Sugarcane

\nCould it be?\n\nThey looked at each other from across the table. Mattie's lips pressed together, finger tracing shapes in water rings on the table. He recossed his legs, watching her.\n\nNoises from the restaurant filled the space between them. They waited to see who would be the first to blink.\n\n\n[[Him|Blink]]\n\n[[Mattie|Him]]

\n[[Could it be?|S1]]

\nMattie arrived fashionably late to the restaurant, feigning confidence. She spent hours getting ready, picking at every detail in the mirror. Despite the cold setting in early, she wore something a little more eye-grabbing to dinner. She saw him wave from a table, smiling. He seemed taken to her, complimenting her looks. He was quite the talker, so Mattie nodded along, listening. It looked like they had a lot in common, trading excited looks and many nods of recognition. He orders a water and she follows suit, not wanting to seem too gluttonous on their first meeting. Their actions continued to mirror each other's, both unsure who should make the first move. Mattie decided to [[wait|H10]] it out, and he eventually suggested talking over dessert. When he offered to pay for the meal at the end, she smiled and graciously [[accepted|H11]].\n\n\n[[He blinks|Blink]]

\nNeedless to say, the date went well. She was smiling, even if fumbled over a couple lines. She asked if they could see each other again, a hopeful note peaking at the end of her sentences. He had some reservations, but thought seeing her again would add excitement to his life, a charge he felt missing for a while.\n\n\n[[Agree|P12]]\n\n\n[[Blink|Blink]]

\nSmirking, he questions why the date has to end now. At first he thought he saw hesistation, but she quickly complied with his suggestion. He didn't think he'd be so fortunate on this date, and they headed back to his place to continue their date.\n\n[[Blink|Blink]]\n\n[[Mattie blinks|Him]]

Blink

\nMattie arrived [[early|H2]] to the restaurant, nervous. She spent hours getting ready, picking at every detail in the mirror. Despite the cold setting in early, she wore something a little more [[eye-grabbing|H3]] to dinner.\n\n\n[[He blinks|Blink]]

\nAnother date. He scanned the room for a bit, realizing now how much they both blended in to the criwd here. He eventually saw a hand wave at him, and he went to sit next to her. She had the most agreeable looks, a type of face anyone could feel comfortable with. Still in grad school and having a lot ahead of her, she made him a little nervous. But it was around that time, of maybe settling, as much as he hated the thought. Her name was Daisy.\n\n\n[[Act like a decent human being|P11]]\n\n\n[[Blink|Blink]]

\nAnother date. He was quick to find her, mostly because of her multi-colored hair and body art. She wore a smile, a smile you know others covet and enjoy. Few people were as open-minded as her, shedding useless remnants of convention from her sexuality. In a sense, he was relieved to not have to think about that sort of stuff anymore, and just do what comes to him. Her name was Lily.\n\n\n[[Act like a decent human being|P11]]\n\n\n[[Blink|Blink]]

\nAnother date. He was able to easily spot her waiting for him in the restaurant. He was particularly excited about her, exotic in many ways, with a look rarely seen around these parts. She definitely had the starving artist sort of life, which is alluring in its own manner. He manuevered through some tables before she saw you approaching, and smiled. Her name was Mattie.\n\n\n[[Act like a decent human being|P11]]\n\n\n[[Blink|Blink]]

\nAnother date. But this one was starting somber. She was waiting for him, as usual. In a sense, he was always a step behind, trying to catch up. It had been months since they last saw each other, and he feared it would the last time. No matter who he was with, there was a bit of her scowling at him in the back of his mind. He sat down, and smiled. Her name was Rose.\n\n\n[[Act like a decent human being|P11]]\n\n\n[[Blink|Blink]]

\nAnother date. This time, his date looked much better than her picture. Long, thick black hair, countless golden bangles on her wrist. He felt lucky, to be honest. Girls like her are supposed to be impossible to get, and thre he was, sitting in a nice restaurant with her. He didn't know much about her, but was willing to learn as much as he needed to to. Her name was Camellia.\n\n\n[[Act like a decent human being|P11]]\n\n\n[[Blink|Blink]]

\nMattie arrived fashionably late to the restaurant, feigning confidence. She spent hours getting ready, picking at every detail in the mirror. Despite the cold setting in early, she wore something a little more eye-grabbing to dinner. She saw him wave from a table, smiling. He seemed taken to her, complimenting her looks. He was quite the talker, so Mattie nodded along, listening. It looked like they had a lot in common, trading excited looks and many nods of recognition. He orders a water and she follows suit, not wanting to seem too gluttonous on their first meeting. Their actions continued to mirror each other's, both unsure who should make the first move. Mattie decided to take initiative, prolonging their conversation over after-dinner drinks. When he offered to pay for the meal at the end, she smiled and graciously accepted. When they got up to leave however, his hug felt rather uninspired. When they parted, she realized he never offered her his number.\n\n\n[[He blinks|Blink]]\n\n\n[[Blink|Him]]

