Date Night [Closed to Samantha]

[lincolnmiller]

He should have asked Lee's advice. Should've asked her last night or this morning but he hadn't and now, now he was stood in his boxer briefs not knowing what the hell to wear. A suit was kind of too much for dinner, for a first date at a restaurant he usually wore jeans and a tee too. And he kind of just wanted to put his Jurassic Park tee on and call it quits for the night. Except he kind of wanted to go. He kind of wanted to go a lot.

Finally settling for something between the two Lincoln grabbed his wallet, phone, and keys before stuffing them in his pocket. Heading out, it didn't even take him twenty minutes to walk over to Sam's. Knocking on the store door, Lincoln pressed his lips together as he buttoned his jacket up and then quickly unbuttoned it. Before, of course, he immediately buttoned it back up again.

"Play it cool, okay you're an idiot." Lincoln murmured to himself, looking up and smiling at Samantha. "Hey, I'm not late am I?"

Comments

[starting_over]

Samantha wasn't going to even think about how many times she'd changed her outfit, gone from pants to dress and back again. Honestly, she hadn't had this difficult a time choosing an outfit since the first time she took first chair.

She was just about to change when she heard the knock and headed down through the shop to open the door for him. Too late now. She put a hand to her jumpy stomach, took a breath, and opened.

"Nope, you're not late at all. I was just having another 'should I change' debate with myself." She smiled and looked way up. "Hi. You look great."

[lincolnmiller]

"There's an outfit potentially better than this one? I'm not sure that's possible," Lincoln murmured, lips pressing together in a bemused line as he took her in. She looked stunning and he couldn't stop himself from smiling when he looked her over. "Thought a suit might be too formal, this was the compromise. Just be glad you didn't get my Jurassic Park t-shirt."

Lincoln offered her the single peach and pink rose he'd carried over with a small awkward smile.

"I thought we'd walk, if that's alright. It's not that far," Lincoln murmured before adding as if it wasn't clear. "You look beautiful by the way. Breathtaking, shall we start over. Hi, you look wonderful tonight."

[starting_over]

"Being told you look good doesn't have a specific order, but I appreciate it just the same." She took the rose he handed her and immediately brought it to her nose to sniff. "Thank you. This is really lovely and smells incredible."

Samantha nodded that walking was fine with her and pulled her coat from the rack by the door. "I don't mind a good walk, might even allow for canoli for dessert." She laughed, then closed and locked the door behind them. "For the record, I wouldn't have minded the Jurassic Park t-shirt. I love that movie, too. The second not so much, the third a little, and I'm excited for the new one this summer."

[lincolnmiller]

Lincoln let out a breath of relief, the strange little unnerving butterflies in his stomach settling a little as he waited for her to grab her coat. Waiting for her to lock the door, he offered her his arm so they could walk together.

"I'm glad you liked them, I wanted to give you a bouquet of paper flowers but I couldn't bring myself to ripping the paper and I'm terrible at papercrafts." Lincoln murmured, smiling at her comment about the Jurassic Park movies. "Yeah? Maybe I'll wear it next time then. So, you watch Galaxy Quest and Jurassic Park? What other things are you hiding?"

[starting_over]

"It's odd, really. I can make cards by hand for practically any occasion, but put me in front of that origami paper, even with instructions? I'm a complete mess. If I don't rip up the paper in frustration when it doesn't work out, I'm fighting the urge to set fire to the whole thing. But only in an appropriate and not-threatening-to-surrounding-areas kind of way," she added with a mock look of contrition and an arm hug.

She didn't even want to think about her reaction to the idea of there being a next time.

"Are you implying that because I'm a girl I should only like art house films and romantic comedies, stuff like that?" Her tone was serious, but the teasing glint in her eye was obvious.

