Lunch on Twinder

[Jsc]

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Denon Academy of Science - The Grill

It was a busy lunch hour. Perched high above the skylines of the bustling downtown metropolis. With the sights and sounds of the city all a'roar. It made the umbrellas above the outside patio tables sway in the wind. A warm, warm summer wind. Leaving the polished silver table settings and the plush leather chairs all alone. This was The Grill. The official lunch spot of the DAS and home to many hundreds of the galaxies brightest minds. The menu was filled with Corellian favorites, Fondorian cuisines, and even a few Flucian oddities. Science, and a Chef's special, served up hot and ready on white paper plates.

Sam, (Twinder alias - Karen Traviss,) sat out on the large circular balcony with a firm happy smile. Holding down and settling into a large covered table for two. Her fuzzy blue trench coat adorned the back of her plush leather chair and her long black riding boots disappeared underneath the tablecloth. She sat up straight and tall. Regal and composed. Quietly listening to the distant sounds of the roadways beneath and gathering up the yellow pages of her newest book in her happy hands. Dressed like a business executive and hungry for a meal. She browsed the menu as she waited.

Hoping that soon [member="Bhaltair Dhimani"] would appear.

 

[Bhaltair Dhimani]

[member="Sam Kazroy"] (Your writing style oddly makes me feel like I'm reading a haiku)

Spoiler

Bhaltair dressed for the occasion. He entered The Grill and looked around for the woman who matched the profile picture of Karen Traviss. He hoped that he looked good enough for her. According to Twinder, meeting her for the first time like this was called Hard Contact. He didn't completely appreciate or follow the vernacular of nowadays, but he certainly wanted her first impression of him to be as good as possible.

When he first saw her, he sort of just stood there, pausing. The profile picture was nice, sure, but there was always a big difference between seeing and "seeing". She was certainly attractive. Enough so to make him nervously pause and gather his wits about himself. He then went over to the table and said,

"Hello. I'm Bhaltair Dhimani. Are you...Karen Traviss?" He offered his hand to shake with.

 

[Jsc]

"Indeed I am." She gave with a smile, "Hello hello. Welcome and yes, please. Have a seat. Great to meet you."

Karen shook Bhaltair's hand and offered him a seat at the table.

"So? Thank you for agreeing to have lunch with me today. Hehe. Did you travel well? I hope I wasn't interrupting anything?"

Denon was a unique location in the galaxy. Not very close to anything, yet... Not very far away either. It was just far away enough from Coruscant to be considered an outskirt yet civilized and populated enough to be considered a galactic trading power. A strange mixing of rich and poor. Stable and drifting. Or maybe just far enough away from the war that it didn't matter either way.

Sam just hoped it wasn't too much of an inconvenience.

___

[member="Bhaltair Dhimani"] - (sorry about the haiku. I draft my posts as short erratic bursts of information. no filter. just typing. I'll proofread verbally more often now. thanks.)

 

[Bhaltair Dhimani]

[member="Sam Kazroy"] (I'm not saying it was a bad thing. In fact, it was oddly rhythmic.)

"Oh, it's wonderful to meet YOU."

He laughed softly as he sat down. It was a mixture of nervous release and shy humility. Sure, he'd pretty much crossed half the galaxy to meet her, but he did so willingly because the thought of having lunch with her seemed a very pleasant change of pace for his busy life.

"Oh, no need to thank me! This is all well worth it! Besides, I like traveling. It was a near straight run here, baring a couple of twists and turns. My company's in safe hands whilst I'm away; I'm sure."

When you ate out at a restaurant, being picky and choosing a meal that you're used to is a typical and sad occurence. Even when people are out to a Super Gyros, they'd much rather order a cheeseburger than try something foreign. Doing so was a poor choice. When you go to a store that focuses on a food type in particular, it was best to get that food. For example, if you go to a pizza place, you get pizza. You go to McYoda's, you get burgers. Super Gyro's, you get a gyro. The Grill, then you get...uhm...grilled food...yeeaaahhh....

Bhaltair picked up the menu and flipped to the grilled section.

"But, what about you? I hope the trip wasn't too harsh on your schedule..."

 

[Jsc]

Cute, optimistic, good energy, and fashion forward. [member="Bhaltair Dhimani"] made a strong first impression. It made it easy to smile.

"On no. I'm here on business anyway. The DAS is one of the top research divisions committed to studying Force Users and documenting their culture. I drop by anytime they need an outside consultant. So yeah. Hehe. ...It was one the way."

She smirked and picked up the menu. Just for show of course. She already knew what she was going to order.

"...So? What brought you to Twinder Mr. Dhimani?"

Sam wasted no time getting to business. I mean, she didn't look her age? But sometimes. She sure felt like it. This sudden eagerness to lose her greatest affliction. Single'dom.

"I mean. I'm surprised a handsome fellow like yourself isn't spoken for already?"

