Returning the Favour [Alastair, Sophie]

How very elusive of her, Alastair mused at her response, though that did give him an excuse should he make a poor choice in the future. He'd still rather avoid such a thing occurring but, as best he could tell, it paid to be at least one step ahead in this game. In her shoes, perhaps, he might have made a similarly taciturn response and that drew a flash of teeth into his smile as he revelled at the thought. It was good that they thought along the same lines, right?

"I think I can handle it, I generally perform well under pressure."

He was certainly meticulous enough to take a few mental notes, crafting an idea or two already, but there was plenty of time yet. He was not pressed for an answer, it wasn't even on the table yet - though equally, she had not outright refuted the notion. It was an inviting challenge and, if he had proven anything already, he was certainly brave enough to try. So his gaze settled firmly on her, a quiet intensity bubbling away behind his stare.

"What about one thing you do like, then?"

"I like the beach."

She didn't skip a beat when he asked her, sipping away at her drink real quick afterwards. Sophie didn't waste time in giving him back the ball to try and figure out what he'd do with it, when you grew up inland like she did it was nice to relax at the beach and see the ocean that looked like it stretched on forever.

"You know you ought to reciprocate now, right?"

Teasing again while her finger traced the rim of her glass idly, she was trying to be coy and hoped that it worked at all.

"Oh? Well, if the lady insists."

His eyebrows were raised in an intentionally poor attempt to feign surprise. Alastair was not completely out of his depth, at least not yet anyway. His gaze did venture southward at the notice of movement though, and his composure was tested by the subtle circular motion for the first time since the date had begun as he resisted the pull and returned to meet her eyes.

"I like... Sunsets. So sunset on the beach it is, another round of cocktails in our hands."

He concluded with a triumphant smile, raising his glass towards Sophie for a toast toward their future endeavours.

"Alcohol and swimming are hardly appropriate together, don't you think?"

Look at her and how responsible she was while trying not to laugh about it. Though she did meet his toast, it felt a little strange though. It wasn't bad but with her country bumpkin childhood the whole formal stuff only really came to her since she joined the Vandenreich and rose up the ranks. New things were always fun to try though.

"I'm sure it can be done on a free day. You're very bold to make a second date when we're not even halfway through our first, hehe."

He had grown rather used to a life of formality that it was oddly refreshing to let his hair down for an evening. Was that his doing, or did he just feel oddly relaxed in Sophie's presence. Still, they clinked glasses and - unlike his date - he did not completely suppress a quiet laugh.

"Aha, I am sure we can keep both activities well separated. Besides, if I was bold enough to suggest it then you are at least equally bold to accept."

She was quite correct though, things had moved quickly from idle chatter to this. It might have been alarming were he to stop and think about it but he was caught up in the motions now. So he took a long drink of his Lichtheim before setting it down and doing something braver still, as his hand slowly extended across the table toward Sophie. Not so far that it might touch her of its own volition, but she could reciprocate the venture.

"I promise that I am not always this blasé, I just see a good thing and would not want it to slip through my fingers.”

Well, she did accept rather quickly did she. That was a bit preemptive of her given that they hadn't even had dinner yet. It made her feel a tad bashful for the reckless way she just jumped into things once she set her mind to them, Sophie was like a bloodhound like that. It was good sometimes, bad other times. Oh well. If it all worked out then what did she have to be worried about in the sense of getting ahead of herself by agreeing to another date.

"Blasé? I don't know, you're pretty formal compared to where I'm from you know."

That was a little critique she thought, even if that required that she be picky to identify it in the first place. Sophie was only formal at work, outside of that she did her best to just let her hair down. Her hand reached out to take his with a bit more force than she intended before she stood up.

"But if you say so. Now we've got dinner to do you know."

Much more forward, if he was allowed to be forward and daring like that then she could too and in this case, she did.

Alastair felt the strength behind her grip as their hands met and could not help but let his eyes widen for a moment. He had naively expected her to be gentle, if she even went for it at all, though it was a feeling of pleasant surprise rather than a shock as she gripped him so. Rising to his feet along with her, his smile grew debonair as he turned her about and motioned for the doorway.

"Of course, we certainly got a little carried away with the entree. Our table should be ready by now."

Taking a brief interlude to finish the last of his drink, which had gone down much easier than its predecessor, then let her lead him inside.

A nod to one of the waiting staff was all it took for the pair to be guided through to a central table within what was a rather lively restaurant. It was certainly not crowded, and there was ample room from one table to the next, but there was hardly an empty seat. A live band played away in the far corner, giving the whole place a rather cosy atmosphere, and, as Alastair removed his jacket to hang it over the back of his chair, he couldn't help but appreciate his companion once more as they settled into the new environment.

"Now, Sophie, where do you fall on the matter of wine?"

Gentle was something she exercised only with her spellcraft and tasks that required it. When she got down to it she was a bit rough around the edges still such as the unfortunate reality of her country upbringing. At least she was good at being professional when she needed to be, though it'd be unwise to comment on her gorilla grip. She doesn't like her rural upbringing pointed out or manifesting in her actions. Same as her French accent in her talking, a couple of years had made it easier to get rid of it though.

"Alrighty, sounds good."

She got to work, partly dragged him along and got dragged along towards the table. There was a brief bit of taking in the scenery and area before settling at the table and looking around. Sophie couldn't say she'd been to anywhere fancy with a guy for a date before, it was kind of a new thing. Business as an admin? Of course but that was different.

"I enjoy white wine. I'm not really picky on it."

When it came to wine, she'd often grab the cheap stuff. Sophie was not a frivilous spender.

Alastair was a man of finer tastes, he supposed an upbringing in German pseudo-aristocracy had certainly given him such a mindset. But he was not one to spend lavishly without cause and took no particular joy in flaunting his wealth, but he did rather well for himself. This was a nice place, Sophie was excellent company, so why not live just a little? His eyes moved down the list, settling on a familiar vintage that was nearer the bottom, and turned to address the waiter.

"A bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc, two glasses, if you would be so kind."

He did not want to go all out, things were certainly moving well enough on their own and he had the lingering impression that such a gesture would not endear him to her any further, but his choice was befitting of their environment and, hopefully, she took no offence at that. He was going to pay for it all himself anyway.

Still, as the waiter departed the table to fetch the requested drink, Alastair could not help but notice that he missed the feel of her hand in his own. It was actually a pleasant warmth that stirred within him, and he might have let it seep out into the atmosphere as excess heat were his emotions a little less contained. His gaze lingered upon her as she scanned the room, it was becoming rather shameless at this point, so he pulled up the menu to avert himself.

"So, for dinner then. We could share an appetiser if you are so inclined? A small platter perhaps?"

That was a fancy name for a wine, Sophie didn't really care too much about the names of them. Her knowledge of wine began and ended at white and red, the names kind of just didn't stick to her memory so she didn't really think about how much he was spending on this drink of their's. When her eyes returned she caught him peeking, though he quickly hid it in the menu.

Was he checking her out? She had to think about that, she was kind of hot right? Of course he was checking her out... Hopefully. Couldn't be sure but she wanted to imagine it was just for that confidence booster.

"Oh, if you want. I'm not a big eater though so you might have to eat most of it. It's kind of hard to pace myself since I don't like wasting food. What'd you have in mind for one?"