[lincolnmiller]

"Instructions, I can do but I think papercrafts are a little bit too fiddly for these hands. And I'm glad that so far you've resisted the urge to commit arson over origami." Lincoln murmured jokingly. His face lighting up with a warm smile as he felt a soft, gentle squeeze to his arm. Glancing down at her, his heart melted a little at the look of contrition and he smiled even more.

"No, it's just nice meeting other people in general who have similar tastes in movies as me. And there's nothing wrong with a romantic comedy by the way. Just don't tell my best friend I said that," Lincoln smiled as she teased him. It was nice to just be out with someone, for the potential to be something more. He was really looking forward to tonight. Roose had been right about asking her out.

[starting_over]

"I think I went years without seeing a single movie, or even reading very much. But over the last year and a half, I've rectified that. I think I've seriously abused my Netflix account, both streaming things and with the DVDs they send. I'd watch one, then order a few of the 'people who watched this also liked' recommendations. Slowly, I found the stuff I liked. I had to sit through a few really, really bad movies in the process. I don't mind a little romance, but most of the time, it makes me too mopey, you know? So I kind of steer away from straight out romance."

Babble, babble, babble, but he didn't seem to mind it, so she didn't apologize. "Your best friend not the easy going sort where traditional chick flicks are involved?"

[lincolnmiller]

"I'd say I can't even imagine that but lawyers have long hours right? Not much downtime, that's why you earn the big bucks." Lincoln murmured with a small smile as he listened to her. His body radiating with warmth, to keep the chill off, as they walked towards Satore's. "Yeah, I get it. The ones I've watched, I don't know make me feel hopeful. Which again please never tell my best friend. But if you want movie recommendations, I've got a few hundred or so."

Spotting Satore's, Lincoln held open the door for Samantha and smiled as he let go of her arm to press his hand against the small of her back.

"He's not. Roosevelt is... he's more of a sports guy and I'm... more of a nerd. We've been best friends since we were kids, pretty sure he was using me for my N64." Lincoln murmured, smiling as one of the Satore boys- all dark hair and curls- escorted them to their table. "He was the one who told me to ask you out."

[starting_over]

"Then I owe him my thanks, don't I?" Samantha commented as she draped her coat over the back of her chair and sat. "You two would be the embodiment of that whole 'opposites attract' thing then? I've seen it happen a few times, people you'd never imagine could be close are thicker than thieves together. But I promise not to out you as liking romances to your best friend." She made a little cross sign over her heart.

"Lawyers do work long hours, but I sort of went way overboard with it. I forgot to have a life as well as a job, and the one time I tried to have a relationship with someone, I put work first and lost a truly amazing man. He lives here, actually. Levi Astor? And I think we've made peace with one another, and put it behind us. Or, rather, I've put it behind me. He's found someone who makes him happy, and I'm happy for him."

As Samantha sat and fiddled with the menu, she was careful with the things she touched, hovering a little before picking them up, and praying she didn't "feel" anything on the table. Thankfully, she didn't and finally relaxed.

[lincolnmiller]

"Yeah, just don't tell him that. He'll never let me live it down." Lincoln nodded at her assessment of their friendship. He and Roosevelt really were completely opposite in terms of personality. But Lincoln knew, deep down despite all the cockiness that Roosevelt was a good guy. The best kind of guy and the pair would do anything for each other. "You're right, we really are but thanks, I appreciate that."

Lincoln made sure to pull Samantha's chair out for her before taking a seat opposite her. When he watched her fuss with the menu, he reached out and took her hand and smiled up at her as he glanced over the menu.

"The detective? I've met him once or twice through work," Lincoln murmured, threading his fingers through hers as he smiled up at her. "Well, their loss is my gain. I think. But I'm glad, you found something you love doing and that gives you time to do other things."

Lincoln ducked his head a little as he looked over the menu. He didn't bother trying to keep his legs out of her space this time though. His legs brushed against hers, knees pressing lightly against hers and he didn't move it away. Just smiled up at her.

