He saw her standing in the street outside the restaurant, wearing a tight black dress and a cropped jacket, her head sank in her phone.
He smiled. This time she was waiting for him. "You look great," he said, coming to stand beside her.
She lifted her head and smiled. "Hey," she gave him a quick hug, then drew back. "Wow, look at you," her hand ran down the lapels of his suit.
"You… Ah… You like it?"
"I love it."
"Well, lucky for you," he took her hand in his. "I'm your date."
"About that," she turned toward the restaurant. "I don't think they're going to let us in."
"What?" He looked past her, noting a number of other couples stranded outside. "Sure, they will. I made reservations."
Maria shrugged. "I think the others did, too."
He shook his head and strode to the entrance. The host stopped him in his tracks.
"Can I help you, sir?"
"We have reservations for two, under Kai Holloway."
The host checked his tablet and grimaced. "Well, I'm deeply sorry, Mr. Holloway, but I'm afraid we do not have room for you at the moment."
"Why not?"
"There has been a… clerical error…"
Kai scowled. A 'clerical error'? He didn't believe that. There must have been something else going on. Was this Vira's doing? Was she trying to sabotage his date so he wouldn't sleep with Maria, like she did with Catherine months before?
"If you are willing to wait, sir," the host consulted his tablet once again, "we could receive you in an hour, and, naturally, you would be compensated for the delay."
The Oathless searched for his date's reaction and found that she didn't follow, remaining in the street, her head once again in her phone. He was already losing her, and the date hadn't even started yet… What were they supposed to do for an hour?
"Fine," he grunted at the host and returned to his girlfriend.
"Well?" she asked as she heard him approach, not lifting her head from the phone.
"He said they had a 'clerical error', and that they could only receive us in an hour."
"And what are we supposed to do in the meantime?"
He scoffed. "I was asking myself the same thing."
"We could go somewhere else. I heard Monarchy is nice, and not too far away."
He hesitated. Felicia was quite adamant about not going there, but at this point, what choice did he have? "Do you think we could get in without reservations?"
"Based on their website, yeah, I think so," she showed him her phone.
"Alright," he smiled, relieved to know she had searched her phone for solutions, not distractions. "It's worth a try."
***
Twenty minutes later, the two sat down at a couple's table, reviewing Monarchy's menu. It really was expensive, Kai noted, but not much more than Caesar would have been, and he began to think that Felicia's claims might have been exaggerated.
"They went hard on the theme." Maria looked around the establishment, its furniture mimicking the classical style of old royalty and its walls adorned with portraits of dead kings and queens.
"Yeah, good thing I wore a suit," Kai smirked. "First time I've been to a place with a dress code."
The woman giggled.
A waitress came over, dressed in a black vest and a red tie. "Are you ready to order?" she asked, then frowned as her eyes met the Oathless.
"Felicia?" He blinked.
Her frown deepened. "Unbelievable, do you do anything I tell you?"
"Ah…"
"Why are you here, Kai? What part of 'go to Caesar,' didn't you understand?"
"We went to Caesar," he protested. "But they had a… 'clerical error' or something, and they sent us away."
"Right, right, a 'clerical error'..." She rolled her eyes. "Is that one of those things that happens when you forget to make a reservation?"
"I didn't forget, there really was a problem—we weren't the only couple who were turned away. You can ask Maria."
The fox-girl turned her golden eyes on the woman, and her brows rose in mild surprise. The Oathless had good taste.
"I didn't talk to the host myself, but…" She paused, flustered, then refocused. "There were other couples who were turned away, and coming here was my idea, so… you don't have to be mad…?" Her voice pitched at the end, making it sound like a question, and as it seemed the fox-girl was satisfied, Maria added: "I'm sorry, who are you?"
"Ah, Felicia, this is Maria, my date, and… Maria, this is Felicia—"
"His stylist," the fox-girl finished pointedly.
The woman snorted and leaned back in her chair, her face lighting up in delight. "You have a stylist?"
"Yeah," he covered his face, blushing.
"So, you picked that suit for him?"
"Yes, yes, I did."
"That was a great choice."
