cuddlecity | EVENT: SWIPER, NO SWIPING!

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EVENT: SWIPER, NO SWIPING!

As the blustery winds and steady snows of January give way to the cool breezes of February, the city begins to notice strange trends amongst its volunteer citizenry: an uptick of online searches for things like flower shops and cheap romantic meals, a surprising increase in chocolate purchases (though, perhaps more surprising, no increases in consumption), and a report from the local pharmacies regarding a sudden shortage in contraceptives, of all things! Consider the administration officially flummoxed — that is, until the city's favorite and only volunteer coordinators begin to investigate further.

You see, Valentine's Day isn't quite the thing in Cadelle. Here, St Valentine never led couples in matrimony under Roman rule, and so, no time-honored capitalist dream could be established. However, the date of February the 14th is still a special one in the city — it's the day that many honor as St Trifon's Day, or "Winemaker's Day". It's a day of celebrating the first pour of the prior year's winemaking, with the first bottle of each vintage reserved for drinking with one's special someone... preferably privately, where post-drink merriment may commence uninterrupted. (Scandalous.)

Not wanting to leave out any of their volunteers from the city's special day, the volunteer coordinators have arranged a collection of meeting locations, each perfect for getting to know a potential special somebody in advance of the big day. To help people get acquainted, they've partnered with that reclusive (and anonymous) mogul behind okCuddle to add a limited time special feature for the season — that's right, a matchmaker!

Simply press the bright red button on your app's home screen to be enrolled in a Match Meeting. There are five unique locations, each offering a different experience to appeal to those who might find true love or common ground in its midst, and each location will host a different couple each day to ensure everyone has an opportunity to meet their one-and-only... or maybe just their one-night-only. (We won't judge.)

▸ Any opportunity to incite a little romantic feeling would be remiss if it didn't include the time-honored date experience: a candlelit steakhouse dinner at the city's best dining experience, DeWolfe's. Whether you're hungering for a porterhouse medium rare or a more demure airline chicken breast, the wait staff here will be more than happy to attend to any needs you may have, and delighted to disappear shortly after, providing plenty of privacy for quiet conversation and those ever-important lingering glances. Feel free to extend your night with a walk through DeWolfe's famed gardens out back, or perhaps a nightcap... the only question left, then, is their place or yours?

▸ Let The Good Times Roll offers those who enjoy athleticism and coordination an evening of nostalgic fun under twinkling lights — courtesy, of course, of the disco ball hung prominently in the center of the risk, a perfect match for the classic jams that are piped out from the speakers on each wall. Strap on a pair of rental skates, and when the lights get low, be sure to hold your honey's hand tight for that all-important couple's skate. When you're done zooming around the linoleum, be sure to try a bite of the rink's famous pizza and popsicles meal, the perfect treat for summer campers and kids at heart alike! Groovy!

▸ The Vinery, while not necessarily a classic first-date location, offers a bit of non-traditional romance with its gorgeous hill country views and a seemingly endless assortment of local blends to sample. Visitors paired up for a Match Meeting here will have the opportunity to enjoy a rarely experienced grape-stomping session, during which they'll become bonafide vinters (winemakers, for the uninitiated) and the proud recipients of a complimentary bottle of the Vinery's own St Trifon's Day special blend — the perfect reason to ask for a second date, no? (And if you don't want to wait, there's always the cover of a gazebo or the fields nearby...)

▸ Animal aficionados, fear not: the expansive nature reserve at Nahtazu offers an opportunity to get up-close and personal with your favorite wild beasts — no, not the ones in your pants — and one of the reserve's most knowledgeable guides to show you the way. Of course, since it's an hour away aboard the local trains, the city has arranged a private compartment for two, where Match Meeting attendees will enjoy a catered lunch, the perfect way to fuel for a long day of hiking, climbing, and maybe even a few jungle swings. On the way back, feel free to enjoy the plush seats for a little post-adventure cuddling... or more, we won't tell!

▸ At The Worm Hole, nerds and geeks and casual gamers alike will find plenty to shoot and score on over pints of everything from sweet ciders to dark ales. There's no shortage of games here, so if your idea of a great night out involves beating your date at Super Smush Brothers — and no, that's not a typo — you'll definitely enjoy your time here. To help set the mood, a special booth has been set aside for Match Meetings in the far corner of the room: get cozy, play some Pong, and maybe make things interesting. Strip Marco Kart, anyone?