[starting_over]

Samantha didn't mind when his legs bumped hers. It was actually something quite novel as hers were so tiny they didn't usually reach far enough for someone across the table from her to reach. Novel, and really lovely to feel that contact coupled with his hand around hers. She always felt warm around him, in the very best way. For someone who'd once considered "stone cold bitch" to be a compliment, it was a nice change.

"So was it only him sponging video game console time off you two that brought you together as friends, or something else?"

[lincolnmiller]

"Yeah, a little but not the only thing. We used to watch the football together, my dad really loves football and I guess it was just a thing that we could all do together. And he's- despite what people think of him, he's the best guy. He's smarter than he lets people think, he's honest, and he looks out for his friends." Lincoln said, smiling before he turned to order just the one beer. He didn't want to drink and make a fool of himself tonight but one might settle his nerves. "He lets everyone else think he's an asshole though sometimes. I think no matter what, it'll be us two at the end. You know? Through everything."

Lincoln smiled, running his fingertips down her arm and back of her hand. Gently rubbing her pulse with his thumb.

[starting_over]

Samantha turned her smile back to Lincoln after ordering herself a glass of the house red wine. Her eyes darted every now and then to the hand he held, watching the way his thumb moved over her wrist, his fingertips over her arm. The small motions were doing things to her pulse rate and her breathing, but they felt so nice, she wasn't about to ask him to stop.

"It's good you have a friend like that; important, too. They might be insufferable, but when bad things happen, you know they'll be there right by your side no matter what. Nothing can replace that, I don't think."

She accepted the wineglass from the waiter, and took a quiet sip.

[lincolnmiller]

"No, nothing can. Not those kind of relationships, probably why I have so many friends and why I'm terrible at-" Lincoln gestured between the two of them. Because he was a terrible date, boyfriend- he must be, to still be so single when all his friends tried to tell him he was a catch. "-this, at dating. Dating is a lot harder than people think. Being friends with someone is a lot easier, lot simpler... most of the time."

Lincoln smiled, warm fingertips rubbing her wrist softly and gently as he looked into her eyes. He could get lost in them, the sweetness in them and her lips.

"So, being the new kid or new-ish kid in town. How are you finding it?"

[starting_over]

"Maybe it is, I wouldn't know, but I do know that you're just fine at dating if I'm any judge so don't be so hard on yourself," Samantha told him with another squeeze to his hand and the same warm smile on her face. He really was beyond adorable and his smile was enough to do serious damage to her pulse rate every time he flashed it.

"It's been a strange transition, not only moving from a big city to a smaller town, and changing the course of my career so abruptly at the same time. But Siren Cove itself, and some of its residents, definitely take some getting used to." She laughed a little. "And with your fire thing, I'm probably telling you something you already know, aren't I?"

[lincolnmiller]

"I'll try not to be so hard, you can tell me I'm fine at it at the end. We've still got three courses for me to ruin," Lincoln murmured, lips tugging into an easy smile. His breath drawing in as he felt her squeeze her hand so lightly, so delicately. "I've never been out of Siren Cove. Well, holidays but not permanently. So, I can't begin to imagine what it must be like. Hard, I imagine. I hope we're making you feel welcome at least?"

Lincoln nodded his head, flashing her a grin as she mentioned his fire thing.

"My fire thing, I'll show you it sometime when we're not in a place that's quite flammable. I'm great at birthdays, everyone always wants me for their birthday cakes."

[starting_over]

"Very welcome, yes. I was almost expecting the stereotypical small-town response to an outsider when I came here, but I've been very pleasantly surprised at how open others have been. Makes me think that all those instincts I had about coming here were right, and that maybe there was more than chance involved when I threw that dart."

Oh that smile, she thought, was a deadly thing; especially the way it lit up his eyes like that. She felt the answering bump in her chest and a warmth spread all through her.

"I'd love to see it. I've only really seen one magical thing since coming here, the woman that changed her face right in my shop, and I'll tell you, I'd rather not see that again any time soon."