"Thank you," the fox-girl smiled. "You should have seen him in the beginning, when we first met—he was a complete disaster, a lost cause."
"I can imagine," Maria crossed her legs, leaning her elbow on the table, and looking at the fox-girl with interest.
"Come on, Mari," he protested. "Do we have to—"
"I have to ask, though," the girlfriend waved him off. "What's up with all the yellow?"
"Hm… you will have to ask his godmother about that; it was her idea."
"Godmother?!" Maria's eyes went wide. "You have a godmother?"
Kai hid his face. "It's… complicated."
"She's a good woman, changed my life—changed his, too. Without her, he would still be a sad sack, sitting in front of his computer all day."
"That right?" the girlfriend asked, her curiosity mounting. "I think I'd like to meet her."
The Oathless cleared his throat loudly. "Can we, please, order?"
***
"I feel like I learned so much about you tonight," Maria teased as they made their way through the park. They were both a bit tipsy from the wine, and she leaned on him for support, her slender arms coiling around his.
"Probably one of the most embarrassing nights of my entire life," he nodded. "I'm glad you had fun."
"Seriously, you are very lucky to have your godmother. She sounds like something from a fairy tale," she chuckled. "Showing up out of nowhere, connecting you with a coach, and a stylist—"
"And a housemaid, teaching me how to cook and clean," he added. If she was going to tease him, he might as well join her.
"No way," she laughed.
"Yeah, she even made her wear a maid outfit and everything."
She laughed even harder, and it took her a couple of minutes to calm down.
"Wow," she said, and after a few moments of contemplation, added: "She must love you very much."
He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. He didn't think Vira loved him, but then why did she do all those things?
He never questioned it before, just took it for granted—she was a fairy godmother, helping people find love was what she was supposed to do.
What did she get out of all this? He wondered.
"I'm jealous," Maria admitted.
"What? You, jealous of me?"
"Your mother—I mean, godmother… she sounds wonderful."
"And your mother…?" He let the sentence hang, and it hung there for a while before she answered.
"My mother… she only really cares about herself."
"Ah…" he choked, searching for something cheerful to say but coming up empty.
They walked in silence through the dimly lit gardens and across the river, pausing only at the top of the bridge to admire the full moon. He held her close, his hand at the small of her back. Hesitantly, he leaned in for a kiss, and she rose on her toes to meet his lips. Felicia had been right; taking her through the park was a great idea.
"My place is nearby," he said. "Would you like to come over?"
"Yeah," she smiled. "Maybe just for a little bit."
***
Kai's room was uncharacteristically normal. The BLOODRAGER posters, the Nekoko body-pillow, and even Lightgrave, were all shoved deep into a closet beside Vermallelia's cage. What remained was the clean and elegant room of a young bachelor.
"Your godmother taught you well," Maria sat down on his bed. "Your place looks clean… but kinda lifeless."
"Lifeless?" He sat down beside her, his heart racing. This was it. The months of exercise, of practicing his artwork, of improving his style—it all led up to this moment, to being with a beautiful girl in his room, on his bed. Now he had to seal the deal, make his move. He couldn't afford to screw it up.
"The walls could use some decoration," she said.
His mouth tightened to a line, thinking of the posters he had taken down. "Yeah, maybe."
"And a carpet on the floor would be nice."
"Right," he leaned a bit toward her, touching shoulder to shoulder.
"And this corner is just begging for a nightstand."
"Mhmm…" he grunted absently, his gaze traveling from her held-up brown hair, to her exposed neck, and down the curves of her tight dress.
"Are you listening to me?" she asked with a wry smile.
"Huh?" He met her eyes, like a deer in the headlights. She caught him staring, red-handed. What was he supposed to say? Tell the truth? Make a joke? Play it cool?
"Kai?" she asked after a long moment of silence.
He gulped. "Sorry, I was distracted."
"Oh yeah?" She raised a brow, her wry smile growing wider. "And what is distracting you so much?"
"Ah…" His heart raced as his mind searched desperately for an answer that didn't sound absolutely terrible. "It-it's your dress."
"My dress? What's wrong with my dress?"
