Not A Date

Maybe part of it is helped by your friend's natural charm, but it turns out the speech craft command works way better than you had anticipated, and you are incredibly relieved you placed such strict limitations on where it could be used. As much as you adore Maisie, this is exactly the kind of ability she would **** in just about every situation, including with you, given the opportunity. But, as it is, both of you were able to dramatically improve your wardrobes on the very limited budgets you have. As far as retail goes, you are more than happy to benefit from Maisie's **** of her new power.

It is then back to yours as you take it in turns to shower and get yourself looking your best for the not date at the super expensive restaurant you will be taking Maisie to. You think you have done a pretty good job at making yourself look decent when Maisie walks into the room in the dress she chose especially for this evening.

"How do I look Master?"

Holy. Fuck. That is the girl you are going to be taking out to dinner this evening? This is almost too much. Knowing you have the power to make Maisie do anything you want and, for the most part, restraining yourself is taking an almost super human amount of effort on your part. But you are playing the long game here and want her to become your proper and willing girlfriend, not some brainwashed sex robot. If you can use the curse to help nudge her in that direction then you are fine with that. But you never want to change who Maisie is, not even the things about her that bug you sometimes.

"You look breathtaking Maisie" you tell her. You don't think you have ever used that word before, but you can't overstate how beautiful she looks.

"Thank you Master" she giggles happily at such a strong reaction "You look very handsome too. Are you ready to escort me to the restaurant?"

---

"Are we getting starters, Master?" Maisie asks as the waiter stands at your table, she then notices him looking at her strangely and places her hand on yours "Sorry, that's just my little pet name for him. I'm not his servant"

"Yes, the starters look delicious" you respond, wanting this experience to last as long as possible.

Once the waiter has gone there is something you can no longer restrain yourself from saying. But you are going to use your rarely employed, especially on Maisie, assertive powers rather than the curse for this demand.

"I'm calling this a date, and I'm paying" you tell her "You look too beautiful tonight for me to only bring here as my friend"

"Okay, then it's a date Master" Maisie smiles, with surprisingly little resistance "Honestly, you are way better than most of the guys I've been out with anyway. But fair warning, very few men get to a second date with me"

"That's because they don't know you like I do" you tell her "And because you usually date morons for some reason, despite being super smart yourself"

"I don't like to get too attached Master" she answers "But since I already am attached to you this is going to be me stepping outside my comfort zone. I guess sometimes you have to do that though, don't you Master?"

The rest of the meal couldn't go more perfectly. For as long as you can remember this has been exactly the kind of evening you have wanted. Maisie is the girl of your dreams and your best friend rolled into one, and finally you are out together as a couple. Even if you don't get to that second date, you will always have tonight, and you are going to make the most of it. After enjoying a delicious meal and each other's company for a couple of hours, the bill arrives. You settle it, realising that even at less than a third of what it should have cost, that was still way out of your budget. But in the moment, you don't care.

"So, was that the end of our date or are you taking me anywhere else Master?" Maisie asks you as you leave the restaurant together, arm in arm.

"Actually, there is somewhere I'd like us to go" you reply, without telling her where just yet.

---

You pull up in the car park near the river that you last drove Maisie to just before all of the curse craziness started. If she hadn't then decided to tell you about it that day, you know exactly how the next couple of hours would have gone. You would have walked together by the river, as Maisie always liked to do, and she would have had a nice time hanging out with her friend while you were feeling the deep pain of knowing that was all you ever were to her, all the while hating yourself for not having a clue how to change that. But now things had changed and, whatever happened from here, at least you knew those days were over.

"Why did you bring me here Master?" Maisie asks you, a little surprised.

"Because. our river walks mean everything to me, and we never got to have one the other day"

"Yeah, I kind of dropped a bombshell on you, didn't I Master" Maisie shifts a little uncomfortably in the passenger seat "I'm sorry. I know that was a really shitty thing of me to do to you. I just can't imagine what might have happened if anyone other than you had found out about it first"

"I'm glad you told me, Maisie" you assure her "And our walk will be better now than it would have been then, just the two of us in the moonlight. And Maisie, you don't have to call me Master anymore. I mean, you can if you want. it's very cute, but don't feel compelled to"

"Okay Master" she winks at you.

As you step outside the car you offer Maisie your hand and she takes it. You walk along the river together as you have so many times before, but it feels completely different, and neither of you say a word for the first few minutes, until Maisie eventually breaks the silence.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? You realise my longest relationship lasted six weeks. And you are my life long best friend. I can't bear the idea of us fucking that up"

"We won't" you tell her "But I couldn't have kept that going much longer anyway. Because you aren't just my best friend. You're the woman I love, Maisie. You don't have to say it back, and you don't have to feel bad if you don't feel the same way, but I need you to know. Because pretending you were anything less than the love of my life was slowly killing me inside"

Maisie stops and turns towards you. And she doesn't say it back. But she does lean in and kiss you. A slow, tender, heartfelt kiss. She then leans back and smiles at you a little shyly.

"I guess I really am outside my comfort zone now, huh?"

"That's okay, you don't have to worry. Whatever happens next, there will never be a world where you don't mean everything to me" you tell her while gently running your fingers through her hair "So, have I made it to the second date?"