\nMattie arrived fashionably late to the restaurant, feigning confidence. She spent hours getting ready, picking at every detail in the mirror. Despite the cold setting in early, she wore something a little more eye-grabbing to dinner. She saw him wave from a table, smiling. He seemed taken to her, complimenting her looks. He was quite the talker, so Mattie nodded along, listening. It looked like they had a lot in common, trading excited looks and many nods of recognition. He orders a water and she follows suit, not wanting to seem too gluttonous on their first meeting. Their actions continued to mirror each other's, both unsure who should make the first move. Mattie decided to wait it out, and he eventually suggested talking over dessert. When he offered to pay for the meal at the end, she smiled and offered to split it. She expressed interest in seeing him again, maybe something more lively. His answer was ambiguous, and she left feeling like she did it all wrong\n\n\n[[He blinks|Blink]]\n\n\n[[Blink|Him]]

\nMattie arrived early to the restaurant, nervous. She spent hours getting ready, picking at every detail in the mirror. Since the cold was setting in early, she wore something a little more modest to dinner. She was seated at a table for a two, and waited for him to appear. Eventually, Mattie spotted him entering the doors, even though he looked a little different from his picture. She starts the conversation talking about the current things going on in her life. She felt like she was on the right track when he asked her to explain more about the various projects she was working on. When it came time to order food, Mattie ordered the best looking meal for herself. Soon enough, a steaming plate of food arrived for her, just as much as he ordered. She kept the conversation alive as they navigated their food, asking more questions about his life. When it came to leave, she decided to cover the bill, hopefully signalling some interest. He actually seemed a little put off by that, and though cordial when they departed, Mattie wouldn't hear back from him like she hoped.\n\n\n[[He blinks|Blink]]\n\n\n[[Blink|Him]]

\nMattie arrived early to the restaurant, nervous. She spent hours getting ready, picking at every detail in the mirror. Since the cold was setting in early, she wore something a little more modest to dinner. She was seated at a table for a two, and waited for him to appear. Eventually, Mattie spotted him entering the doors, even though he looked a little different from his picture. She starts the conversation talking about the current things going on in her life. She felt like she was on the right track when he asked her to explain more about the various projects she was working on. When it came time to order food, Mattie ordered the best looking meal for herself. Soon enough, a steaming plate of food arrived for her, just as much as he ordered. She stayed mostly quiet while they ate, enjoying her meal and commenting when necessary. When it came to leave, they decided to go dutch to avoid the whole check detailing process. Though she was surely attracted to him, Mattie felt a disconnect as they left the restaurant. She offered him her number, but she expected she wouldn't be hearing back from him again.\n\n\n[[He blinks|Blink]]\n\n\n[[Blink|Him]]

\nMattie arrived early to the restaurant, nervous. She spent hours getting ready, picking at every detail in the mirror. Since the cold was setting in early, she wore something a little more modest to dinner. She was seated at a table for a two, and waited for him to appear. Eventually, Mattie spotted him entering the doors, even though he looked a little different from his picture. She starts the conversation asking about his life, and they share the usual details people hear on first dates. It wasn't the most exciting topic, but she got a sense of what kind of person he was. When it came time to order food, Mattie suggested they order something to share. They discussed their food perferences and talked at length about their favorite foods. She made sure he got a little more to eat, so he didn't feel like he didn't get enough. He joked about this being the part of the date where you fed each other, and Mattie laughed it off, embarrassed. When it came to leave, he was polite and walked Mattie to the subway. She couldn't shake the feeling, though, that as she left him at the surface, it would be the last time they would see each other.\n\n\n[[He blinks|Blink]]\n\n\n[[Blink|Him]]

\nMattie arrived early to the restaurant, nervous. She spent hours getting ready, picking at every detail in the mirror. Since the cold was setting in early, she wore something a little more modest to dinner. She was seated at a table for a two, and waited for him to appear. Eventually, Mattie spotted him entering the doors, even though he looked a little different from his picture. She starts the conversation asking about his life, and they share the usual details people hear on first dates. It wasn't the most exciting topic, but she got a sense of what kind of person he was. When it came time to order food, Mattie suggested they order something to share. They discussed their food perferences and talked at length about their favorite foods. She made sure they both ate their fair share, delicious as it was. He joked about this being the part of the date where you fed each other, and Mattie took the chance and fed him some food. There was a bit of silence and lack of eye contact, and she guessed she read the wrong signals. After they split the check, they said their goodbyes without much of a hint if they would ever try this again.\n\n\n[[He blinks|Blink]]\n\n\n[[Blink|Him]]

