Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

“So….favorite color?”

“Check, please!”

“You’re right.  That’s bad.  Especially because I already know it’s blue.”

“I don’t remember telling you that.”

“You didn’t.  Not directly, anyway.  And this is going to make me look like a complete freak, but…actually, I need to finish this beer before I continue.”

“Okay.”

“Alright, so, uh….when you would sketch at your desk, I noticed that your blue pencils were the shortest of the bunch.  Like, always.  No matter how many pencil sets you brought in to work, the blue ones were always the shortest.”

“Maybe the blue just broke off easily and I had to keep sharpening them down.”

“Nice try.  You only use blue pens at work.”

“Michael takes all of the black pens because he knows Toby likes using them, thus leaving only blue ones.”

“Oh my God.  Seriously?”

“Yes.  The week after you left Michael overheard Toby ask me if we had any more black pens.  He accused him of being selfish because he didn’t care that we were all slowly dying inside, then looked at me for a prolonged period of time and said that if I killed myself it would be on Toby’s head.”

“Unbelievable.  Poor Toby.”

“I know.  If you go into Michael’s bottom drawer, you’ll find boxes of black pens.”

“Good to know.”

“So, anyway, you were trying to make a point?”

“Okay, okay.  Oh, I know, you have two different blue sweaters!”

“I do?  Oh, yeah.  You pay more attention to my wardrobe then I do.”

“Can’t help it.  And that brings us to the dress you wore on Casino Night.”

“Oh…right.”

“Hey, c’mon.  Look at me.  New chapter, remember?  We got all of that out in the open last night.”

“I know.  Here’s something I didn’t tell you last night: I didn’t look at that dress until the night before you came back.  My mother packed and unpacked it for me when I moved.  It hurt too much to look at.  I actually thought about giving it away, but….it just seemed…I just couldn’t.  Okay, I need to stop because I’m feeling really emotional all of a sudden and we’re on a date and we should be having fun.  I mean, we are having fun.” 

“Yes, we are.”

“And, by the way, I got those sweaters at a 2-for-1 sale.”

“You’re tough.  Let me consult with the judges…..nope, I’m sorry, they won’t accept that answer.  None of your answers, actually.  Just admit that I’m right.”

“Let me talk to them.”

“They feel pretty confident in their decision.”

“Maybe I should flirt with them.”

“Now that they will accept.  They’ll even encourage it.”

“These judges sound easy.”

“From what I hear, they have no morals whatsoever.”

“I haven’t flirted in a long time.  I’m kind of rusty.”

“I think you’re doing just fine.”

“I’d like to know what the judges think.”

“Actually, they just left and put me in charge for the night.”

“That sounds promising.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.  Now, what should I make you do first?”

“Say the alphabet backwards?”

“Okay.  And without your clothes on.”

“Kinky.  Hey, did you ever see the movie Sliver?

“The cinematic masterpiece with Sharon Stone, right?”

“That’s the one.”

“Yeah.  Why?”

“It was on the other night, and for some reason, that dinner scene where Billy Baldwin asks her to show him her underwear just popped into my head.”

“Are you suggesting that I…”

“I’m just telling you what popped into my head.”

“You know, I’m blanking on that particular scene, so you’re going to have to explain it to me very slowly…using as much detail as possible.”

“I think you’re feigning ignorance, but okay.  First, let me finish my wine.”

“Sure.”

“Okay, so, earlier in the day Billy sent a matching bra and underwear set to Sharon and asked her to wear them on their date.  Once at the restaurant he asks to see if she’s wearing them.  Hey, are you okay over there?”

“Just making mental notes before our next date.  Please, go on.”

“I’ll bet.  So….hmmmm….oh, so she reluctantly shows him that she’s wearing the bra, but doesn’t have an easy time showing the underwear.  Maybe I should be using the word ‘panties’ instead.  Is that sexier?”

“I’m not a big fan of panties.”

“In general?”

“What?  No, I meant-“

“No, I get it.  I don’t like that word, either.  There’s just something…I don’t know.  It’s just kind of icky.”

“Now ‘icky’ I like.”

“It’s a great word.  So, anyway, Sharon ends up taking off her underwear and giving them to Billy, which I found to be less then sanitary in a restaurant.  I also didn’t find it to be a turn on, but that’s just me.”

“You talking about the scene is more of a turn on then the actual scene.”

“So you do remember it?”

“Of course.  That was just my sneaky way of finding out where you stood on the whole ‘underwear vs. panties’ debate.”

“I see.  Mine are blue, by the way.”

“What?”

“My underwear.  They’re blue.  It just so happens to be my favorite color.”

“How interesting.”

“And you can stop looking at me like that, because I’m not showing them to you.  Well, not here anyway.”

“Check, please!”

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“Great second date.”

“The best.”