2020-03-11 - Dinner Date?

(TXT to Katherine) Wayne : So it might have been an intelligent thing to ask before I started this, do you like pork? Roast pork specifically as that is what I have in the oven. Please say yes and that you would like to come over and join me.

Katherine herself was in her home office, finishing up on a conference call when she received Wayne's text message. She finishes up on the call and then she replies to the text, thrilled at the invitation.

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : I was going to joke about being a vegetarian but that would be cruel. I would love to have a meal with you. Just finished a conference call and I'll be able to meet for dinner.

Wayne sighed when he read her message and smiled. Was he holding his breathe? No way not him, he was a risk taker afterall... still he could not help the smile as he moved around the kitchen, taking stock of what wine and drinks he might have. He laughs when he is finished and fires off a followup message to her.

(TXT to Katherine) Wayne : You are right, that would have been cruel, not sure if I would have shunned you or tickled you in response to that. We have the following options for beverages, a nice chilled white wine, a couple cans of hard cider, or Fruit Punch... no, you may not judge.

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : Good thing I decided not to be cruel. 🙂 It's good to offer options. I'll see what feels right in the moment when we get there. It's my turn to pick up dessert. You got a favourite?

(TXT to Katherine) Wayne : who doesn't love pie. Seriously though a nice cream pie would finish this meal out perfectly. Figure another half hour to an hour on the roast.

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : Chocolate cream pie? Hmmm, picking up one up on the way. Anything else you'd like me to bring?

For a solid minute Wayne stared at his phone before finally smirking at the response he typed out. He had gone subtle before, then he asked as a question. Now with this reply he made some of his intentions known.

(TXT to Katherine) Wayne : All I want is you.

(TXT to Wayne) Katherine : Don't worry about that part. I've already agreed to come over. 🙂

After getting directions from Wayne, Kate finds herself at his house right before their agreed time. She likes to be at least five minutes early. Not overly early but still early. She doesn't want to seem too eager. Wayne is the first guy she's really gotten along with on a personal level in over a year since her breakup and she wants to enjoy every minute of it. Carrying the chocolate cream pie she picked up, she knocks on the door and makes her presence known.

Hearing the door, Wayne moved to his entrance and opened the door with a smile. He was in a pair of black jeans and a grey striped polo shirt. He takes the pie and leans in for a friendly hug and kissed Katherine's cheek.
"Welcome, feel free to have a seat in the living room, I will put the away and bring in something to drink. Did you have a choice for which you wanted to start with?" His easy smile showed how relaxed he was.

Dressed in a purple cardigan and a pair of black button fly jeans, Katherine takes off her grey and red plaid jacket and hangs off the back of couch as she enters. "Nice place," she comments, "Thinking white wine for dinner, we can start with fruit punch right now. I promise I'm not judging." She settles down in the living room.

"You better not be or I am cutting you off at one glass." He laughs and leads her into the living room area. He points to the couches. "Remote is on the end table, Amazon and Netflix, find something fun while I get the drinks." He grins as he heads to the kitchen.

Kate walks towards the kitchen instead, deciding to see what she can do to help Wayne. "Hey, is there anything I can do help you get dinner set up? We can do the TV thing later." She gives him a bright smile.

"No Miss Overachiever, I gave you the TV because the rest is under control." He chuckles and pours both a glass of fruit punch before handing one to Katherine. "You realize you can't control everything right? That some things no matter how much you work at it, no matter how much you want it are beyond your control." He looks to her with a curious expression.

"It's not about control, it's about offering assistance to the host, rather than just sitting around and waiting," Kate points out playfully as she takes the drink that is offered, because it's not about control (this time). "I figured it would be nice to help you, chat some more. Whatever." Is it so bad that she wants to get to know Wayne more rather than just sitting in the living room and waiting?

"Well then I guess we could stand here, sip our drinks and stare, while talking of course, or we could move this to the living room as I intended so you could be comfortable." He countered playfully with a grin on.

Kate chuckles, reaching a hand up to rub his arm playfully. "All right then, let's go." She walks back to the living room with a smile. "So how's it been? I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to really talk or text this week. I was buried in a pile of paperwork. But I'm glad that you offered dinner. I struggle with the work-life balance thing a lot. I guess I need to be living life more, huh?" she says playfully.

He laughs. "You want to tell someone who rights what they imagine and turns it into a story about work life balance issues, that would be far to pot and kettle for my tastes. Anything that gets you away from work is a plus, anything that lets us hand out is even more a bonus, at least for me." He smiles and holds her hand tight to his arm before picking a couch. "Did I trick you last time by picking a chair?"

"I'm willing to forgive you for that. You did redeem yourself by offering me a pork roast." Sinking into the couch, Kate replies, "This couch is so comfortable. I hope you'll join me."

"You will forgive me, how gracious of you." He laughs while sitting. "This coming from the "lets not count it as dates, why does it need a label?" overachiever. You will have plenty of say in the direction of things, but do not think your lawyer ways means I will roll over and show belly."

"I'm a corporate lawyer, there's always room for negotiations. No one ever just rolls over and shows me belly, dear." Kate smiles at this. "I welcome a back and forth exchange, give me your counteroffer and we'll find a way to meet halfway." She takes a sip of her drink. "Not judging but why fruit punch? I'm an apple juice person myself."

"Fruit punch is an excellent any time drink, goes well with sweeter alcohols, and less expensive." He ticked off points. "Yes you are all about negotiations. I tend to act. Gets me into trouble but that's also living life." He thought for a moment. "Points for using dear however, sweetie."

Kate simply chuckles at Wayne's thrifty explanation and then addresses his tendency to act and get in trouble. "I guess we would balance each other out. You can get me out of my structured little bubble and I'll make sure you don't get into too much trouble." She has a playful smile.

