Dinner Date

Stefanie had been as good as her word, and was ready and waiting for Luke once he arrived to pick her up from work at six, having already changed from her coffee shop branded uniform into something cute and casual.

Luke decided to take her for a meal - nothing expensive or flashy, just somewhere they could talk and get to know each other better. Currently he knew nothing about Stefanie beyond her name, job and the indisputable fact she was hot, while all she knew about Luke was how he liked his coffee and that he had recently become a much more generous tipper.

"Hello, do you have a booking?" the attractive young waitress smiled at the pair on arrival.

"We don't, we were kind of hoping we could just walk in?"

"No problem! Table for two, right? Follow me!"

Luke's phone buzzed. He checked it quickly to see that someone whose likeness closely resembled the woman walking them to their table was now on his Love List. Apparently, their server's name was Juliet.

He would be sure to leave her a tip.

"That was pretty bold asking me out like that out of nowhere this morning" Stefanie began as they waited for their food to arrive "To be honest, I'm amazed I accepted, but something told me I should. What made you decide to act today, when I've served you so many times before?"

"You only live once, I guess" Luke replied, having to formulate a plausible answer on the spot "I've always found you attractive whenever I've ordered my coffee, and it seemed silly to never say anything just because it might not be considered the most appropriate time or environment to make a move"

"I kind of like that" Stefanie smiled.

Luke's phone buzzed. He couldn't resist taking yet another peek to see what his app had to say now.

Great answer - it looks like Stefanie approves! Smart dialogue choices in response to questions from your connections can quickly raise their affection levels. Don't forget, if in doubt of what the best response might be, agreeing with whatever you're connection says works well in most situations!

Conversation seemed to flow quite naturally over dinner and, judging by the constant buzzing from within Luke's pocket, the date was going well. There didn't seem to be a way to turn off notifications from the RM app, but they were actually quite convenient. Since the phone buzzing inevitably meant something positive had happened, Luke barely needed to actually read his notifications anymore, and certainly not with any urgency. As long as he knew he was receiving them, it meant things were heading in the right direction. If he wasn't, he could artfully steer the conversation elsewhere until the buzzing resumed.

The tip about constant agreement seemed to be a winner with Stefanie as they talked over their main course.

"Have you seen any good TV shows lately?" she asked "Personally I'm loving Ponies"

"Yeah, it's my new favourite too"

Buzzzzzzzzz

Luke would now have to watch an episode or two of that, or at least read a review, in case it came up again in future conversations.

"Don't you think it's terrible how difficult it is to get acupuncture on the NHS?"

"It's a complete Joke"

Buzzzzzzzz

"Are you a dog person or a cat person?"

"Um. I bet you're a dog person, right Stefanie?"

"No, I actually much prefer cats"

"No way - me too!"

Buzzzzzzzzz

Luke just kept letting Stefanie talk and giving her the answers she was most likely to approve of. He'd lost track of the number of times his phone had gone off by the time the bill arrived.

"Here, I've got this covered"

Buzzzzzzzzz

"Oh thanks, that's so generous!"

"Excuse me" Luke turned to the cute waitress "Is there somewhere I can add gratuity?"

Buzzzzzzzzz

"Thank you sir, much appreciated!"

"You deserve it. The service was first rate!"

Buzzzzzzzzz

Before Luke left the restaurant, he checked his Love List again. Stefanie was now on two full hearts. Since everything had been working just as the app had suggested it should so far, he didn't see any reason not to try his luck before heading home.

"Well, I had a lovely time this evening" Stefanie told Luke as he walked her outside.

"Me too" he replied, before leaning in for a kiss.

The woman who had been doing no more than serving his morning coffee before today pushed him up against the wall and began passionately making out with Luke, right there in the middle of the street. Something definitely felt slightly unnatural about all of this, but he wasn't going to complain or question it now.

"Would you like another date tomorrow?" Luke asked, when Stefanie finally came up for air long enough for him to get a sentence out.

"Sure, you can pick me up after work, same time as this evening!"

---

Luke checked his Love List again once he arrived back at his flat. Stefanie, or Stef as she now preferred for him to call her, was the clear leader now with two full hearts, followed by Rachel, Diane, Juliet and finally Gina. It darkly amused Luke that even the waitress who had served him and his date that evening had more affection for him than his ex did.

He wondered how many women he could add to the list, and if they really wouldn't mind him dating all of them at once. It still seemed so far fetched, and yet, with Stef at least, the app seemed to be working exactly as advertised. Luke would have to use her as a kind of test run, and really wanted to see what could happen when he got her up to five hearts, at which point she would apparently agree to any sexual request he made of her - even if it were seemingly fantastical or impossible. If that worked, he would know for sure the Romance Mechanic was the real deal.

He resolved that he would be back in the coffee shop with another bundle of pound coins first thing the next day.