Esa primera fecha *Tempy*

A date. The word rang through her head while she showered, letting the steam roll into the whole bathroom. Date. She made sure to wash every part of her hair to make it shine more than usual, not caring how much hot water was used. It was just her living there anyway; who else was going to complain? Sure, the other people within the rooms might, but with a bat of her lashes and a flash of her smile, she was sure to be off the hook.

It rang through her head while she dried off and slipped into her little black dress. Date. A cute little X-backed halter she had bought just because, paired with a pair of black 1/2 inched heels and small diamond earrings. Looking at herself in the mirror and giving a small twirl, she decided she cleaned up better than she expected. She had almost forgotten her small gold, ruby class ring. Perfect. Now, what to do with her hair...

Ringing even while she dried and curled her hair. Date. She sprayed her hair all over to get a small coat of hairspray to keep down the frizziness. She made sure they were soft curls just at the end, giving her hair a little volume as well. Twirling again, she decided to curl her hair one more time, the same curls just to make sure they wouldn't come out. Even if they did, she thought they would still look good.

Getting out a small mirror to do her make up, she took out two bottles of mascara. Date. One was to give volume, the other to seperate. Usually she would go for some eye liner and lip gloss as well but she decided against it tonight. Sitting close to the mirror, she applied the volumizer to one set of top lashes, the other, and then moved to the bottom, being careful to just get it on her lashes. Then came the seperator, on each set of lashes. A little dash of shiny, skin-toned eye shadow once over her eyes was good enough. Smiling into the mirror, she looked at the time and gave a small squeak. She only had a few minutes to get there.

Amorina Riddell, in her prime, strutted down the street, confidence radiating off of her. Why shouldn't she be confident? She was going on a sure-to-be amazing date with an amazing guy who lived and worked in the same amazing place she did. On her shoulder hung her little name-brand purse that matched her completely; if Amorina was going to look good, she was going to look better than good. She checked the small silver watch on her wrist and sighed. 6:28. Almost there.

Reaching the marketplace was a relief except for one thing; now she had absolutely no idea where she was going. Six thirty at the marketplace. Well, it was about six thirty now and she was definitely in the marketplace but where was he and where were they going to go? Now she was freaking herself out, looking around desperately for Emilio. Calm down, girl. He'll be here. Just be calm and look at something. So, with a small smile on her face, Amorina began looking at the small trinkets outside of some random store, waiting for this date to start.

[ooc]
www.windsorstore.com/shop_detail.aspx?id=71906
her pretty dress
:3

Emilio had spent the day as he would normally, albeit in a much lighter mood than usual. That morning, he'd gone to the gym and worked out, rehearsing English phrases in his head almost nonstop. After cleaning up some, he'd found himself, as he often did, with nothing to do but wait. So he'd played a small game of soccer with some kids in the street.

As the day got later, he performed some favors in order to get some things set for that night. Example, he ran messages for the florist in order to get the bouquet of dusky roses he now held in his hands. He'd done some minor errands for the place he planned on taking Amorina to in order to curry favor with the management and staff. All in all, he'd been pleased with his undertakings when he headed back to his apartment to change into better clothes for going out.

So here he was, late, but confident in a deep red shirt (the top two buttons undone) and pressed black trousers. He'd worn black shoes with a slight heel so that he could lessen the height difference between himself and his date. All of his clothes were loose without being exceptionally baggy, accentuating where he had muscle and defining his body in a subtly masculine way. He'd shaved that morning, but a shadow was already appearing on his jawline and upper lip. That was just as well, it gave him a roguish air that he only made stronger with his grin.

He saw her from across the marketplace. He held the roses behind his back and approached her with a confident stride and a happy glint in his eyes. She was absolutely gorgeous, wearing a black number that was both sexy and functional for the dancing he would ask her to do with him later. As he got closer, he momentarily became unable to breathe, such was his impression of her. He recovered from his momentary episode of pleasure-induced breathing impairment quickly, though, and managed to say, "Buenas tardes, Bonita."