[lincolnmiller]

"Yeah, I think we're a weird enough town without the whole pitch forks and being this is a local town for local people." Lincoln murmured with a joking lilt to his voice. He didn't know if she'd get the reference and he kind of kicked himself for it but well, he was a stupid geek at heart. "Well, I'm glad the dart landed here."

Lincoln let go of her hand for the moment, taking a breath in before he concentrated on the candles. It was easier like this, smaller to contain and control. Big fires had their own life, their own personality that defied being controlled but little ones were easier. Willing the candles to go out one by one, Lincoln smiled at Samantha before letting them all flicker back into life.

"There, now you've seen something else. And I'm guessing she was a Siren, yeah that can be a shock to anyone." Lincoln replied. He was used to it, what with Roosevelt and everything but sirens always were his weak spot.

[starting_over]

"She was a Siren, yeah. My ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend. I didn't feel all that threatened by it, but for a while, I couldn't close my eyes without seeing hers. It was more than a little off-putting. But she seems a nice enough woman, and Levi's very happy with her, so...," she paused and shrugged as if that said it all.

Then she realized that the candles had gone out, and sprung back to full flame independent of any air currents. "Okay. That was pretty cool," she grinned. "And I'm glad the dart landed here, too."

[lincolnmiller]

"Oh, wow not just any siren then but the whole Matriarch thing. Yeah, wow that would be definitely a look." Lincoln replied, looking a little bit in disbelief. He wasn't in touch with the whole Siren-Matriarch thing, witches usually did their own thing except the whole council bit but they didn't answer to one person. He couldn't imagine being required to either. Mostly his family kept him in check if he ever needed it, which he hadn't since he'd learnt control. "It definitely has its advantages at work."

Lincoln smiled when she said that, reaching out to thread their fingers together before pausing when their server returned to take their orders. Lincoln just ordered his usual ridiculous amount of food and hoped Sam wouldn't have too much to say about that.

"I know- it's a lot, I kind of burn most of it off at the gym or at work." Lincoln didn't add 'Or in bed' because that was Roosevelt's influence and honestly it had been far too long. He was just glad that Samantha had actually wanted to go out with him.

[starting_over]

"I can imagine it does. If you don't mind my asking, how much control do you have over something so large? I mean, could you do away with a whole house fire?" The idea was intriguing to her, but she truly had no idea about how such things worked. And what she'd woken up from the coma with was nothing short of haphazard and nothing she had any control over whatsoever. It just happened and she had to try and find a way to work through it when it did.

Sam ordered the pasta primavera and just smiled at the amount of food he ordered. "I've seen my share of guys go through a small mountain of food, I really didn't think anything of it."

[lincolnmiller]

"I wish I could, it'd make things a lot easier but no, big fires like that have an energy all of their own. I can only absorb or divert so much, little fires I can douse easily but big ones? Not so much," Lincoln said. It wasn't to do with control but energy and physics, he could only take away what he could put elsewhere. Big fires were too powerful to take control of, walking through them was easier though. He managed to save people that way even if he couldn't save the building through magic alone. "But my control is pretty good. I don't set things on fire anymore just from sitting down or touching a beautiful woman's hand."

Lincoln smiled as he looked at her hand, hoping she wouldn't flinch or pull away. "I'm glad, it's not that attractive I know but better that then a grumbling stomach at the end of the night."

[starting_over]

"Feeding an appetite isn't attractive? I'd rather you be comfortable than be someone you're not because its what you think I want to see, you know? And I'm glad to know that you won't be setting my hand on fire any time soon, or your seat for that matter."

She blushed, just a little, when he called her beautiful, mostly because she'd never learned how to respond to compliments like that. Accolades on her legal prowess? Sure, she could roll with those all day. Anything more personal than that she was left floundering. Yet another legacy from her ice cold aunt.

