Participants:
| Scene Title | Granted It's Only Their First Date But… |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | .. there's no kissing. But there is talk about 'sleeping around.' |
| Date | June 1, 2009 |
Wade Quinn's Apartment
It's Monday night. Not two days after the planned date, but 9 days. A sudden deadline hit Wade, then Kimberlynn had committments and then finally all the planets went into alignment and the time has come and Wade is a tad nervous. Well, okay, he's extremely nervous. As Reed, he never had a date in his life. No girl would even consider looking at the nerdy high school Junior. He was not a jock, or in the band or any of that sort of thing — he was a geek.
But tonight, he has one of the most attractive women he has ever met coming over to make him dinner. How is that even possible. He has already scoured the best he could through Wade's memories and the guy had his share of ladies, but nothing serious. No real commitments.
He just hopes he doesn't blow this, but so far Wade has not let him down. He has sent a taxi to pick up Kimberlynn, having prepaid for it with a generous tip included, so all he can do is wait for her to show up.
Kimberlynn has gone shopping to find the ingredients she needs to fix dinner for the generous Wade. She's not at all nervous, because she knows she's quite a good cook, and she's confident in that. She's also confident that she can charm Wade, so that he'll want to keep her coming around. It's true that in college, Kimberlynn was a busy girl, dating a lot, but really, she's a monogamist. She wants one guy, and deep, deep down, she wants a husband. She doesn't actually expect this date to turn into a serious relationship, let alone a marriage proposal, but she knows it'll be fun.
She knocks on the door, her arms heavily laden with green reusable grocery bags, full of what she needs to make a tasty dinner. She's waiting patiently for Wade to answer the door when she gets an itch on her chin. Well, nothing she can do about it until she gets to set the groceries down!
Chances are Wade is not looking to be a husband yet. He's only seventeen.. Oh wait! He's 22. or 23. Oh dear. He better check before he's asked. He pulls out his wallet as he hears the door knocking and drops it on the floor. He mutters to himself and bends over to pick up the wallet to verify that he is, indeed, 22 years old. Hmm. Maybe at 22 he should get married. He doesn't want to wait until he's too old.
He tucks the wallet away into his pocket before moving to the door to open it. He's dressed rather casual with a yellow polo shirt, new blue jeans and sneakers. As he tugs open the door it catches on the chain and he shakes his head at himself and unfastens the chain, holding the door open. He reaches for the groceries. "Here, let me take that."
He walks over and places the sack onto the counter and turns back to smile at her. "There. Come on in. I'm glad you could make it." He walks back over to wait for her to come in before he closes the door behind her.
Kimberlynn smiles brightly as Wade takes the groceries from her, and the second he's not looking at her, she rubs at that pesky itch on her chin. Itch gone, he's looking at her again, and smile smiles innocently as she can. "I hope you like broccoli…" she says, looking into his face for a genuine reaction. She wishes she could read him empathically right now, but…that flash that comes and goes isn't active at the moment, so she can't do it.
She enters and waits for the door to close, then walks over to the counter and starts taking things from the bag Wade put on the counter, and the other bag she carried. "How do you feel about being my sous-chef?" she asks with a merry twinkle in her eyes. "Just…chopping and stuff. I'll do the actual cooking and mixing of things. Do you like French bread? I thought we could have a bit with dinner. And how do you feel about chocolate? I hope you like it, because dessert…will be…interesting. It's a recipe I haven't tried before."
If she could read him then she'd sense indifference at the mention of broccoli, and delight at the mention of chocolate.
Wow. Lots of questions. All at once. He tries to remember them all. "Chocolate and broccoli are good, but not together — that I would imagine, not that I've tried it or anything. So if your dessert is a chocolate broccoli cake or something like that, I may have to pass." he teases her.
"I don't think I have an apron or anything." he says as he pulls open a drawer, which happens to contain an apron. "Oh. I forgot about this one - here." he offers it to her. "And I'd be delighted to help. Where can I start?"
Kimberlynn promptly starts digging through the kitchen, concerned that she won't find what she needs for dessert. She laughs, though, and looks over her shoulder at Wade, "Well, I guess that idea goes out the window! No, actually, it's a broccoli salad, to go with the steak. And for dessert…chocolate souffle! I hope you like it. I hope I do it right. I've only ever made zucchini souffle before, and it's…a very different thing. I hope it turns out."