What in the world is this thing... After looking at these unusual trinkets for a minute or so, Amorina had realized that some of these were uniquelly strange. She didn't know what they were made of, or what they were supposed to be, but they had caught her attention quickly. She had lost track of time and was about to check her watch when she heard that familiar voice in her ear.

Amorina turned and looked him over, feeling that tingle race through her body. She thought she had cleaned up well; their height was practically the same now and she felt better at his height. Noting how his shirt was unbottoned a little, she tried to keep her smile from turning into a smirk while she said, "Buenas tardes to you as well, Emilio. How have you been?" Her eyes caught his arm behind his back, but she didn't say anything. Maybe it was a surprise. Today couldn't get any better, could it?

Turning so her body faced him, she asked, "Cuando...si...vamos?" It was the best she could remember at the moment but gave an apologetic smile. "I'm still not very good at Spanish. Sorry." Her smile faltered and she looked at the ground, trying to remember some phrases again. Why was her mind playing such horrible tricks on her?

Emilio couldn't remember what he wanted to say for a couple of minutes after she turned around. This time, it wasn't an English thing... it was a stunned sort of thing. However, he covered for that as he said haltingly, "...I... am... been good... mucho mejor- much better now. You look... amazing! Hermosa! How... how are you? S-sorry to being so late."

This woman would never cease to surprise him. Her Spanish was actually quite good for an American... there were places that he'd been that had been absolutely dreadful. At least there was some overlap between languages here- he knew some English, she knew some Spanish. They could meet and draw upon each other's knowledge.

"Tu espanol es buena. No te preocupes. Ahora nos vamos... Oh... here." He'd almost forgotten about the roses in her presence, but now he held them out. He'd gone for the roses that would match the coming sunset, all fiery crimsons and oranges, some amber-yellows to add to the contrast.
"The place... quiero... I want to... take you to is uno-one street that direction." He nodded in the direction he meant. "Is un poquito pequeno."

He smiled and held out an arm for her to take.

Her smile grew while she waited for him to talk, and grew even more at his compliment. "Thank you very much. Soy feliz...que está..umm..aquí,"she replied. "Oh don't worry about being late. If you weren't, I would have been." Wanting to be able to eat dinner, Amorina hadn't eaten much all day. Now she regretted it as her stomach made angry faces at her from below.

The roses surprised her, causing one of the very large, genuine smiles appear on her face as she took them. "Oh, Emilio! They're beautiful! Thank you,"she gushed, not even caring about how very schoolgirlish she seemed at the moment. Amorina tried to downplay her enthusiasm as she took his arm.

"So, Emilio..." Amorina tried to think of a conversation starter. "Where are you from?" Only when it left her mouth did she realize he could be offended by it. If she could have, she would have slapped her forehead and cringed away from him. One street away wasn't far at all; it was give them enough time to actually talk, though.

Emilio took pleasure in Amorina's obvious delight at his gift. He loved how she'd sort of... lit up when she saw them. He resolved to see that face again sometime.

When they began to walk, he was a little surprised when she asked about his origins, but he took absolutely no offense at the question. On the contrary, he loved his country (now that he wasn't living in it) and was more than happy to answer. "Soy cubano! I am... de Cuba. De Santiago."

He led her from the main marketplace and down a side street. "Y tu? Estas de este pueblo? ... are you from here?"

"Cuba?" She was surprised and impressed. Never had she met somebody from anywhere exotic, unless you counted Mexico. Or Ireland. "I've been there once for a vacation. It was raining the whole time though. Yo soy...muy triste,"she muttered, thinking back to her vacation. It had been years ago, when she was just starting high school. She couldn't wait to go back sometime.

Amorina couldn't help but shrug at his question. "From the 'States, yeah. I bet it's nothing like Cuba...." She had always wanted to live in a different country but didn't have family or friends in any. The closest thing she had come to it was her vacation. Most of America was just cities with polution anyway; you really had to search for the beautiful places in the good old U.S. of A.

