Best Laid Plans

[st_clare]

Julianna decided on seafood instead of steak when she and Devin finally got to arrange their dinner plans, and she'd dressed casually because she didn't want the writer jumping to conclusions about this evening. Yes, she found him attractive, and she'd like to get to know him better, but the 'maybe' column wasn't a terrible place to occupy.

The hostess had already seated her, and she sipped at the beverage she'd taken the liberty of ordering while she waited. She'd slept alone after the event at the Skylark because she'd sent Nathan home after a fairly intense make-out session on her couch. He'd grumbled, but he'd left accordingly.

The Watcher picked up the spoon where it rested to the right of her place setting, examined it critically. One could never tell whether or not the flatware would be completely clean. She had a very slight knot of tension in her stomach, one she had yet to really acknowledge.

Bugger that. This was just dinner, testing the waters. She could live with the results either way.

Comments

[devin_capshaw]

"I think there's pretty much just one way to do fish and chips," he replied.

"Comfort is subjective to me. I can get used to most things after a long enough period. When I got kicked out of school, I lost routine. And you know what, I enjoyed it."

Devin shrugged, eating a French fry. "I've seen what years of hard labor can do to a person, and I don't want that. Why should I break my back now for some bleak prospect of retirement?"

[st_clare]

"Why indeed?"

She found herself reflecting on what sort of home life Devin must have had that led him to being kicked out of school. Delinquency wasn't unknown to her, but it was learned behavior rather than something that came naturally. Had it been an unstable environment for him?

"Teaching isn't really hard labor," she offered as she tucked into her meal. "It's challenging sometimes, but a true educator gets over the hurdles in order to impart knowledge." The food passed muster for her, and she nodded to herself as she drank another sip of wine.

"Not that there aren't incompetents within the field, even at university level. If people were allowed to learn at their own pace, usually starting when they're still young, dissatisfaction with the educational system would be less common."

[devin_capshaw]

He really didn't want to talk about education. Nor did he want to get lost in his own swirl of thoughts or memories. Getting expelled was only the beginning of a sequence of events that nearly mentally unraveled him.

Devin ate a piece of his fish, dipping it in the tartar sauce.

"Hey." His eyes darted around them. No one walking by their table."

"Have you ever played the Penis Game?"

[st_clare]

"I'm...I'm sorry?"

Julianna had a forkful of her dinner halfway to her mouth when Devin asked the question, and her hand froze as what he'd said really sank in. Was that supposed to be some sort of come-on? And if not, would it be wrong for her to be disappointed?

She very carefully put the fork down, sorted out her thoughts so she didn't say something crude in response. So much for keeping her mind out of the gutter. "I'm afraid I don't know what the...Penis Game...is." Good, she'd said the word 'penis' without giggling. Sixty years old and giggling. Good God.

"How do you play it?"

[devin_capshaw]

"It's easy. We take turns saying the word penis, but each time you say it has to be a little bit louder than the last. Whoever says it the loudest wins."

Devin finished his glass of wine and set it back on the table.

"Unless you're too classy for that." He was daring her.

[st_clare]

She should be offended. She knew she should be offended. Offended, annoyed, scandalized. She wasn't even tipsy, much less drunk. She toyed with her spoon, picked up her water glass and took a drink.

"Penis."

It was a whisper, and this time she couldn't help the giggle that bubbled up. She covered her mouth to stifle it, tried to force her expression to sober. The corners of her mouth twitched in defiance.

"Your turn."

[devin_capshaw]

Devin felt a little sorry for her. She didn't realize what she was getting into. He would never eat here again, he'd never have to see these people again. Standing up and shouting it didn't scare him.

"Penis." His tone was above a whisper, as if he were having a quiet, subdued conversation.

A woman at the table next to them glanced over, not quite sure what she had just heard.

[st_clare]

"Penis."

She didn't have to eat here again. She could have been anyone. They didn't know she was usually a responsible, buttoned-down college professor. They certainly didn't know she was a Watcher. Besides, he'd offered her a challenge.

The woman at the closest table looked over again. Julianna ignored the attention, rested one elbow on the table top so she could put her chin in her hand. One eyebrow lifted.

[devin_capshaw]

All right. He could up the ante.

He stretched, arms lifting a little. A waiter walked by their table. As if he were commenting on the weather, he spoke in his clear, normal register. "Penis."

The tray in the waiter's hands nearly toppled.

[st_clare]

She stifled the urge to laugh at the clatter of dishes on the tray, watched the waiter fumble around to assure himself that nothing would spill, saw him head back towards the kitchen while throwing a look at their table over his shoulder.

"Penis," she said, her accent crisp as she raised her voice just a bit. The woman at the next table was gawping at them, No, Julianna would never eat here again.

[devin_capshaw]

He watched as the waiter exchanged some words with the hostess. He knew exactly what they looks they were shooting his way meant.

One last hurrah.

"Penis!" Devin said it loud enough for the people across the restaurant to hear. The writer grabbed his jacket as the hostess stalked over to them.

"Yeah, we're out of here," he told Julianna.

[st_clare]

"I'm right behind you."

Julianna dropped some cash on the table to pay for their half-eaten dinners so they wouldn't call the police on them for dining and dashing, snagged her light jacket from the back of her chair. The laughter was still threatening.

"Penis!" she barked as she bypassed the fuming hostess. She was determined not to let Devin have the last word. "Don't come back or I'm calling the cops!" the hostess yelled.

Outside, she shrugged into her jacket before digging her keys out of her pocket. She and the writer were in the parking lot before she said, "If I made you uncomfortable by bringing you here, I apologize. I should have suggested something less formal."

[devin_capshaw]

Devin could not have imagined anything more hilarious than watching a well-bred, British woman in pearls yelling the word 'penis' to a bewildered hostess.

"No, it turned out...not how I expected."

He handed his ticket to the valet, who was eyeing both him and Julianna warily.

"Did you tip?"