She suddenly finds what she needs, a large saucepan, and a metal bowl, which she needs for the souffle. On the counter are a strange variety of things. Grapes, a head of broccoli, green onions, raisins, shelled sunflower seeds, a very small jar of mayonnaise, a small bottle of vinegar, a box of C&H pure cane sugar. Also, some seasonings, not all of them new, two New York strip steaks, a loaf of French bread, a stick of butter. An egg carton, sweetened bittersweet chocolate, a carton of whipping cream, and a souffle dish.
"Ok!" she says, with a grin. "I figure we can bake dessert after dinner, because we'll need to bake it immediately after preparing it, and then eat it immediately after taking it from the oven. Will you help by slicing grapes in half?" she asks, as she starts washing the grapes, then the broccoli.
"Oh, I'm sure whatever you cook will be just great. Don't worry too much about that. I'm looking forward to sampling your cooking actually. I've been thinking about it since last night."
Wade walks over and takes the recently washed grapes and pulls a knife from the drawer and begins to slice them as requested. "It's nice to actually have someone in here who can cook. Lord knows I'm no cook, even though I have all this cookware. I thought having it would impress the ladies." he turns and winks in her direction.
Now if he can get through all these grapes without slicing off a finger, that'll be a good start. "Where did you learn to cook like this?"
Kimber laughs. "Oh, from my mom, and cooking classes in 4H. I didn't actually take any classes at college. There weren't any offered where I went. The souffle, that's…well, the zucchini souffle is something our family has for dinner on holidays and special occasions. I thought I could vary it for the chocolate souffle. We'll see how it works out. It might go badly! Souffles are…sensitive. You just can't afford to hurt their feelings, or they go all flat and stuff." She winks back at Wade.
"Don't worry about cutting off your finger. I sew, too, so I could probably stitch…well, I don't know if I could stitch the nerves back together, so definitely be careful. At least I'm not making you peel the grapes!" Kimberlynn smiles, deftly chopping the head off the stem of the broccoli, and separating it into florets. She throws them into a big glass bowl. "When you're done with the grapes, go ahead and put them in this bowl, too." She opens the raisins and dumps in a couple of handsful. "Two scoops, just like the cereal. So, where did you go to school? I've a feeling they don't hire advertising writers fresh out of high school."
"Cornell." he responds. He is careful as he cuts the grapes. The thought of being stitched up does not appeal to him in the least. "They have a hell of a program over there." He picks up the cutting board and slides the sliced grapes into the bowl.
Wade sets it down and glances into the bowl. "This smells pretty good, actually." Even for just salad it has a nice aroma to it. "Though, having grapes and raisins — isn't that a little redundant." he grins at her. "What else can I do?"
"Well, if you'd like to start adding the almonds, I can whip up the dressing. It's supposed to have celery in it, but I really don't like celery." Kimberlynn digs out yet another bowl, and puts about a half a cup of mayo in it, guesstimating rather than measuring. She's not one for measuring cups. "Oh, and add the bacon pieces…I already cooked, drained, and crumbled them, so they're ready to go. I know, raisins and grapes…but the texture is different and it adds to the depth of th salad." The bacon pieces are in a reusable plastic container, lined with paper towels. She adds a small amount of vinegar, and then approximately an eighth-cup of sugar. With a spoon, she whips them together.
Instead of pouring on the dressing, she starts the steaks. Well, tries to. She searches the kitchen for an over-burner grill, but doesn't find one. Instead, she finds a griddle pan she can use, and starts the burner up, with a little bit of olive oil on it. Waiting for the pan to heat up, she pours the dressing over the broccoli salad. The bowl is big enough for tossing, and she does so, thoroughly coating the unusual salad with the dressing. She smiles over at you. "Cornell, huh? Isn't that Ivy League or something? That's impressive. I only went to University of Kentucky. Go Wildcats!" She grins and continues, "Decent, for a state school, I guess. Or…for Kentucky. I don't know that it would win any education awards, but…oh well. So you studied…what, English?"
At first he isn't sure what she's looking for, but he doesn't interrupt her as she digs around for something. If she decides she needs help, she'll ask. "Communications, actually." he grins. "Not quite as high brow as English, but it got me this sweet gig and for that I'm pretty happy. I like being creative."
Almonds are gathered and added to the salad. "From Kentucky are you? Or did you just go there for school?" he asks as he sets the can into the trash bin and then looks for something else to do to be helpful.