Emilio listened with an attentive look on his face. So she'd been to his home country and her trip had been ruined because of the rain... That was just too bad. Cuba was a place rich in culture and color... he was somewhat saddened that she hadn't been able to experience it there. Still, there was a happy spring in his step for the fact that he would, at least, let her taste it just a little here.

He had to agree with her on her statement about the difference between Cuba and America. "Is muy different. You... your country tiene un ritmo diferente. Is una gran mezcla... Cuba es... is a mix... smaller." He found himself faltering and decided to change the subject to something he'd rehearsed the English for.

"You have familia? I mean... family? You say you have una prima... pero... how are the others?" At this point, they were almost at the end of the side street. Once they hit the intersecting road, all he had to do was have them turn right, walk past a couple of buildings and there the place would be. The outside was old and he was worried that Amorina would judge it too quickly and be afraid to go in. While it was decrepit and sort of disappointing to look at from the outside, it was an absolute gem inside.

"I do hope to go back again, as long as the weather lets me." Listening to him, she realized it was taking him a while to find the right words and patted his arm comfortingly. It was a hard thing to do, to learn a new language as an adult; seeing how he was learning English, the hardest language to learn, he was doing very well. Emilio was much better at his English than she seemed to be at Spanish.

His question about her family made her smile disappear, but she pushed it back on her face. "I have muchos más primos, but I haven't met them yet. Familia grande,"she said with a small laugh and a shake of her head. Literally, Amorina had about 100 cousins she hadn't met, including those cousins' parents and their parents. Now there was something she was worried about; her parents.

"Mis padres...Mis padres son muy complicados." Being proud of her parents was something many children were. Amorina was not one of those children. She loved them, of course; she just found their parenting to be unorthodox. Everything had to be absolutely perfect, no mistakes allowed. Even her highschool boyfriend had to be perfect (which is why they only dated for about a month). "They need everything to be perfect. No mistakes. No flaws." At this, she grinned and gave a small nonchalant shrug. "So I'm sure they'll like you..."

"You should... Cuba es un lugar hermosa y caliente... much culture."

Emilio had to process everything she said separately, then put it all together in his head in Spanish in order to comprehend it, so it was no wonder that he was quiet even as they reached the building he had chosen. He stopped in front of the doors with their green paint peeling off and said as clearly and honestly as he could, "I... no perfect." He looked into her eyes, all seriousness now, "You... meet you-your family? No leave off... until too late, yes?" He, of course, was thinking about his own family, who he'd left behind in Cuba. He still didn't know his birth mother very well, but she also crossed his thoughts.

"Family... is very important... Y los padres... pienso... I think they all... son complicados... They want best... for sus hijos... Not always knowing of... lo mejor... they... como se dice... try best thing in they thinking? Ay, es deficil para decir."

The building they stood in front of was dusty and aged. The neon sign said, "Leo's" in flickering anticlimax. The doorway was narrow and slightly off-kilter and all of the windows were covered in black paper. However, Emilio had been inside and knew exactly how much this place embodied the phrase "rough-hewn diamond". The proprietor, Leo, had been very eccentric when Emilio had made his brief acquaintance and had startled the Cuban with his fluency in the mother tongue. However, Emilio made to compliment this and the old man gave him a funny look and said roughly, "Whatchoo tawkin' about?"

"We... are here. No es... bueno afuera... pero... inside is very good... Is like un... coconut... like rough ouside... inside is sweeeeet."

Shrugging, she looked down at her roses. "I really don't have a reason to go back. Nobody to travel with." It was more like a realization to herself than a respond to what he said. "Being different doesn't have many perks, does it?" Honestly, Amorina always felt out of place. Too different to fit in with the "normal" people, but her gift made her too "normal" to fit in with the different people. The closest thing to a true friend she had ever had was Clara.

