Aka Amy

I was in the apartment building's lobby and all ready to go at precisely ten minutes before six. Not that I needed to be in the lobby so soon, we'd agreed on six o'clock and that wasn't for another nine minutes and fifty seconds.

Unfortunately there weren't any chairs in there, or anywhere else to sit. So I stood by the windows and tried not to pace or fidget while I waited.

Internally I chided myself for being so anxious, but I couldn't help it. I really wanted this dinner to go well, and I definitely didn't want to keep Avery waiting. Except I knew it didn't matter if I was a bit late, just like it wouldn't matter if she wasn't here exactly at six PM. We'd exchanged contact information, she could always text me if she was running behind or if something came up.

With nine minutes and forty-two seconds to go I tried hard not to think about anything coming up. I wasn't sure what would be worse, in that case. Her texting at the last minute to say she couldn't make it, or her just ghosting me entirely. Not that I thought she'd do anything of the sort. I quietly chided myself again for even having that thought.

The next nine and a half minutes passed uneventfully and also excruciatingly slowly. The two minutes after that passed by even slower as my anxiety climbed with each passing second. Then an older-model light blue sedan pulled up next to the door and suddenly all was good in the world again as I recognized Avery behind the wheel.

She waved and I hurried out of the lobby then carefully climbed into the passenger seat of her car.

"Hi Raven," she greeted me with a smile. "Sorry I'm a bit late, I practically had to fight my way out of the house past Cheryl and Jinx. The two of them had about a million questions."

She admitted with a blush, "It hasn't been anywhere near as long for me as it has for you, but it's been long enough since my last date that my sister wanted to make a big deal about it."

"That's fine," I replied, then immediately chided myself yet again for such an inane response.

I quickly tried to recover, "And hello Avery. You look amazing this evening."

She really did. Her hair looked like she'd had it styled this afternoon, her make-up perfectly accentuated her natural beauty, and it looked like she was wearing a pretty dress underneath a warm coat.

Avery smiled, "Thank you Raven. You're looking great as well."

"Thank you," I responded with a nervous smile of my own.

I may have spent an extra hour or two on my hair and make-up this afternoon, but I didn't actually have much variety in my wardrobe. So once again I was in black leggings, a black dress, and black shoes. And I wore a black autumn jacket overtop.

"So," my date asked after a couple seconds, "Where are we going for dinner?"

I grimaced slightly, "I forgot to ask you earlier if you have any dietary restrictions or preferences... You aren't a vegetarian are you?"

She smiled and shook her head, "Not at all. No food allergies or anything like that either."

"Good," I sighed in a bit of relief. "I got us reservations at a chop house. They specialize in steak and pork chops."

"Sounds great!" she responded with a grin. "Do you know how to get us there?"

I nodded, and told her the address as we finally set out from the apartment driveway. It was about a fifteen minute drive, basically we had to go halfway back to the next town where she went to college. Our destination wasn't hard to find, and soon enough she'd parked the car and we were heading into the restaurant together.

"Thanks Raven," she said as I held the door open for her.

Then I let the hostess know about our reservations, and a few moments later we were sitting together at a small romantic table for two.

Avery had a look at the drinks list while I opened up my menu. Then she sighed, "Pity I'm driving. Some of these drinks sound really good."

"Do you want to split a bottle of wine?" she added as she looked over at me. "I'd have to limit myself to just one glass though."

I blushed as I shook my head. I hadn't brought myself to talk with my Goddess about the whiskey thing yet, and I really didn't want to begin the date by explaining that aspect of my past sordid past. "Sorry Avery, I'm not drinking."

She frowned for a moment, then her eyebrows crept up. She leaned closer across the table and asked quietly, "Is that an angelic thing? You don't drink alcohol? Or you don't drink anything at all? Actually do angels even eat?"

"It's..." I hesitated then grimaced.

After a moment I finally explained, "In general terms angels do not require either food or drink. Whether or not we partake of alcohol or drugs or other such so-called vices is entirely dependent upon the whims of our Goddesses or Gods."

"Having said that," I continued, "Although I do not require sustenance the way a mortal human does I am fully capable of eating. And while I don't eat often, I do enjoy a good meal on occasion."

Avery watched me for another second or two before slowly nodding, "All right Raven. I get the feeling there's going to be a lot of these learning experiences for me? Needless to say I've never dated an angel before...or any other non-human or supernatural beings, for that matter. And the only one I have any experience with is Jinx."