"Nothing, it's just, I'm trying to listen to you, a-and focus on what you are saying, but then I see your dress, and it looks so good on you, and I-I get distracted." He stumbled his way through the excuse. "Maybe if you take it off…"
Her eyes went wide.
"I could actually listen—"
She snorted.
"To what you're saying."
She dropped to her back and rolled with laughter on the bed, her whole body shaking. "I missed you, Kai Bear," she managed to gather enough breath to say.
The Oathless held his head in his hands. The joke worked. Indeed, he doubted any of her previous boyfriends made her laugh this hard… too bad the joke was on him. "Would you like some wine?" he asked rhetorically. "I think I'm gonna get us some more wine." He got up and went to the kitchen, balling his hands into fists once he was out of her sight.
He screwed it up. 'Kai' might have had a chance to sleep with Maria, but 'Kai Bear'? No way. He let out an angry sigh of frustration, and pulled out a wine bottle and two glasses he had prepared specifically for the occasion; he should have led with those and put on some music like he had planned, but under the pressure, he completely forgot.
He poured one glass. There was no point worrying about it now. He would play it cool for the rest of the evening, act like he actually—genuinely—only meant to show her his apartment, then drink a glass, and send her home in a taxi. Nothing more.
He poured a second glass. Maybe that would salvage something; maybe she'd forget most of what happened by tomorrow, and they could still date. He doubted it.
Sweating with nerves, he took off his vest and buttoned shirt, remaining in a tank top. Maybe if she saw him like this, it would arouse something in her… He doubted that, too.
He took another deep breath and sighed. He couldn't hear her anymore, which meant she had stopped laughing, at least… Either way, he couldn't hide in the kitchen forever.
"Alright," he said and returned to his room. "Can't say I know much about wine, but—" His jaw dropped.
Her dress lay crumpled on the floor beside her jacket and her shoes. Her flowing brown hair rolled loose over her bare shoulders, and she stood with her knees on the bed, wearing nothing but her undergarments.
It didn't make sense, the way she laughed, the way she called him 'Kai Bear'—like back in high-school—all indicated to him that this was a lost cause, that they were done, and yet… He couldn't understand it.
"Can you hear me now?" she asked.
He forced his jaw shut. Play. It. Cool.
"Loud and clear," he walked over, trying not to stare, and handed her a glass. "Cheers," he took a sip from his, while she devoured hers clean and then looked around.
"You see, if you had a nightstand, like I said, I would have somewhere to put this."
He took the empty glass from her. "A nightstand?" He downed his glass. "I don't remember you saying anything about a nightstand."
"I had my dress on when I said it."
"Ah." He left the glasses on his computer desk, then returned to stand before her. "That must be why." He leaned in and kissed her.
She kissed him back.
This was it.
It was finally happening.
Her arms went around him, and hesitantly, he laid his hands on her hips, feeling the warmth of her tender skin. He climbed onto the bed with his knees, pushing her back, and she fell willingly onto the mattress. He took off his shirt, then unbuckled his pants, throwing them off the bed, and leaned on top of her.
She looked up at him, her gaze traveling from his clean-shaven jawline to his pecs, down the fine form of his abs. "Kai Bear—"
"Don't," he said, more aggressively than he had intended, and she startled. "Don't call me that," he softened his tone. "Not after tonight." He caressed her cheek.
"Kai," she moaned and grabbed his hand. "Kai, wait…"
"What? What's wrong?"
"You…" she said. "You have a condom, right?"
***
They ended up only doing hand stuff.
But it counts, right? Hand-sex is still sex, right? he thought as he lay in bed, Maria sleeping over him. While at first he enjoyed having her head resting on his chest, now his arm was getting numb, and he didn't know what to do.
It's all worth it, though, he told himself. Well, maybe not entirely worth it, it wasn't 'real' sex, and it was just one time, but eventually… He assured himself. Eventually, it will be worth it.
And to his mind, it had to be, because he was giving up a lot to be in this relationship. Other than how hard he had worked over the last few months, being with Maria meant no more playing video games, or watching anime, or tuning into Nekoko's streams—not that he had watched her streams anymore, not since they met in person.
All those things he used to love… still loved… he had to abandon… and in return, he would have something else, something much better.
He would have sex.