[lincolnmiller]

"I don't know, I'd talk about previous dating experiences but I'm pretty sure that's a faux pas, right?" Lincoln murmured. Smiling at her when she blushed, he tried not to over think how breathtaking she was when she blushed like that. "It really does put a new spin on liar, liar pants on fire."

Lincoln laughed, tilting his head as she blushed. Shifting his legs, he smiled when he felt his legs brush against hers.

"You don't like compliments, do you? Or you're not used to them?" Lincoln asked, looking at her with a warm gaze. "You're beautiful when you blush, it's cute."

[starting_over]

Samantha laughed full out when he dropped the liar liar comment, enough so she had to put a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound lest she disturb everyone around them with the cackling. "I don't know about faux pas, I don't mind hearing about things from your past. I just can't share much of the same. I didn't date much...well, ever. I was too focused for that."

And, of course, him saying that only made her blush again. She laughed and gave her head a shake as if she could get rid of the redness that way. "Not used to them, I guess. I know how to take professional compliments, how to roll with being called a bad ass lawyer, but anything personal? I tend to just smile and nod because I don't know what to say."

[lincolnmiller]

Lincoln smiled brightly when she laughed, watching as her hand came up to hide her face as she laughed loudly. Letting go of her hand as their food was brought over, Lincoln nudged her knee a little and smiled at the light contact between them.

"On your work? I've had a four girlfriends before, been on a few dates as well but it never usually lasts. I don't know people have an idea of what dating a Fireman is like but the reality isn't that great." Lincoln replied honestly. There was long hours and some people couldn't handle the whole bit where he put his life at risk sometimes to save others. "Well, I could compliment your card making skills but I like complimenting you. You are beautiful so... just keep blushing, I like it."

Lincoln shrugged lightly nudging her knee a little bit, a light tease since his hands were going to be full with his order of pollo della casa, garlic bread, salad, and arancini. Which he was going to share of course.

"Want to try the arancini?"

[starting_over]

At this point, they'd be able to cook dinner on her face from the sheer heat of the blushes he kept causing, both in words and the soft touches under the table. "It's kind of funny to me, that with all your claims of being bad at the dating thing, you've had more relationships than I have." Yes, she was deflecting again, but it was her only defense against her head spontaneously combust. However, she could dish it back. "Not surprising, as gorgeous as you are."

Even around the blush, she managed and impish smile, and nodded at his offer of the arancini.

[lincolnmiller]

"One of them was from high school," Lincoln replied. Some of them hadn't even lasted a year and he was thirty, which compared to Roosevelt was probably pretty terrible numbers. Lincoln wasn't even sure how many girls Roosevelt had been with but he could probably count how many girls he'd been serious about. "So, it counts but I'm not sure how much it counts. Plus, I'm pretty sure I'm older than you."

Lincoln pressed his lips together, laughing lightly at that. For so long he'd been the tall, chubby, geeky guy at school. He wasn't the heartbreaker everyone kept telling him he was now. Still he didn't mind it when Samantha told him that. Like she actually meant it.

"Now that was pretty brazen, I like it." Lincoln replied, putting one of the arancini on a fork and offering it to her. "What do you think?"

[starting_over]

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Samantha laughed, "and even though you're not supposed to ask a woman her age, I'll tell you mine. I'll be thirty this year." Her mouth twisted and she sighed a little. "Which is trying like hell to depress me, but I'm not going to let that happen tonight. So, were you right about the age thing?"

She leaned forward and took the offered bite, savoring it. "Not bad. I think I prefer the type without the peas, but theirs are very, very good."

[lincolnmiller]

"Well, see I am older than you so it does count. I'm already thirty," Lincoln replied laughing at first before reaching out to give her a warm smile. A hint of heat and mischief lingering in his eyes as he looked her over. "I don't see a thing to be depressed about. Do you want me to list the reasons? You might start your own fire over there if I do."

As she leaned forward, Lincoln followed the line of her throat and down before drawing his gaze upwards. Clearing his throat, he rubbed his knee against hers again for the moment content with the brief, tantalising touches.