What do you want to know?

Justin was glad to hear that Beth had gone through some more of the past on her own, and her comment about crying makes him smile just a little. Maybe he'd actually done some good after all. At least he could do more than fail his clients.

Taking her hint, he helps set the table, neatly placing the silverware and napkins on either sides of the plates as they should be. "Well, I doubt we'll be getting too cold of weather," he comments. "Though I suppose living down here, we get spoiled with the heat. Unless you're planning on going for walks at midnight. Then it might be a bit nippy." He tosses her a teasing wink.

Sitting down across from her, he folds his hands and just studies her face as she talks. "A pet sounds like a good idea," he encourages. "Maybe something without high maintenance, like a cat, since you're gone throughout the day. You could always go with a pet rock too, but I hear they're not so great at sharing affection."

He grins, his eyes sparkling just a little as his humor slowly seeps out. It wasn't too often that he would relax enough to be funny - most of his friends considered him rather dry. But it was only because his guard was constantly up.


Stopping with Ryan at her car, Alec scrunches his nose and grins as Ryan kisses it. "It would take a lot more than that to hold me over, but we don't have time for what it would really take." Returning a kiss to her nose too, he gives her a teasing look before turning to his bike to grab his helmet. "Pizza and wings sound great. We can call it in and have 'em deliver."

Mounting his bike and giving her a wave, he thumbs to the road to signal he'd see her at his place. It didn't take long to get to his apartment, or to settle in for the evening with their meal and some television.

After eating, and while the movie played, Alec looked over from his corner of the couch before crawling closer to Ryan and pushing her back until she was lying under him. He didn't really care about the movie anyway. With his arms around her now, he kisses her lips before resting his chin near her shoulder and sighing with content. "Ya know," he muses quietly, "I used to think it was all about high speed and action. But I think now, I'd take this over that most days."

Lifting his head and propping himself up on his elbows on either side of her, he stares down into her eyes as they reflected in the dark. He felt better tonight than he had since...well, perhaps ever. He had freedom, he had someone who cared about him, and for the first time in a long time, he actually liked himself and who he was - perhaps his little good deed earlier in the day had had more of an impact on him than he'd anticipated.

Leaning in to kiss Ryan's lips again, it was more tender this time, almost a rare type of affection for him. "If I said I thought I was falling in love with you, would that scare you away or turn you on?"


Susanne's arms stay wrapped around Chuck the entire ride, but this time it wasn't a death grip. And though she leaned her head down against him, her eyes did dare to open to see the city lights whiz by, making pretty patterns.

Once they get to the restaurant, she gets off the motorcycle a little shakily but not as bad as the evening before. Walking inside with Chuck was different this time too. There was no one to impress. No one to shock. No one else she knew at all. It was just him and her this time without any outside purpose.

Seated and scanning a menu, Susanne tips it so she can see over the top across the table at Chuck. "Aw now... I never said I'd let you foot the bill again." She quirks a stubborn eyebrow. "We'll see."

Swinging her ankles under the table to hide her nervousness, her eyes drift back to the menu until their waiter arrives to take their orders. Once left with nothing to fill the gap in time or silence, Susanne's fingers fidget with the placemat on the table. Her gaze lifts once to meet Chuck's eyes, but then lowers quickly again, her cheeks flushing slightly. She could handle business calls and meetings all day long, but when it came to a one-on-one conversation with a man who was not a relative, coworker or boss, she was left with very little notion as to what on earth she could possibly talk about. Awkward wasn't even the half of it.

Taking a deep breath, she bravely looks back at Chuck once more. "So, um... what... what do you want to know about me that you don't already?"