 

[Bhaltair Dhimani]

[member="Sam Kazroy"]

"Ah. So, DAS is one of the few groups that get to peek inside Jedi Temples and minds? That's pretty cool. Being an outside consultant, you must have seen lots of different cultures and Users, then?"

"I mean. I'm surprised a handsome fellow like yourself isn't spoken for already?"

"I could say the same thing about you!...I mean, besides the fact that you're not a fellow, of course...And, beautiful instead of handsome. Ehm..." He looked down and away towards the menu.

And the trophy for lighting a giant flame under your seat goes to...But, then the waiter came by. Saved by the bell?

"You've got, ahh, let's see...Jogan fruit brandy?"

"What kind of fancy place do you think this is?...I kid you, sir. Of course I can get you that. And for you, ma'am?" said the waiter.

After she ordered and the waiter left, Bhaltair continued talking.

"There's actually a funny story involving why I have Twinder. You see, it all began in my angsty teen years. I was pretty much done with high school and I thought I'd hop on the latest dating Holo site, Twinder. I made a profile and everything. I was pretty active for the first couple of days before I got into the full swing of college. Then, poof! I forgot completely about the site! I was so busy with university, and freelance work after that, that I only took notice of it when I tried cleaning out my personal email for the first time in a LONG time. I was cleaning up my personal email because I knew it was going to get a lot of activity once my business was up and running."

"So, I'm sitting there and nostalgia hits me like a pat on the cheek. I go back and look...and it's probably the most cringe-worthy profile on Twinder. The profile pic is from when I was 17, I've got an inbox full of angry PMs about how misleading my pic is to my listed birth date and how racist I am. That thing about being racist was because of my About Me page, which was, by far, the worst of all. I literally wrote "Not that I don't like or appreciate other types of women, but I really only prefer white women."...The idea that who knows how many saw that and I actually wrote that at one point, just, made me cringe inside."

"I changed the picture, cleared my inbox, CHANGED my About Me page for good and thought, "You know? It's about that time that I started trying to make a relationship." Then, I saw that your profile was a potential match. Full circle."

It was at this moment that he realized that he had dominated the conversation. That started to make him nervous as he thought about all of the social implications. He could feel himself clam up again. What had lead him to open up with such a long story, anyway?

"...Oh, I'm sorry. I've been running my mouth too much. I haven't given you a proper chance to speak."

 

[Jsc]

She smirked as he sort of, over did it. Not that the enthusiasm wasn't appreciated. But... Aren't we all morons at 17? Probably.

"So I take it you really haven't pursued a relationship since you where in college then? What kept you so busy?"

...

Karen had gone ahead and ordered lunch too. The Lemon Grass Chicken platter with a soda. An old favorite. Which was good as it was going to be a ton of food. Some women would be embarrassed with such a large portion. Especially on a date. But Sam wasn't that type of gal. She didn't posture. In fact, she ate like an animal these days. Meh. At least they would have plenty to talk about when the food came. Bhaltair seemed the talker type. That was well enough. At her age, Sam couldn't be picky. Nor did have any teenage delusions about finding 'Mr Right' or 'Mr Perfect'. This whole Twinder thing was an experiment anyway.

Might as well have fun with it.

[member="Bhaltair Dhimani"]

 

[Bhaltair Dhimani]

Bhaltair was slapping his own wrists mentally. What had ever possessed him to go monologuing to his first date in YEARS? Bhaltair had never been the speech type. He used to have terrible stage anxiety. He guessed that he had just tried to hard to make her laugh and the familiar topic just rolled right out. Yeesh. Time to order.

He ordered the grilled chicken with penne rigate and alfredo sauce. While he waited for that, he answered her question. The underwhelming reception made him instinctively clam up, in terms of talking.

"Well, uh...Not really. I had a couple of dates before college, but I had no time for any of that when I hit the books. I loved college immensely, but the work load was long and draining. Two PhDs can make you burn both ends of the candle faster than you can say, "Not tonight, fellas"."

"But, anyway, what do you do for a living, Karen?"

[member="Sam Kazroy"]

 

[Jsc]

She smirked when he mentioned working for a living. Yeah. That was all Sam had done too. She'd placed all her focus on being the best Jedi Knight ever rather than complimenting her life with good friends and warm welcomes. Alas. After the Sundering of Corellia? Well. She didn't really have anyone left.

Karen teased a smile and switched gears,

"I'm in Intelligence. I work for a group of war contractors doing recon and short flights over enemy territories. It's dangerous, military, technical, and usually short-lived. But. ...Well. It's home."

She shrugged and looked at the table uncomfortably. It wasn't exactly the whole truth... But it was too darn close not to say it out loud. Ugh. This is usually where she blew the date too.

"It's the reason why I'm on Twinder actually. ...Mmm. Yeah. It's... Umm. Hard to find a moment to relax in my profession. I guess."

She puzzled her face and pushed her smile into her cheek. Obviously embarrassed. Though, not enough to hide it.

[member="Bhaltair Dhimani"]