"Nah, I'm from there. Didn't the accent give it away?" Kimberlynn grins. The salad made, she focuses on the main dish, the steaks. She sets them on the pan, and they immediately start sizzling. She smiles happily and asks, "How do ya like your meat?"
Being a teenager stuck inside the body of someone older, there's an inappropriate response to that question that gets tongue-bitten back before it comes tumbling out of his mouth. He leans against the counter and grins over at her. "Well, probably medium, or medium-well. Whichever is easiest for you."
"And I would never presume that someone with such an accent is from any particular state because these days there are those who get offended very easily at the slightest thing. Not saying you, of course, just people in general. So, I do not try to guess where others are from." There's a playful grin across his face.
Kimberlynn gives you a stern look, "Well, it's good you didn't try to guess! I'm a real meany-pants!" She grins widely and hms. "Well, they're both just as easy, and I like mine medium, so I guess…I'll just do them the same, if that's okay?" She digs around until she finds a pair of tongs and quickly flips over both steaks, then over again, back to their original side, because they weren't done enough. "I like your kitchen. I might have to come over and cook for you more often. I don't really have much of a kitchen. It's pretty, um, tiny. Very sad, really. I'm the kind of girl who likes to cook big meals, and have leftovers in the freezer. Or cook big meals and serve to lots of people! Or…something." She smiles, and lets the steaks cook on their own for a minute or two. "Communications," she comments, "What did you minor in? Or are you just so good at communicating, that you didn't need a minor?"
Wade fehs at that question. "I'm still learning the ropes. I minored in creative writing. It kind of helps to have a little of that under your belt in my line of work. Of course, even then it doesn't always help. I've had my share of bombs."
As the kitchen fills with the smell of the steaks sizzling, Wade's eyes are on the beauty manning the tongs. He can't seem to stop himself from watching her. Like he would even if he could.
"What did you study in school?"
"Actually…computer science. And I minored in," Kimberlynn pauses for effect, "creative writing! Actually, rather than anything else, I want to be a writer. I know, I know! I'm like one of a zillion wanna-be writers in this city, let alone the country. But I get these ideas…They're very fairy tale-ish. Magical, maybe, with princesses, and stalwart warriors…yeah, I'll be writing books for kids. Oh, and ghosts! Romance with ghosts! For teens, really, not the little kids. I don't really think I could get behind a romance novel for little kids!"
She flips the steaks again, just once this time, so they're on the uncooked side, and leaves them on that side. "It's been ages since I did steaks, I hope I get them right. And, now you know my dirty little secret. I want to be a writer."
"Writing is a dirty little secret? Since when? I mean, unless you're writing smut novels or something less dignified." He continues to watch her work the steaks, along with the rest of the meal as he leans back against the counter.
"I mean, it's smut novels, right?" Wade inquires, now hoping he hasn't put his foot in his mouth.
Kimberlynn laughs. "Only as much smut as the Twilight books, which …well, were written for teenagers. No, no smut. I could probably write smut pretty easy, but I wouldn't attach my name to it!" She nudges Wade with her elbow and shakes her head. "Well, it's a dirty little secret because…I'm not doing it. I'm not writing. I'm just…tendin' kids. It's like my ability to write went out the window with the bomb. Not the recent bomb, either. Actually, I do have a story I'm working on right now, but it's for younger kids. Fairy tale kind of thing. I hope it works out…As much as they need me, and as much as I adore the kids, I …kind of want to get out of the trailer. I need more room, I think." She sighs a little bit, and shakes her head.
"Ok, we're going to be really informal about this. I can plate us up stuff, or …Oh, crap. I didn't slice the bread. Well, the meat needs to rest for a minute anyway, so…" She puts the steaks on plates she alreeady located for this purpose, and begins slicing the bread at an angle. "Will you set the table with silverware and dri…Aw, crap again! I forgot wine!" She makes a face. "I don't suppose you have any red just sitting around, do you?"
At first thought, his answer would be no. But he does dig into the fridge and find — "I have some wine coolers here. They're red." Not quite what she meant, and Wade's brain doesn't tell him anything different. He pulls out the two bottles and finds a couple of wine glasses. "I hope these will do."
"Next time let me pitch in for some of this, okay?" he brings the glasses over to the table and pours the two bottle into the glasses. There is some left in the bottles, so he puts them back in the fridge. "I'd like to read your story when you're done. Maybe I could recommend some publishers for you. But I'd want a sneak peek first." he grins.