Her smile only faded while he tried defending her parents. "You do not know my parents." No matter how much they wanted the best for their daughter, they should have never destroyed her childhood the way they had. Because of her parents' constant struggle to make their daughter absolutely perfect, she had never had friends, and had only gone to her highschool dances to take pictures for the yearbook club.

Amy looked at the place, more than a little disappointed, but knew something had to be up. There was no way in Hell, even if it froze over, that Emilio would take her somewhere dirty and drab. Listening to him, she gave a small laugh of relief and nodded. "Looks are..a menudo muy...deceiving."

Emilio replied smoothly, "Pues... you come with me a Santiago... I show you much!" Of course, he hid any misgivings he had about returning to Cuba; he was a little afraid that if he went home, he would never be able to leave that place again. And not for lack of trying...

"No se... being different... is interesting..."

Naturally, he was saddened that Amorina felt thus about her parents, but he didn't bother to try to phrase a reply that had any possibility of being misunderstood and taken as an insult. That was the last thing he wanted to do: hurt an exceptional woman he'd only just started a date with.

Emilio's smile returned as he opened the door for Amorina. Inside, down about three steps and around a corner, there was the heart of Leo's. A bar, tables, nooks... all cozily lit and tasteful in decor. The place's primary colors lie within deep, rich tones of ruby and a midnight blue partnered with tables of a gloriously dark wood that seemed new despite the scores in their surfaces. A dance floor near the back next to a stage. Emilio had heard something of poetry competitions and comedy nights being held here, but he'd chosen Leo's for the band.

Right now, the music was definitely in the Rock family, but he had pulled strings for it to change later to stuff truly worth dancing to.

"After you," he said in a gallant tone.

Laughing, Amorina shook her head. "Emilio, us go to Cuba together? ¡Eso está loco! The money, the planning, and how do we know if we'll even still be talking by then!" If she was going back, she had planned on it being her and Clara, or Amorina's significant other at the time. A romantic or fun getaway, she wanted to be able to get away with anything and everything without worrying about being judged by who she was with.

She was impressed by his English and let her smile grow as she took in the interior. It was indeed very pretty in here, much more than she had expected. "Wow." With her flowers in one arm, his arm in the other, she was awestruck. Beautiful, glorious, words she didn't even know could describe this place. Stepping into the restaurant, she felt her stomach tug on her brain to eat the first thing she saw. This happened to be a tablecloth. Never being there before made her a little nervous; she waited for Emilio to walk in, for her to watch him and follow. He was impressing her more and more, it seemed.

Emilio shrugged. "Solo un idea." No worries there. He didn't think he was ready for anything long-term yet in regards to women; as far as Emilio was concerned, he liked his freedom and there had been nobody thus far that he'd come to like enough to pursue in that way. It was fine the way things were. No regrets, no worry.

His relief was immense when he saw her smile upon entering Leo's. He led her to a table where there were already a couple of menus laid at the settings. True to the name of the place, there was a logo of a roaring lion on the covers. He pulled out a chair for her, all manners and politeness now. Emilio knew the importance of contrast. Right now, he would keep a respectful distance. On the dance floor, he would be a bit... well, not so caring of personal space at least.

"So..." he said, his eyes sparkling happily at the thoughts in his head, "You have... actividades... things you like doing en... cuando you not working?"

Placing her flowers on the table, she sat down slowly and muttered a small, "Gracias." Wow. This place was better than she had expected, especially by the outside. She wondered how it managed to stay so nice; it's outter appearence must have scared off most people from coming in.

She nodded. "A few things. No soy muy interesante. Photography, really. I would like to do a lot more but...No soy talentoso." Amorina wasn't trying to be modest; she was being serious. Photography was one of the few things she was honestly actually good at, but she would never sell her pictures. They meant something to her, and she could never figure out how to double them on her own.

"Y tu?" Slowly, she reached for the menu and skimmed through. She wasn't exactly sure what kind of food they would have but at the moment, she didn't really care. Amorina really wasn't sure what to get, so she decided to wait until hearing him order before deciding. She did have a few things in mind.