Of course, those that opted not to sign up for the city's version of eHarmony won't be left out of all the fun! In preparation for the big day, Flora and Cornelius have put together what they're affectionally calling the single mingle: a weeklong invitation to enjoy the best in everything but romantic films and features at the local theatre. Feel free to come alone or bring a pal or two, and enjoy complimentary admission and select snacks each night — just don't let them catch you getting frisky! That's what the drive in is for!

Surprise! It's a Valentine's event that's almost not about Valentine's Day! For those of you that participated in our survey, you should have received a private message from our moderator journal with information regarding your character's match assignment by now. If you did not receive one, please let us know!

Because this event runs a little differently than many of our other events, we've opted to tweak our process a little as well. For your character's date, please locate your appropriate date and location in our BLIND DATE THREAD HERE. If it's still empty, your character has beaten their date to the punch (and maybe the free food, too). If there's already a reply, greet your date! (Pretty simple, right?) For all other threads, including pre/post date experiences, feel free to post traditional open top levels as usual!

For example: Flora may have a blind date with Cornelius on Monday at DeWolfe's, so she'll comment to the Monday thread's DeWolfe comment with her starter. This will make it easy for Cornelius to find her thread and reply. However, Flora may also be lingering outside beforehand looking nervous, or shopping in the mall the day before and looking for help in finding an outfit — these prompts can be posted as traditional open top-levels!

If you have any further questions specific to this event, we encourage you to ask away on our QUESTIONS COMMENT here in this post. If you have general questions, or prefer a more private venue, our GENERAL INBOX (and SCREENED INBOX) is always available for you. In addition, if you've got an idea for a future event, feel free to drop us a line at our EVENTS SUGGESTION POST.

Peace out, cuddle scouts!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The negative shift in his body language isn't lost on Lydia, but she tries not to read too far into it, just yet. It could be significant, of course, but it could also just be that he's more comfortable leaning back. Her eyebrows lift a little with interest at the mention that he's a driver. That could mean anything where she comes from. He could drive limos or a cab or he could just be an Uber driver trying to make it sound more interesting than it is. But then he goes on and surprise registers on her face. Not because he's been a getaway driver, but because he's willing to be honest about it.

"You're not a good guy or you weren't a good guy?" she asks, looking genuinely interested, because there is a difference, in Lydia's mind. When one considers someone like Peter Hale, one has to consider gray areas. It's a little reassuring that he leans forward again; suggests to her that there wasn't any real significance to the change in posture.

Lydia leans forward, herself, lacing her fingers together on the table top as she looks back at him thoughtfully. "I think that if we define ourselves by our shortcomings, we're bound to drive ourselves crazy. I should know, I damn near did that to myself," she says quietly. For over a year, she quite nearly drove herself into insanity with the guilt of not being a good enough banshee to prevent Allison's death. She'd had the luxury of a support system. Lydia doesn't know whether Baby is afforded that same luxury.

The candlelight dances on the table between them, casting dancing shadows over Lydia's face as she speaks and he listens, reads her lips, bites the inside of his own as he thinks on an answer. For a long time, he preferred to think of himself as the good guy in a sea of criminals. But things had changed. Now, he was just trying to make amends, and right his wrongs.

"I'm trying to be better. It's easy, here, without the influences I had at home," he replies, thinking back of Doc, and how he was like a second father, for a long time, until Baby's eyes were opened to exactly what sort of man he was. "I didn't realize for a long time, how bad it was."

He did, because Joe reminded him constantly, but Baby was good at denial, when he wanted to. Taking a deep breathe, Baby looks down for a moment.

"It's just... complicated," he says, softly, wishing he'd found a way already in how to explain himself. "Before I got to Cadelle, I lost everything that made me who I am. So right now, I'm trying to find out who this new me is. I'd hope he's a good guy."

She's quiet when she listens, genuinely interested to hear his take on that question. The fact that he takes a moment to consider before actually responding to her suggests to Lydia that he's actually considering it before giving her an answer.

