"Sorry, man, I just can't get this girl off my mind." Talon shook his head, dumping out yet another coffee he'd messed up this early afternoon. Marcus clicked his tongue, smiling as he walked over to help Talon clean up.

"What's so special about her?" Marcus grabbed the few discarded cups and tossed them in the trash.

"I don't know how to answer that question. Honestly, I couldn't tell you. She's beautiful, but there's just something more about her that I can't wrap my head around. She's a little weird, and normally that would spook me, but for some reason, it doesn't with her." Talon wiped the counter, cleaning the last of the spilled liquid.

"Like, what kind of weird?" Marcus crooked his eyebrow. He leaned against the counter to stare at Talon. The shop was nearly empty. Just one table of lingering teenagers remained before shift change.

"We went on a date a few nights ago and she had a freak out in the car when we were driving home."

"A freak out? Are you dating a crazy chick?" Marcus stepped closer to Talon, showing more interest in the conversation than before.

"She wouldn't look out the window. It's like she was terrified something was going to kill her, but she wouldn't talk about what was going on. It was really scary to watch, but once we got back to her apartment, it all seemed to go fine."

"I take it you didn't get a home run then?" Marcus playfully smacked Talon. He grabbed a fresh cup and poured himself some coffee from the pre-made container and added random flavors and milk until he felt like he had the right blend.

"No man, don't talk like that. I didn't even get to kiss her." Talon rolled his eyes, leaning against the back counter like Marcus had earlier. He watched the front of the store and every so often would glance at the table where Vanessa normally sat. Eyeing it, h3 imagined the girl was sitting there at that moment.

"What the hell! You didn't even kiss her?" Marcus seemed shocked, nearly spitting out his coffee.

"No, it was too weird after the whole freak out in the car. But I got a second date, so I'll be able to try again." Talon shrugged, not feeling too worried about how their first date had gone.

"It must be a pity date, then. I've never heard of a girl agreeing to a second date with a man that wasn't even able to kiss her on the first." Marcus chuckled.

"No, I don't think it's a pity date. She seemed like she was excited to go. I guess, who knows, we will find out tonight."

"Wait, the date is tonight!"

"Yeah, I'm picking her up and taking her to her favorite restaurant this time."

"What the hell are you still doing here? Go home and go get ready for your dream girl." Marcus said, pretending to check his watch.

"There's still hours before I even need to get ready, plus I don't want to go home and mess with my mother's scheduled help." Talon pulled his phone out of his pocket as he checked for any text messages.

"If I didn't like you so much, I'd get on your case about your phone behind the counter." Marcus teased as he patted Talon on the shoulder and left for the back room.

The rest of Talon's shift went by quickly. He was able to catch up on some of the cleaning that would be missed on most days. He spent his time dreaming of Vanessa and thinking about all the things he wanted to ask her on their date tonight.

If only he could remember the list of questions he'd come up with earlier. 

Talon felt his breath hitch in his throat as his hand was hovering above the door. Just knock. He told himself. But he stood there, frozen, nervous for what would come from tonight. Was Marcus right? Was this just a pity date and if he messed this one up he wouldn't get anymore?

After taking a deep breath, checking the hallway, and then the time on his watch, Talon finally knocked on the door.

"Just a moment." He heard Vanessa shout from the other side. A few rapid breaths later, the locks were undone, and she was standing in front of him, smiling widely. Talon nearly gasped at her appearance. Her hair was in long gentle braids framing her face perfectly, and the cutest ripped band t-shirt to match her light denim jeans. Did she know she was his dream girl?

"Are you ready to go eat some wings?" Vanessa smiled, nearly knocking him over with her eyes. Talon stuttered, attempting to say something, but after failing, he just nodded.

"Okay, let me grab my bag and let's go."

Talon waited in the hallway for just a moment more, allowing her to gather her things.

Vanessa locked the door and turned on her heel, staring at Talon. "Are you ready?" She questioned after an awkward pause.

"Yes, I'm so sorry. I'm just stunned." Talon ran his hand through his hand, tugging at the long brown strands.

"Stunned? Over what?" Vanessa chuckled, fiddling with the tassels hanging off the brown bag strung around her shoulder.

"Honestly?" Talon paused, holding his hand on the back of his head.

"Well, yeah, I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't curious." Vanessa smiled, tapping his chest with the back of her hand awkwardly.

"You, I'm stunned by you. Did you look in a mirror? You look amazing!" Talon was shaking with nerves. He had felt like he was ready for this date tonight, but now, seeing how good Vanessa looked, he was second guessing himself.

"Thank you! That's really sweet of you." Vanessa tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. She rocked back and forth on her feet, unsure of what to do next.

"I'm so sorry, let's get heading to the restaurant."