"I understand," I replied. "And I promise, I don't mind answering any questions. I just hope being with me doesn't make things too awkward for you."

She smiled and shook her head, "Not at all. Please don't worry about that, ok?"

"Thank you," I smiled back as my heart may have fluttered slightly.

By that point our waiter was hovering around, so we gave him our drinks order. Water for me, and cola for Avery. Then while he was taking care of that we both took a quick look through our menus, so we were ready to order by the time he was back. My date ordered a slice of prime rib with roast vegetables and fries on the side, while I asked for the signature pork rib chop with mashed potato and gravy.

The waiter headed away but was back again a few moments later with fresh baked bread rolls and creamed herb butter. We both sampled some of that as we waited for our food. Neither of us really paid much attention to the bread though, we were mostly focusing on each other and the conversation.

"So I'm really curious about you being an angel," Avery asked after a sip of her cola. "I know you said you didn't mind questions but I don't want to come across like I'm interrogating you or anything. Are you sure you don't mind?"

I nodded, "I promise. Although I reserve the right to change the subject if I feel like it's too much, ok?"

"Deal," she grinned. Then she got serious again, "So you said you haven't been on a date in two hundred years. Can I ask how old you are? And follow-up, are you immortal or something?"

I had a sip of my water then replied quietly, "My Goddess created me in the fifth century CE. I'm not truly immortal, it's possible for me to be killed or otherwise cease to exist. But in practical terms I'm functionally immortal. I can't be harmed by mundane means, nor am I susceptible to illness or disease."

She looked surprised, and it took her a few moments to process my reply. Then she continued asking more questions, which I answered to the best of my ability.

What was heaven like? There's plenty of them, the one I'm familiar with is a combination of idyllic forest and peaceful pastoral rolling hills. Why didn't I live there? It gets boring after a while, Earth is more interesting. How did my Goddess and I end up here? I declined to answer that one because it would require divulging secrets which were not mine to share. Have I lived anywhere else? Yes. Primarily in Ireland, but the past six decades I've been in and around Toronto and its suburbs.

Then she hit one that I actually didn't have an easy answer for, "Do you have any hobbies? Or other interests? What do you do for fun?"

"I um," I hesitated, then frowned. It took me a little too long to come up with anything at all, "Sometimes I play video games on my computer? My Goddess and I team up with a couple humans then go on adventures together. We um, explore dungeons and slay monsters."

Avery stared at me for a moment before smiling, "Really? What sort of character do you play? Wait no, let me guess. You're a cleric?"

"Sorry," I shook my head. "My Goddess plays the cleric. I'm the rogue. We also have an archer named Krissy, and an armoured knight named Leah."

My date continued to smile as she responded, "That's so cute!"

I felt my cheeks warming up as I mumbled, "If you say so."

"What about you?" I asked, turning the tables on her. "What sort of things do you like to do for fun?"

Avery sighed as her smile faded, "I'll be honest Raven, I haven't had much time for fun lately. The last couple years I've divided my time between school, study, a part-time job, and looking after Cheryl. And since graduation I've mostly been focused on work."

"Then I'm glad you've finally decided to do something for yourself," I told her in a soft compassionate tone. "And I'm not just saying that because it meant I got to take you out for dinner."

After a brief hesitation I asked, "You mentioned looking after your sister... Do you not have any other family?"

She sighed and shook her head, "Not really. Our dad walked out on us about eight years ago. He still sends money every month, but neither my sister or I have seen him in years. Then our mom died of cancer a while back. I've been looking after my sister and taking care of the house and everything since mom first got sick."

By the time she'd finished talking her voice was quiet and I could see the sadness and weariness in her eyes. It left a heavy feeling in my heart, and I instinctively reached out and took her hand in mine.

"Avery I'm so sorry," I half-whispered. "You're an incredibly strong and kind-hearted young woman, and you absolutely deserve to make time for yourself. You deserve to have fun, you need to enjoy yourself."

She gave me a sad smile then squeezed my hand, "I'm enjoying myself right now Raven. Thank you."

That sent another flutter through my heart, and I squeezed her hand back. Unfortunately before I could come up with some sort of adequate response our waiter arrived with our dinner. The food looked and smelled great, but I was more concerned that Avery enjoyed it. The waiter set our plates down before heading away again, only to return once more with fresh glasses of cola and water just as we were both starting to eat.