A small smile creeps over her lips as she looks back at him. "Well, I might not know you that well, but for what it's worth? He seems like a pretty good guy to me, so far," she tells him sincerely. It's true that she hardly knows him, but the fact that he wanted to consider his answer alone suggests thought as opposed to reflexive self-defense.

If he wasn't a good guy, he probably wouldn't have cared enough to ponder an answer before opening his mouth to give it. At least, that's what Lydia thinks. "It's scary, losing the things that make you who you are. That happened to me, too. I think it's the journey to the next person you're going to be that decides it. If you're trying to be a new you instead of instantly falling back into bad habits, then...you're already making an effort. It'll pay off with persistence. You might like the new Baby even more once you figure out who he is. God knows I like the new Lydia a lot more and so, probably, do my friends." Especially considering none of them were actually her friends until she embraced them as such when she essentially had to start over on the social ladder.

He smiles, but it's sort of reflexive. As she said, they don't really know each other. And while he truly believes and knows he has good sides, and there are commendable parts of him, the fact remains that he's done what he's done.

He's a thief, and a murderer. There's no other way to describe what he's done, and that is something he has to live with, every day of his life. It's something that keeps him awake at night, still, memories and thoughts and fears wrapped up in his head.

"I thought it'd be liberating, for me. It was supposed to be. It was supposed to free me," he says, looking up at the waiter as he brings them their food. He starts cutting the pizza up, breaking the egg yolk to spread over the rest of the toppings. "It didn't, not really. Instead, now, I just feel guilty for how things went down."

For a moment, Lydia pauses thoughtfully. Guilt, she understands. Entirely too much. Lydia will forever blame herself for Allison's death, even if she's gotten better at pretending that she's moved past that feeling. Maybe she should be taking her own advice, she can't help thinking, as she speaks.

"Maybe you're just supposed to make up for it. You can't change what you did, but maybe you can repent and move on. Be a better person now and do nice things for people; volunteer your time to a good cause once in a while. Maybe you don't have to feel guilty forever if you can make up for it," she suggests gently.

She shrugs then. "But I don't know you, again, so I'm not going to assume. I like to think that we can be redeemable if we want to be, though. People, in general, I mean."

"Do you think so because you want to be redeemed, yourself?"

It feels like a fair question, and he doesn't say it unkindly, just curious. When she was talking about herself, it was all about her accomplishments, while his side turned quickly for the more personal, the stuff that hurts, still, right now. If he's going to share, he'd like her to share, too.

"I'm trying to make up for it. It's why I'm here at all, really," he adds, looking down at his plate. It wasn't about the casual sex and the dating. It was all about making amends, for himself and the people he'd hurt, the people he'd left in his wake. People like Debbie and Joe, who deserved better than to be associated with someone like him, who just kept on bringing them grief. He had to make it worth it, for them.

"It's just a work in progress."

For a moment, Lydia doesn't answer, but her chin lifts in a non-commital half-nod. It's not fair for her not to answer that question when he's been so open with less savory information about himself than he probably would've liked on a first date. "Probably, yes," she agrees after a moment, pressing her lips together. "I wasn't good enough or fast enough...and I was weak, and because of me, my best friend was killed. So yeah," she says quietly, calmly, because if he's going to be honest and open then so is she. "I'd like to think that I won't have to suffer the guilt of that for the rest of my life, especially because I know she wouldn't want me to."

It's why she's volunteering giving the self-defense class as the women's center. Allison would've done that and now that Lydia knows how, she's doing it. Beyond that, on a bigger scope, it's why she's here. Her wish is for Beacon Hills to be a safe place again. Maybe it never had been, but no one told her that she needed to change her wish, so Lydia is inclined to think that they're willing to grant it if she's here long enough doing what she needs to do long enough.

...it's also why she's signed herself up for this match thing, even though if you ask Lydia, she doesn't need any help getting laid. Maybe this way, because she's participating in a community thing on top of connecting with another person and, if she's especially lucky, also getting laid instead of just going off and doing it on her own, she'll get brownie points, so to speak.

"Me too," she says with a small smile that falls short of her eyes when Baby looks down. "That's why I'm here, too, I mean. So at least you're in good company with the works in progress, huh?"

Baby lets the surprise of Lydia's revelation sink down through his head, down his spine, through every cell in his body as he takes it in. It's not what he expected, nor something he's entirely sure he believes - guilt can do quite a number on people, and Baby has no idea if this is Lydia punishing herself, or if she actually is responsible. But he knows the feeling - not that he regrets the worst thing he's done, but the people that were affected by it, indirectly. That he regrets.

