Good food and good company

We stepped into Little Vinny's Eatery in our mostly gym clothes. Fortunately it was a really casual place so we didn't stick out all that much. We got a table for two and ordered a couple beers to start things off with. There was some awkward silence since we were basically still strangers, but I wanted to give her a fun night if nothing else so I kicked it off.

"So Maria, what do you do for a living" I asked.

"Nothing special. I'm just a legal aid, so I write up a lot of legal documents. Scan things, fax things. That sort of stuff. My boss does mostly business law stuff so we don't get very exciting case work most of the time. What about you" she asks you back.

"Well we're both nothing special then. I just do IT work. It's fun and frustrating I suppose" you reply.

"Fun and frustrating doesn't sound like a good combination" she chuckles.

"That's the nature of IT though. It is fun in that I'm solving little puzzles basically, but also frustrating in that I'm not always certain how I solved them" you smirk.

"Ahh, well the puzzle part sounds pretty fun. My job is a bit tedious and monotonous" she says. The waiter came by and you both ordered the chicken parmesan.

"So tell me Davin, got a girlfriend" she says smirking as she takes a sip of her beer.

"Ha, no, I'm happy on my own for now" you reply.

"Well that's good. I mean...since we're having dinner together and all" she said keeping her smirk on.

"Yah, no one is going to burst through the door and start up a bunch of drama" you laugh and she chuckles.

"So what are you looking for...in a woman that is" she asks while staring at her beer on the table.

"Oh the usual. Beautiful, smart, funny. That sort of thing" you smile knowing she's trying to see if she's your type.

"That's it? No special features. Big tits, red hair" she asks again.

"Welllllll...I suppose I have a preference or type" you reply. You let your answer hang there for a moment.

"Are you going to tell me your type or is it a secret" she giggles.

"Heh, no secret, just awkward considering my present company. I tend to go for more mature women. Someone with experience and who know what they want, basically someone who has their shit together you know. Women my age are all about parties and just in general are kind of...well...immature. That isn't a rule of course, just my observations, and it certainly isn't a fault really. They are just getting things figured out, but it seems like a bit of a roller coaster ride. Unfortunately with my type it seems like all the good ones tend to be taken" you answer taking a gulp of your beer. You notice a little blush creeping up Maria's shoulders.

"Sorry, didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable" you say holding back a smirk.

"No no, you're just being honest and I can appreciate that" she says taking a drink from her beer again.

"What about you, got a type you are attracted to" you ask.

"Oh geez, that isn't something I've thought about for a while" she replies lost in thought.

"I can appreciate you haven't felt the need. If you had to find someone new though what would you look for" you ask to press her a little more.

"Hmmmm...well they'd be able to look after their household. They'd be a good listener, willing to compromise and communicate. I'd want to know they kept good care of their body and health. A stable job is always a plus. Then of course there would need to be the usual mutual attraction...oh geez...I'm describing my anti-husband" she shakes her head at her realization.

"Hey I get it. Marriage isn't always rainbows and unicorn farts right? I've been told I listen pretty good, so if you wanted to talk about your husband I'll listen. Only question I'd have for you is do you want advice after or would you rather just vent about him? I'm basically a stranger to both of you so you won't make me uncomfortable with whatever you want to say. We can also just change the subject if you prefer" you ask her trying to appear as sincere as possible. Ultimately though your goal was to get her as pissed off as possible to do something a little reckless. Maria swirled her beer lost in thought for a moment until she finally let out a deep sigh.

"I wouldn't mind venting a bit if that's alright" she asks shyly. You motion with your arms for her to have at it.

"We were highschool sweethearts and we dated all the way through college. He was so different back then. He played soccer in college, and I did track, so we were both in really good shape. We went to parties together, did our homework together, the sex was fun, and we also had our own interests too, so it wasn't like we were attached at the hip. It was so different back then...and then we got married right after college. It started off so great. We were getting our careers going and supporting each other, we took trips places since neither one of us wanted kids. Then he got fired...for looking at porn at work. It's almost funny looking back at the red flags. He'd always had a thing with porn, but when he got fired it was like he just went all in with it. Now all he does is watch porn when he isn't busy doing something, and everything gets put on hold now. House work, jobs...us" she says as a tear rolls down her cheek. You reach out and grab her hand and she give you half a smile.

"He just doesn't care to put in anymore effort into anything anymore. I knew he was going to forget our anniversary, but I had hoped..." she can't finish the sentence and starts to **** up. You move your chair over next to her and wrap your arms around her and she softly cries into your chest. After a few moments she wipes her eyes and cheeks to compose herself.

"Ugh...sorry, I'm being a bit of a killjoy aren't I" she asks with a fake chuckle.

"Ha, you should have been a fly on the wall for some of the dates I've been on. This is nothing" you smile at her. "I'll have to tell you about the time I ordered a steak and my date was apparently vegan. That wasn't very fun...good steak though" you chuckled.

"I don't know if that's true or not, but thanks for trying to cheer me up" she says snuggling up to you. "This is the most physical contact I've had in months" she adds.

"Well, I'm a hugger so I hug" you reply squeezing her tighter. After a moment she disengages a bit and looks into your eyes, and you watch as her eyes flick between your eyes and your lips. Bingo, she's thinking about kissing you. Your faces inch closer and her eyes start to close...right as your order arrives. Fuck. You scoot back over to your side of the table and accept your dinner as Maria looks lost in thought. Fuck fuckity fuck fuck fuck. That might be the only shot you had, now you'll just have to see how it goes again.

"So uh...take a bite and tell me what you think" you state as you pop some food into your mouth. Maria smiles and slices off a piece to put in her mouth. She nods her head as she chews.

"That's really good. It isn't as good as my mom's or my grandma's chicken parm, but easily third place" she smiles.

"Oh wow, high praise then. Nothing beats a mom or grandma's cooking" you chuckle as you eat your own meal.

"Very true, and thank you Davin...it felt nice to vent to someone, and it felt nice to have some physical contact. Even if we got interrupted" she smiles with a slight blush.

"Ha, well like I said, I'm a hugger" you smirk.

The remainder of the dinner is idle chit chat as you both focus on finishing your meal and drinks. You were both too full for desert, so you both declined even though the cannoli looked really good. Maria offered to pay her half, but you wouldn't have any of it. This was her day to feel pampered after all.

"So what's next" Maria asks smiling.