The pair walked through the hallway to the end and entered the elevator. Vanessa pressed the button for the parking garage. As the doors shut, she turned to look at Talon again.

"You look really nice too, by the way. You are better dressed than most men in this city." She mumbled as she leaned against the bar that wrapped around the room.

Talon's stomach lurched forward, and he was thankful he hadn't eaten anything yet. The words were perfection coming from Vanessa, and he wanted to hear her say it again, but he looked at his reflection instead, noticing the cheesy grin spread across his face.

He hadn't worn anything special. Just a blue button down shirt that his mother had picked for him before she got sick, and a pair of black jeans. Even the shoes on his feet didn't seem special to him.

"Are you excited about this place?" Talon asked, once the elevator doors had opened. Vanessa followed him to his car and waited by the passenger door for him to get it unlocked. "Don't open that yet." Talon pointed across the roof of the car as he mentally begged her to listen. Vanessa froze and waited for Talon to walk around to her side.

"Let me get that for you." He smiled, opening the door wide enough that Vanessa could jump in. Once she was seated, he checked to make sure there was nothing in the way and closed the door.

"Yes, I am excited. When you asked me if we could go to my favorite place, I was a little nervous to tell you that it's a sports bar, but the food here is so good."

"Yeah, to be honest, that threw me off a little. I don't really take you for a sports kind of girl."

"Oh, I'm not, I hate sports. I just got wrapped up in a group of friends and they loved this place. The first time they convinced me to come here, I fell in love with the food, but hate everything else about it." Vanessa placed her purse in between her legs, ready to direct Talon through traffic and when to turn.

"Sounds like you had a wonderful group of friends then. Do you hang out with them often?" Talon asked, trying his hardest not to look at her while he was driving.

"Did I say friends? I should have said cousins... and well, I guess I should have also said distant cousins. It was a family reunion and I haven't seen them since." Vanessa shook her head, pointing in the direction Talon needed to go once he pulled to the exit of the parking garage under her building.

"Well, tell me about your friends?" Talon tried to keep the conversation going, but he felt like he was messing up all over again. He felt like he was trekking through a minefield as he tried his best to not say something stupid.

"Why don't you tell me about yours?" Vanessa turned the subject back to him, avoiding the question the best she could.

"I really only have one. I used to have more before they all went off to college, but then things got so busy and it got harder to keep up with them. Now I just have Marcus. Technically, he is my manager, but I'd consider him a pretty good friend."

"That's good to hear that you like your manager. Mine is a total douche." Vanessa popped off. She pointed once again for Talon to turn. He followed her directions and before he knew it, they pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. The place looked nice enough, the walls seemed freshly painted, and there wasn't a ton of trash blowing around the parking lot. This was unusual for the outskirts of the city, so Talon couldn't complain much.

Talon felt bad for Vanessa. He'd wondered if her boss would be hard on her for being late to work, and here she was confirming his worries. Talon made a mental note to make sure to have her coffee ready before she got there, just in case she was late.

"Should we head inside?" Vanessa asked then turned in the seat to look at Talon. They sat there for a moment in a comfortable silence, soaking in every detail of each other's faces. Talon couldn't help but look at her lips, he wanted to kiss her so bad.

He leaned forward, getting closer to her face. He could see the deep hues of her chocolate eyes behind those eyelashes of hers. Talon appreciated that she didn't have any fake ones glued on, and that she seemed to be comfortable with the minimal makeup look.

Talon froze though, just inches away from her face, his breath stuck in his throat. His hands were shaking with excitement. His body urged him to continue on, but he was too nervous. He drew his lip in, pulling a gulp of air with it before sitting back in his seat. His mind told him it was too soon during the date.

Vanessa stared at him. A small spark of confusion lined her face, but she soon settled in her seat as well. The silence was no longer comfortable, but it didn't last long before Vanessa grabbed the door handle and opened the car door.

Talon followed suit, rushing out of the driver's seat to make it to the passenger side of the car before she could get out.

"Sorry, I should have been here faster." He huffed when he didn't quite make it in time.

"It's all good. I'm hungry. Let's go get a table." Vanessa smiled, wrapping her arm through his. Talon shook his head, mentally kicking himself for not taking the risk. Why was he so weak around her? He wasn't much of a casual dater, but he'd never had this much trouble kissing a girl before.

His timing just seemed like it was all wrong.

Vanessa pulled him into the restaurant and they waited to be seated. Large TVs filled the room with all sorts of sporting events playing. Talon tried to soak in as much of the details as he could, but there was simply too much going on. Before they could do anything else, the hostess was already there, waiting to seat the couple at a table. Talon trailed behind Vanessa, trying to find a TV that seemed remotely entertaining to him.

Talon couldn't help it, but he hated sports as well.