t time for dating.” Abigail explained, before giving him another smile. “But you don’t want to hear about that. How about I get you that drink?”

[Rogue Sloth]

Roman untied the bouquet for flowers and placed them in the vase Abigail had set on the table. Taking her suggestion, he sat down in one of the chairs and leaned back as he watched her finish setting up for dinner. It had been quite a while since the last time he had been to a woman’s apartment, let alone served a home cooked meal. Even though it was just one step along the way to his end goal, he would have been lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying the unusual date so far.

“It all sounds great to me,” he said after listening to her description of the food she had made for them. “Besides, anything is better than Chinese takeout, which is about all I’ve had recently. I’m starting to feel convinced it’s the national food of the American bachelor.”

He had to hide his surprise when Abigail listed the drinks she had to offer. No alcohol? his upper lip twitched subtly as he forced himself not to show his disappointment. Looks like I’m gonna have to get through this date sober. He was just about to answer her question, when she went on to say something else that sent his mind reeling.

She’s never been on a date before... ever? Roman blinked in surprise. The girl wasn’t just innocent; she was completely new to the dating scene. He groaned inwardly. This is just my luck. The hottest girl I’ve met all year is also the most naïve. It was beginning to sound like he was going to have to put in a lot more work than he was expecting for this one.

“Water is fine for me,” he finally answered her with a polite smile. “As for our two dates being your only ones, I’m honored you’re giving me a chance. I hope I’ve been able to keep up with whatever expectations you’ve had for going out with a guy so far.” He rested his elbow on the table and propped his chin in his hand. “Well, I don’t know much about you other than the fact that you’re a total knockout in the looks department.” He winked at her flirtatiously. “Tell me more about yourself, Abby. Your school, your parents, I want to know it all.”