Date at WcDonalds

Chapter 2 - A Gentlemen Always . . . Nevermind

Cole had no problem creating a small earthen prison around the criminal to make sure he stayed put while Seliel called the police. The authorities didn't take long to reach them, and Cole decided to stick around until she was finished. He still wanted to speak with her, see what she was doing here in the first place. She'd made it pretty clear before how much her village meant to her. Cole wondered if there was something wrong that had driven her all the way out here, or if maybe she was finally venturing away from home.

Cole was surprised with himself at how happy he was to see Seliel again. Truthfully, he'd been disappointed that she hadn't joined them after their encounter with the nindroids. But with everything else going on at the time, she'd quickly faded from memory and he had hardly thought of her since. But now that he'd found her again, he felt as if he had been looking for her all along.

But while he was waiting, something else began to happen. He saw Seliel suddenly wince, as if being struck by something. She looked up and held out her hand, only to have a drop of water plop! onto her palm.

"Looks like rain," she said, half to herself.

The rain! In all the fuss about the criminal, Cole had completely forgotten about the imminent threat. He looked around for shelter and was relieved to see that the storefronts on this side of the street were sheltered. He darted out of the alley and ducked under an awning, breathing a sigh of relief.

Seliel poked her head around the corner. "Afraid of getting wet?" she asked with a smirk.

"Something like that."

Seliel gave him a funny look but joined him under the awning. "They're just about wrapped up here." she told him. "Don't need me anymore. You headed anywhere special?"

Cole shook his head. "Just . . . indoors."

Seliel glanced through the window next to them. "Well if you're not picky, then this looks like as good a place as any. Want to grab a bite to eat?"

"I'd love to!" he said with perhaps a bit too much enthusiasm.

She smiled again and as they headed toward the little diner, he hurried ahead to open the door for her. Inside it was still pretty busy, probably even more so since the storm rolled in. A short line stood in front of the menu. He turned to Seliel.

"Go ahead and get anything you like, I'm paying."

Seliel shook her head. "Oh, no, I'm not comfortable with that."

"Don't worry about it, I'd be happy to!" he said reaching into his back pocket. But when he found nothing there, he frowned. Reaching into his other pocket only yielded the same results. He realized with a wince and a sigh that he had purposefully left his wallet back on the Bounty because he hadn't planned on buying anything. ". . . Or maybe I won't."

Seriously? he thought to himself. The one day I run into Seliel again, I just had to leave my wallet at home.

Seliel gave him a sympathetic look and pulled out her own wallet. "I guess I can cover us both." When he opened his mouth to protest she lifted a hand. "And how about next time, I'll let you pay."

Cole sighed. "Fine." But inside he was delighted at the prospect of there being a 'next time.' As he got in line behind Seliel, the rain outside was growing steadily stronger, but now he barely noticed.