Avery and I were both quiet for the next minute or so. She was mostly focused on her meal, and while I was eating most of my attention remained with her. Although I did enjoy my food, it was expertly cooked and seasoned and the gravy was perfect.

After a couple more bites of her prime rib Avery let out a soft contented sigh. Then she blushed and admitted, "I haven't eaten this well in years. Maybe not ever? This kind of place is way fancier than anything my sister and I would ever try on our own."

"Then it's my pleasure and privilege to be able to share it with you," I told her with a smile.

Her blush grew brighter as she smiled back, "You know, for someone who doesn't need to eat you have very good taste. Have you been here before?"

My cheeks coloured slightly as I admitted, "I did a bunch of internet searches last night and read through a few hundred online reviews before settling on this place."

"My last meal was in August," I added quietly, "And that was on the west coast. Prior to that... I don't think I've eaten in the last fifty years? Perhaps not even the past hundred. In other words, I don't really have good taste. I'm just good at faking it."

Rather than be shocked or upset Avery smiled. "So if you were going to eat something but weren't pretending to like fine dining, where would you go? Or what would you eat?"

"I'd probably go to a pub," I confessed. "I know there's one not far from my apartment, although I haven't been there. I think the last one I visited is still around though? I haven't been there in two and a quarter centuries, but I used to be a regular customer back then."

"Maybe we could make that our second date then?" the beautiful brunette asked with a happy smile.

That sent another flutter through my heart. Knowing she was interested in a second date before we were even finished the first one had to be a positive sign. On the other hand I wasn't sure how practical it would be to take her to my old watering hole.

"Unfortunately it's not local," I told her. "It's in a little hamlet in County Wexford, Ireland."

Avery grimaced, "Ah. Well maybe next time we can visit our local pub? Oh except you don't drink, so maybe..."

I shook my head, "It's fine. And it's close enough we could both walk, so even if I don't partake at least you could indulge."

"Let's make plans for next Saturday night then?" she replied. Then she frowned, "Oh, except next weekend is thanksgiving, isn't it? We could have another date next Friday night if you're busy on Saturday? Me and Cheryl will be doing something special next Sunday. Jinx will be there too of course, and probably Tabby as well."

Her frown shifted to a grimace as she suddenly asked, "Or am I moving too fast? Maybe we should figure out what we're doing tonight first."

I gulped, "Tonight?"

"After dinner," Avery nodded. "What would you like to do after we've finished eating?"

I shook my head, "Anything you want. Like I said earlier, you deserve to enjoy yourself, you deserve some you time. I'll do whatever I can to help make that happen."

My date looked at me with a smile on her lips and a glint in her eyes as she asked, "Anything hmm?"

That sent another little flutter through my heart. Rather than say anything I just smiled back as I nodded slowly. That seemed to set the tone for the rest of our meal though. Avery continued flirting and gently teasing, and by the time we'd finished our dinner I was responding in kind.

We ended up sharing a very decadent dessert, it was a rich chocolate cake with iced cream, whipped cream, and hot fudge sauce. Avery also had a coffee, but I stuck with my water.

In the end she didn't have any fancy or extravagant ideas for the rest of the evening. She wanted to see my angelic form though, and she suggested we do that at my place rather than hers. Primarily because Cheryl Jinx and Tabby were at her house, and in Avery's words we wouldn't get a second to ourselves with those three around.

So when she was finished her coffee I paid for our dinner, then she drove the two of us back to my place. I couldn't help worrying about how she might react when she saw my angelic form, but it turned out my concerns were completely unfounded.

All in all our first date was a smashing success, especially since it didn't actually end until Sunday evening. Avery and I spent Saturday night at my place, then the following morning we had brunch at a local restaurant. After that we ended up at her place where the two of us endured a non-stop barrage of questions from her sister, her sister's girlfriend, and the tiny cambion the three of them seemed to have adopted.

It was a bit chaotic, a bit overwhelming, but it was also kind of heartwarming. I could tell how much they all cared for each other, how much Cheryl wanted her sister to be happy. She and Jinx both insisted I join them and Avery for dinner that evening, then somehow I even ended up being invited to celebrate thanksgiving with them the following weekend.

And best of all, Avery and I made plans for our second date on Friday.