The talk of the trailer is passed over only for a moment before he walks back and helps dish up the plates. "I don't really like you in that trailer park, I will admit. I wish you could afford to move out of there. I'm afraid one day you'll get hurt."
Kimberlynn scoops some of the broccoli salad onto each plate, and carries them over to the table. "I hope you like this salad. A lot of people don't like mixin' their sweet and savory, but I find that at times, it's really refreshing. Yeah, I know. It's a dangerous area. I haven't decided if I can afford to pay to live anywhere else right now, though. I need to, i need to get out. I'm afraid when I moved to NYC, I didn't plan very well. And I really didn't expect the bomb."
She grins at the wine coolers, but resists the urge to tease about them. "The wine coolers are fine. Or water, if you prefer. Do you not drink much, Wade? I don't usually, I'm really a lightweight when it comes to drinking. But when I don't have anything going on, like with the kids, I like to relax with some wine. I'm afraid most of the time, it's cheap stuff. Really sweet or somethin', so I don't do it very often. It's hardly worth it." She waits for Wade to take his seat before she takes hers, or at least for him to be a gentleman and hold her chair out for her.
Really. He didn't buy the coolers. They were already in the fridge. Dunno why he hadn't drank them before now. He's of age, even if he's really not of age. If that makes any sense. He does hold the chair for Kimberlynn to sit before helping her move closer ot the table. He then takes his own seat. He looks down at his food and smiles. "This looks really great."
"Well, you have all the more reason to get your book finished. If it's really good, the advance alone will help finance your move." Even if it's Robin Hood that helps secure that advance. "And when you're ready to move, I'll be more than happy to help." He begins to dig in.
"Oh, wow…the thought of moving…and of being a writer. Yeah, I think you're the only person I'd trust with an advanced read of something of mine. Well, I /hope/ I can trust you! Moving…Do you know all my possessions are really minor? Clothes, my sewing machine, my laptop…ummm…clothes…I haven't got any furniture…I guess I'd have to buy some. Or move in with a roomie that has some already. Something like that…" Kimberlynn trails off in thought and starts sampling her food. She's not one of those people who can't have their food touching. She mixes her food up, a bite of this, a bit of that, a sip of wine cooler. Hee hee.
"So, Wade, what do you do when you're not working your tail off for the ad company, and buying shoes for strange women?" she asks, fixing a gaze on his pleasant face.
What does he do for fun? Traverse the world of the Internet — which she does and does not know. It's not like he can tell her that he's hood without having to explain what happened to the real Wade. He's almost certain that will not go over well. She's the first girl that has looked his way twice since he was in Junior High School and he turned into a major geek.
"Well, I do a little reading." Comic Books. "Fiction. Adventure books really." He tries to get as close to the truth as possible. "Take in the occasional movie, and watch a little TV. I'm pretty boring, really." When he's not pilfering money through the net. "What about you? Besides writing the next great children's novel?" He takes another bite, before complimenting. "This is an amazing dinner, I just want you to know."
Kimberlynn blushes prettily at the compliment. "Aww, thanks! It's pretty simple, I thought. Easy, and…well, flavorful. And steak. I figured ya can't go wrong with steak, right?" She laughs, and then answers the question. "Well, I cruise bookstores to pick up guys…I like to go out dancing with my friends. I …sew. And, of course, tend the kids in the trailer park."
Then a grumpy expression crosses her face. "I love them dearly, but some of these women just do /not/ use the best judgment. A couple of single moms are having more kids, in their situation! They live in one-room trailers, with barely enough room for themselves and the kids they already have! It seems so unwise! I mean, if I were sleepin' around, I most certainly would use protection! I have nothing against their lifestyle, mind you, but…it just seems like they wouldn't want to add another kid to the poverty level." She shakes her head and takes a bite of broccoli.
And abruptly changes the subject. "So is that what you were doing at the bookstore that night? Looking for some great adventure novel? Hmmm…What authors do you like?"
Wade is polite enough not to choke on his piece of steak at the talk of 'sleeping around' is brought up. Of course, his mind goes off on its own when Kimberlynn says 'if she was sleeping around'. He manages to swallow the meat without incident and washes it down with some wine cooler as she's already changing the topic.
