she said shut up and have dinner with me

[puppydoctor]

WHO: Sarah Manning coppelgangerand puppydoctor George O'Malley
WHERE: Nonah, NC
WHEN: 10/4
WHAT: Actual adult ~*~dinner date*~*
WARNINGS: Language, sexuality

[Hey Sarah, there's some total dork knocking on your front door. You should probably see about that, before the little bunch of flowers he's holding behind his back wilt or something.

Yeah, he's trying the Full Real Date Thing. Let's see where this goes.]

Knock knock knock.

Comments

[coppelganger]

How long?

[ She's genuinely curious, being the type of person who tends to hop from one boyfriend to the next, as awful as that sounds. ]

[puppydoctor]

About... Wow, I guess it's a year by now.

[He can't believe he's already been in Nonah for two months, and before then it had been about nine or ten. Time flies when everything's terrible.]

I got divorced last summer, and then my- ... my best friend and I were together for awhile. But we didn't really work.

[coppelganger]

[ Oh, right. The dead best friend. Awkward. ]

Oh. Well, a year's not that long.

[puppydoctor]

[He shrugs, trying to act like he didn't just accidentally bring up Izzie again with someone he really likes.]

Hey, you don't have to sugar coat it. It wasn't one of the best years.

[coppelganger]

George. My last boyfriend was a coke dealer.

[ Not counting Cal, because she really, really does not want to bring him up tonight. ]

I think taking a year off dating after a divorce makes complete sense.

[puppydoctor]

[Oh. Okay, wow. That... was not expected? Not not expected, like he hadn't really thought about what her exes might be like, but definitely not dorky guys like him. But a coke dealer, though. That sounds. Different. Dangerous? Wealthy?]

... The divorce was my fault.

[Oooookay there comes that. He gives an awkward little smile, trying to put back together his words.]

I mean, we've all got that stuff, you know. That we aren't proud of.

[coppelganger]

[ She gives him a crooked smile in return. She's not proud of so, so many things. ]

Yeah. You're right.

[puppydoctor]

[He smiles back at her, more confident, but just then the waiter comes up to take their orders. Basically any kind of warm, gooey, cheesy, meaty pasta dish someone could dream up is on the menu (and there are vegetables hidden somewhere, if you squint). George orders lasagna and accidentally nudges Sarah's leg as he turns to pass the menu back.]

Sorry.

[coppelganger]

S'alright.

[ She orders chicken scampi and purposefully nudges his leg in return, watching as the waiter takes her menu and heads off with their orders. Then she turns back to George and raises an eyebrow. ]

So.

[puppydoctor]

... So?

[He wants to nudge hers back, just because he likes it when he's touching her. But instead he just gives her a sort of dopey face across the table.]

[coppelganger]

What's your favorite movie?

[ Because she doesn't want to keep dragging the conversation back to his being dead, or her being a wreck, or either of their past relationships. Besides, this kind of thing is important if she ends up spending much time at his place or vice versa, and she's assuming that she will. ]

[puppydoctor]

E.T..

[It comes out a bit too fast. He didn't even have to think about it.]

What's yours?

[coppelganger]

[ Her own answer comes quickly, too. ]

La Haine. What about music?

[puppydoctor]

[Wow, that's... heavy. They certainly have different tastes. And his make him sound like he's about eight. But hopefully she'll find that endearing.]

Oh man, you're gonna think it's stupid, but I was super into Dave Matthews in high school, and I still have all the albums. And the poster, somewhere. Rolled carefully.

[coppelganger]

[ She can't help laughing, but at least it's not mean laughter? ]

God, I knew it.

[puppydoctor]

What gave it away? The baggy 90s jeans? The puka shell necklace? My love of rock violin?

[He never actually had a puka shell necklace. He was afraid even more people would think he was gay.]

[coppelganger]

Hmm. Maybe it's the hair.

[puppydoctor]

Oh man, don't get my hopes up! I always wanted his receding hairline.

[He reaches up to brush it around with his fingers, thankful that he at least doesn't have the mop anymore.]

What about you? What do you like?

[coppelganger]

Anything punk. The Clash, The Ettes, LCD Soundsystem, New Order, The Prodigy...

[ She could go on, but she'll spare him. ]

[puppydoctor]

Punk? Really? I pegged you as more of a contemporary Christian pop kind of girl.

[He grins at her though, joking.]

But seriously, that's super cool.

[coppelganger]

[ She laughs, a little embarrassed. ]

My mum says I got all of the anger, none of the politics.

[puppydoctor]

[He reaches over to bump his hand against hers, trying to be affectionate without being awkward. It's a science.]

Hey, that's not bad. Politics are pretty boring.

[coppelganger]

Mm. There's much more exciting things to do in life.

[ She takes his hand and runs her thumb over his, lightly. ]

[puppydoctor]

[He gives her hand a little squeeze, and smiles dopily at her.]

... I'm really glad I spilt beer on my scrubs.

[coppelganger]

So am I.

[ And, sure, there's a little voice inside her screaming that this is a mistake, but she's ignoring it because this feels so normal and safe and good. ]