\nMattie arrived fashionably late to the restaurant, feigning confidence. She spent hours getting ready, picking at every detail in the mirror. Despite the cold setting in early, she wore something a little more eye-grabbing to dinner. She saw him wave from a table, smiling. He seemed taken to her, complimenting her looks. She is quite the talker, so Mattie naturally filled in a lot of the conversation. A lot of what she said resonated with him, and he frequently jumped in the middle of her sentence with something to say. Though he just orders a water, she takes a chance and gets a wine, lowering her barriers. It isn't too long into their meal that he does the same, and the two shared glances every time they sipped at their glasses. The conversation eventually edged around to more intimate talk, to which Mattie changed the topic to something else less personal. He began to compliment her again, trying to search for a reaction when she acted coy. Even though he smiled a couple times more, he seemed a little standoffish when they got up to leave. Mattie wasn't sure she'd be seeing him again.\n\n\n[[He blinks|Blink]]\n\n\n[[Blink|Him]]

\nMattie arrived fashionably late to the restaurant, feigning confidence. She spent hours getting ready, picking at every detail in the mirror. Despite the cold setting in early, she wore something a little more eye-grabbing to dinner. She saw him wave from a table, smiling. He seemed taken to her, complimenting her looks. She is quite the talker, so Mattie naturally filled in a lot of the conversation. A lot of what she said resonated with him, and he frequently jumped in the middle of her sentence with something to say. Though he just orders a water, she takes a chance and gets a wine, lowering her barriers. It isn't too long into their meal that he does the same, and the two shared glances every time they sipped at their glasses. The conversation eventually edged around to more intimate talk, to which Mattie indulged him even if it made her a little uncomfortable. He began to compliment her again, leaning in closer as she giggled and remarked on how handsome he was. After the bill came and went, he grasped her hand and told her what a fine time he had. Mattie smiled back, having finally found her chance.\n\n\n[[He blinks|Blink]]

\nMattie arrived early to the restaurant, nervous. She spent hours getting ready, picking at every detail in the mirror. Since the cold was setting in early, she wore something a little more modest to dinner. She was seated at a table for a two, and waited for him to appear. Eventually, Mattie spotted him entering the doors, even though he looked a little different from his picture. She starts the conversation talking about the current things going on in her life. She felt like she was on the right track when he asked her to explain more about the various projects she was working on. When it came time to order food, Mattie ordered the best looking meal for herself. Soon enough, a steaming plate of food arrived for her, just as much as he ordered. She stayed mostly [[quiet|H12]] while they ate, enjoying her meal and commenting when necessary. When it came to leave, she decided to [[cover|H13]] the bill, hopefully signalling some interest.\n\n\n[[He blinks|Blink]]

\nMattie arrived early to the restaurant, nervous. She spent hours getting ready, picking at every detail in the mirror. Since the cold was setting in early, she wore something a little more modest to dinner. She was seated at a table for a two, and waited for him to appear. Eventually, Mattie spotted him entering the doors, even though he looked a little different from his picture. She starts the conversation asking about his life, and they share the usual details people hear on first dates. It wasn't the most exciting topic, but she got a sense of what kind of person he was. When it came time to order food, Mattie suggested they order something to share. They discussed their food perferences and talked at length about their favorite foods. She made sure they both ate their [[fair|H14]] share, delicious as it was. He joked about this being the part of the date where you fed each other, and Mattie [[laughed|H15]] it off, embarrassed.\n\n\n[[He blinks|Blink]]

\nMattie arrived fashionably late to the restaurant, feigning confidence. She spent hours getting ready, picking at every detail in the mirror. Despite the cold setting in early, she wore something a little more eye-grabbing to dinner. She saw him wave from a table, smiling. He seemed taken to her, complimenting her looks. She is quite the talker, so Mattie naturally filled in a lot of the conversation. A lot of what she said resonated with him, and he frequently jumped in the middle of her sentence with something to say. Though he just orders a water, she takes a chance and gets a wine, lowering her barriers. It isn't too long into their meal that he does the same, and the two shared glances every time they sipped at their glasses. The conversation eventually edged around to more intimate talk, to which Mattie [[indulged|H8]] him even if it made her a little uncomfortable. He began to compliment her again, trying to search for a reaction when she acted [[coy|H9]].\n\n\n[[He blinks|Blink]]

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Mattie Brice