"I try, I really do as you have seen from our interactions. Just every so often there is that risk that I can't help going after. You are rather structured dear, and if contract law ever becomes your thing I know I will be totally screwed, because I only really act on things that I am passionate about." He left that out there while sipping his drink.

Kate gives Wayne an appraising look before she says, "Well, I am a little more careful, but it doesn't mean we can't have fun. It's been a cold winter and I've been busy...we could explore the town, you could show me a thing or two." She reaches over and casually rests her hand on his thigh as she drinks.

"I can show you a thing or two? Oh wow do you and I see things a little differently. " He smiles. "Alright back to that full speed ahead guy, I would love to keep you warm in the winter. Explore the town, sure we can take a trip through the story. But I can speak honestly on this I can show you a different side of this world dear." He moved his hand to squeeze hers then let go to tap her chin for attention. "But I would not do it like so super guide, its not something I will be seduced to do either. You want to know more about the man, that is separate from the gift." He nods.

"Each has its own time. I understand. I'm not trying to seduce you into doing anything. I just figured the stories, the gift...it's all a part of you. And it's the part of you I connected with initially. But I want to get to know the rest of you too, no strings attached," Katherine explains, "I haven't really brought any of it up recently. I did genuinely want you to show me around Gray Harbor, that's the only thing I suggested. No mention of gifts or anything."

"You did not mention them, just like I did not mention when people hear lawyer they think money. I have no interest in your net worth, I like what I have seen of you and want to know so much more of you. The closer we get the more the gift will come up, from both of us. I just wanted you to know its not part of the tour, its a sign of closeness, got it?" He moved his hand to her shoulder. "Ps if you seduce me and the roast burns, you can not be mad at me..."

"The more you ask to be seduced, the less you're going to get it," Kate teases, "Also don't burn the roast, mister." After a short pause, she adds, "The stories are what got me the tour, so I'm thankful for that, but I'm ready for the tour now."

"Good, this way I do not have to worry about my willpower crumbling. Yes I might have manipulated you, its okay to pout." He laughs as he climbs off the couch to go check the roast. "And just wanting the tour means you want to be friends. I am crushed I tell ya." He nearly ran from the room chuckling.

"Oh you think you're cute huh? Start by giving me the tour and we'll talk later." Kate playfully chases him out of the room towards the kitchen. "That smells delicious, and I am ready to eat!" She slows down to a stop at the kitchen counter and places her nearly empty cup down on it. "Anything I can do to help? Seriously?"

"seriously, stop asking and grab a seat. Should we become more then you will be expected to help." He laughed. He reached into the oven to pull the roast out and carries it to the carving board. With a sharp knife, he slices two thick slices for each before plating them. He moves to scoop the potatoes and green beans, then he looks up. "How much gravy?"

Kate sits down as Wayne tells her to do so and says, "Just enough to cover the meat, I love me some gravy." She settles into her seat and asks, "It looks amazing. Where'd you learn to cook?"

"Lived alone for a while, you get good at cooking and every so often you find a reason to host." He poured the gravy over the meat and set the plate on the table before returning with his own. He stands once more to fill the wine glasses and sets the drinks in place. "I will cut the rest later and the dishwasher shall be fed after. Enough hard work for now." He smirks.

Kate watches as the delicious plate of food is offered and set down in front of her. She waits until Wayne is settled down to eat before she takes the first bite and her eyes light up as she eats. "This is as delicious as it smells." She smiles widely, taking a sip of her wine.

"Well enjoy, we can talk more afterwards." He too smiles before digging in to his plate.

"I'm clueless in the kitchen, I can follow recipes but I'm not really good at cooking," Kate admits in between bites, "You did a great job keeping the roast tender."

"Practice is the secret. When you get it wrong, adjust and try again. Thank you, it did come out great. I had some good motivation. Did you want more of anything?" He takes a sip of his wine after speaking.

As she finishes up the last bite, Kate replies, "And risk not having room for dessert? Tempting. I think I can go for dessert now." She smiles brightly as she sips on her own glass of wine.

Once the meal is complete, Wayne clears the plates from the table and moves them to the dishwasher. He opens the fridge and takes out the pie. "Any preference on coffee? I have a good french vanilla and will add some whipped cream if you'd like Kate." He smiles over to her.

"I'm feeling a little fancy tonight, that french vanilla sounds lovely, but I'll have it black," Kate replies as she opts to wait for Wayne to come back to the table instead of offering to help, having learned from earlier.

Wayne returns with her coffee and slice of pie setting them both in front of Katherine. "Enjoy, I will be back in a minute." His Kuerig was already brewing his cup and he added whipped cream before coming back to sip and eat his slice. "Thank you for coming, its been great getting to know you better."

"It's been nice so far, I've had fun getting to know you too," Kate replies, her smile as bright as ever. "I'd like to keep getting to know you, if that's okay."

"I would like that." He nods in agreement and moves to take her hand once she has finished eating.

Not pulling her hand away or anything, Kate's smile does not fade. "So, next time, let's make plans for next time. I've been wanting to try this restaurant called The Firehouse. Think you'd be up for it?"

"You pick a time and I will make sure I stop on time to pick you up." He gave her hand a light squeeze then takes a sip from his coffee.

After the evening ends, Kate stands from the table to leave, giving Wayne a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks again for having me, darling. I can't wait to do this again."

He smiles and takes her arm to lead her out. "Neither can I hon. You get home safe." Just before letting her go, he spins Katherine to face him. "And should you play poker, remember to be the last person to raise the stakes, not the first." He kisses her softly on the lips then steps back with a smirk.