Vice

50: Officially Dating

The Italian restaurant Jace chose for their official date is only a few blocks away from the Vicetech building.

Even though Natara passed by it on the way to work every day and many times before traveling through town,  she had never taken the time to stop in and eat there. Of course, she never had any reason to before. Not only could her mother make a mean plate of pasta, her ex didn't ever take her out on dinner dates.

Natara sits in the passenger seat of a Vicetech company vehicle as Jace weaves the car into the restaurant's tiny parking lot. Only a couple of other cars sit outside the building, possibly belonging to employees and one or two visitors. Natara wonders how the food is.

"So, tell me about your day so far. Either of your bosses giving you any trouble?" Jace asks, hopping out of the vehicle and stretching his arms into the air. 

Natara pushes her own door open and smooths her dress before closing it. She walks around to the other side of the car to meet Jace and joins him in heading toward the restaurant. 

"No, not too much." Natara refrains from telling him about all of the drama with Mr. Vice. 

What would she even say to him about it, anyway? Guilt creeps into her conscience. She's in a relationship. She shouldn't have any feelings at all for Mr. Vice. In fact, she wishes that the drama with him wasn't the first thing that came to her mind when he asks such a simple question about her day. She'd like to just completely forget about her stupid boss.

The inside of the restaurant is surprisingly pretty for such a small building. Vines hang down around the door and fountains sit on either side of the entrance. Decorative shells on the green and tan walls hold organized collections of wine bottles and glasses. The floor is covered in rocky grey tile with a rug in the center fashioned in a vineyard-reminiscent style. 

Paintings of different types of pasta, cheese, and wines also decorate the walls. Fake grape vines twist in spirals down hanging ceiling lights above each table. The tables are small, with matching themed tablecloths and a vase of flowers sitting in the center of each of them.

Jace and Natara sit at a small table for two near the back corner of the restaurant. Jace settles himself in the chair across from her and orders a mixed drink for himself and a soda for Natara. She's sure that if she was old enough he would have ordered her a mixed drink, too. 

When the waitress returns a few minutes later with their drinks, Jace orders Risotto and Natara orders a bowl of Chicken Gnocchi soup. The waitress takes away their menus and Jace sips his drink. He smiles as he looks over at her. Natara nervously follows suit, slowly sipping her soda.

"So, what's Risotto?" Natara is the first to speak. Her anxiety spikes a little bit just waiting across the table from Jace, sharing awkward glances in silence. Jace raises his eyebrows.

"You've really never had Risotto? It's like a staple of Italian food. If you haven't had Risotto before, can you even say you've had Italian food before?" He laughs. Natara blushes. She didn't realize Risotto was such a big deal. 

"Did you know that during World War 1 the Italians had to hide in their basements and in their basements they mainly had rice and wine? That's mostly they had to live off of, so eventually they started mixing the two. And I guess someone had some old cheese down there in their basement, too, and voila," he explains. "That was their World War 1 staple food. Risotto."

"Try some of mine when it comes out. It's really tasty," Jace offers. Natara nods. 

If it's as good as he says, she is certainly open to sampling it. She wonders if his story about how it was first created is true, too. It certainly sounds believable. 

"It's mainly rice and cheese and wine so I'm not sure it's possible for someone to not love it." A laugh escapes Natara's lips and then silence falls between them again. Natara feels relieved when the waitress returns to the table with Jace's bowl of Risotto and Natara's bowl of soup. 

Maybe she isn't too talented at doing this whole "date" thing. Now that it's official, things seem way more forced and awkward than they did when the two of them were just coworkers.

Jace's Risotto looks pale and creamy, and Natara stares at it with interest. Natara had rice many times before but it was typically dry and served with meat or beans. This looks almost like wet rice or rice soup. 

Jace digs his spoon into it, blows on it, and holds it in front of Natara's mouth. 

It smells stronger than she anticipated and she didn't expect little trails of cheese to hang down off the spoon. She feels a little too embarrassed to eat off the spoon while Jace is holding it for her so she takes it from his hand and tries it. 

It's surprisingly good. Soft. Definitely creamy and cheesy with a hint of wine flavor. It's almost even a little sweet. She smiles. It is a pretty good dish.

"I see why you like it," she says, smiling and turning her attention to her own food and scoops up a spoonful of the soup, grabbing broth, chicken, and celery in the spoonful. Hers is delicious, too. If she went out to eat much she would probably stop in here often if it was affordably priced. She forgot to look at the prices while ordering.

While they eat, Jace tells Natara about some of his friends in the office, none of which she has met. She feels astounded by just how popular he is but, then again, even Natara thinks he's easy to like. 

She feels lucky to have a boyfriend like him. 

As they finish their food, Jace leans over the table closer to Natara and she flushes. Why does he have to get so close to her abruptly like that? And with that cute dimpled smile, too. Doesn't he know he makes her feel nervous when he does that? He stares earnestly at her.

"I've been having a great time out with you, Natara. I honestly want to keep you around a little longer. I want to be in your lovely company for as long as possible. Would you like to head back to my apartment? We can relax there for the evening," he suggests. Natara nods. Jace takes care of the bill and they head out.

Spending some time at Jace's apartment sounds nice and Natara hasn't been having a bad time on the date, so she sees nothing wrong with accompanying him back home. She wonders if they'll end up talking more or maybe watching a movie together. 

What is it adults like to do back at home after a date, anyway?