"Oh, I was just stopping in for some coffee." Books? Were they talking about books? Well, it seems they are now. "Oh. Well — I am reading some political thriller at the moment. I've forgotten the title, but it's in my bedroo—" He pauses. "The other room, where I usually read." he corrects himself. She's already talking about sleeping around, he doesn't need to bring up his bedroom. "You?"
Kimberlynn is pretty clueless about the effect talking about sleeping around had on Wade. She continues on blissfully unaware. "Actually, I've got a few crafting books. I…haven't really read much lately. It's pretty sad, I used to read like crazy! But lately, I just don't have the desire. I've been trying to write…I…recorded a story I told to some kids a while back, actually, and I've been working with that. It's crazy! When I'm with the kids, the stories just…flow. An old friend gave me a digital recorder I can use to record my stories…I can never recreate them as well as when I'm in the moment, ya know? How does your creative process work, Wade?" She slices off a piece of steak and chews it. She appears pleased with how it turned out.
Having nearly finished his meal, Wade takes another bite, then chases it down with the drink. "Oh — I'm not entirely certain, if I can be honest with you about that." Well, semi-honest since the truth would be that he has no clue. It's all the Wade portion of his brain that comes up with these ideas. He just writes them down.
"I mean, this stuff just appears in my head and it seems to work pretty well. Not every idea is genius. But I have my share. Sometimes it takes a little more thought than others, but it comes pretty naturally to me. If you need a slogan for your book, I'm your guy." he grins, then finishes the last of his plate, pushing it forward then wipes at his mouth with a napkin.
"Amazing dinner, Kimberlynn. Thank you for cooking. It was worth a new pair of shoes."
She smiles. "Oh, are you stuffed? I can still fix dessert if you like." She eats slower than Wade, but she's still pretty much finished. One-third of the steak is left, and all the salad is gone. She takes a final sip of wine cooler, and smiles. "But I understand if you'd rather do something else." She begins cleaning up the table.
Wade stands. "Sit sit. I can take care of this stuff later." He notices her plate. He takes what she's gathered from her and sets it back on the table. "Really. My home, I can clean this up after you've gone. It's no problem." He gives her a smile. "Have you had enough to eat? We can have dessert if you like." Wade concedes. "If you want to dish that up, I won't try and stop you." he grins to her.
Kimberlynn settles back into her chair, smiling, watching Wade do the clean-up. Then she gets up and goes into the kitchen area. "Well, I need to …do everything, but I'm not hungry at the moment. I'd rather pass on dessert tonight, even if it IS chocolate souffle, and have it some other time. Is there somethin' else you want to do tonight, or should I just…head out?" She shoves her hands in her pockets and looks down at the floor, all sheepish and bashful. She's clearly not sure where she stands with this guy. But she braves it, and gives him a sideways smile. "I guess…I'm sayin' if we take a raincheck on dessert tonight…that means I get to come back and cook for you again. But, um, I'm not averse t' stayin' here a while longer tonight." She's blushing rather fiercely at the moment, hoping hard that she's not imposing or being presumptuous.
Wait. Is she asking for another date?
"Um. Sure. I'd like that. I do have an important meeting in the morning I should probably make sure that I don't miss.." He considers for a moment before smiling up at her. "Let me make sure you get home okay. And I'll call you, I promise. We'll go had dessert sometime. Maybe this weekend?"
He's already grabbed his cell phone and dialed up the taxi service. He gives them the number. "Do you want to take the rest of these ingredients with you for the dessert? You may want to make it some other time." He's already starting to put them back into the grocery bag.
Kimberlynn kind of feels like she's failed in the charming department this evening. The date's ending early, and there's no sign of any kissing. Oh, well, maybe next time? "Oh, heavens no. I have a tiny little fridge in the trailer, and it's already full. Keep it here. You can use…or…something." She blushes a bit, but smiles warmly, and helps put the stuff in the nice, big refrigerator here. How she admires the kitchen…"Yeah, we'll have to do something some other time. Definitely call me when you have some free time. I'd like that a lot…" Now she's being too bold, she thinks, and blushes a fair bit again, quieting.
Kissing? Wade is still stuck back on the 'sleeping around' conversation. So if there's anything failing here it would be that this particular seventeen year old inside a twenty-three year old body has no clue when to do what. Perhaps one day he'll figure it out.
Everything gets put away and he leads Kimberlynn from the apartment as the cab honks below. All and all — not a bad first date. Right?