He never wanted Darling to get hurt, or Buddy. Or Doc. It was all about Bats, and how he had been the one threatening Debbie, and Joe. How it was Bats, or Baby. Everything else... everyone else that got caught in the whirlwind of Baby's choice, he regretted. He'd never meant for it to go down that way.

"I'm not sure how much of that is true, and how much of it is you, blaming yourself. But I've come to realize, being here, that you might not ever forgive yourself, but you might come to accept what happened. I think that's what I'm trying to do, now. Because I know I'll never fully forgive myself for what I've done."

"It's probably a healthy mixture of both," Lydia confesses, wetting her lips and looking down again, shrugging a little. Allison wouldn't have been out there at all if Lydia hadn't managed to get herself kidnapped by the nogitsune. She wouldn't have been out there fighting to begin with if she weren't trying to save Lydia. But Lydia doesn't blame herself for that as much as she blames herself for not being able to communicate more clearly to Allison why she needed to stay away. She would've died to save her best friend...but Allison beat her to the punch.

"You're probably right, though. If I can leave her with acceptance, I'll take it." A soft sigh escapes her. "Well this got dark real fast, didn't it? Sorry about that. That definitely wasn't my intention," Lydia apologizes with sincerity.

From the way things are going, Lydia would have to guess that this is not going well. It's probably the worst attempt at a date she's ever been on, if the aim is specifically to either go home with him or take him home with her. If she wants to look at it in the way she'd tried to talk Spencer into looking at it — as an opportunity to get to know someone new and maybe make a friend — maybe she's making decent progress.

She's about to ask if he wants to just get out of here when their food arrives. Lydia takes that as a sign to change the subject and see if there's any salvaging this thing. "What else do you like, besides music, I mean?"

Honestly, Baby is more than happy to switch topics. It's too personal, too fast, asking for him to think back on too many things he hasn't yet dealt with entirely. So when Lydia switches to something else, Baby jumps on it, shedding the previous topic, sitting more comfortably as he eats some pizza.

"Driving. Which might be obvious, I guess, but I really do love it, it's not just a job."

Baby looks up from his plate; talking's never been his forte - words don't come to him easily, which is why he often relies on other people's words to make himself understood. But since arriving in Cadelle, he's been making an effort, trying his best to talk more. It was easier with some than with others, of course, but he was getting there. Coming out of his shell. Because people, here, didn't want to use him.

At least, he had to hope.

"I like... movement," he says, slowly, like he's reluctant to say it, because it doesn't make sense to many people. "Music, driving, dancing, the seasons."

He looks down, something sheepish about his expression.

As she chews another bite, Lydia shakes her head with a facial shrug pulling down the corners of her mouth. When she swallows, she responds, "not necessarily obvious. If you felt like you had to do it, you could've just been doing it for survival and not because you liked it, but that's cool. At least maybe that made it a little easier," she suggests hopefully. Maybe he didn't like his old life, but if he likes driving and that was a huge part of it, at least maybe not everything was awful. It's what makes her life better, loving the people in her pack; loving her mom. The pack and her mother make it so that not everything is awful. Maybe driving does that — did that — for Baby.

She smiles a little as she lifts her pizza, but pauses before taking a bite. Lydia's eyebrows lift slightly. "I like that," she says, because she does. She likes the way he positioned that: movement. "You don't like things to stagnate, I can get behind that. I'm the same way. It's not just movement, it's also change. That's important, otherwise things can get boring or, worse, lonely."

That's another little share about herself, but she doesn't come out and say so in so many words. It's nice to be surrounded by the pack, but right after Allison died, Lydia thinks that maybe she did too good a job acting like she was "just fine" because she felt like she was alone in a crowded room most of the time when she'd been with them. No one had seemed to notice that she had fallen completely apart right in front of them. And that feeling hung on her heavily for what felt like forever, never getting better or worse, just stagnating, and she knew the feeling of loneliness settling in because things didn't change.

...but then the Dread Doctors came, bringing horrible change, but change all the same, and it had helped Lydia to move forward. Not in the way she would've chosen, but she reconnected with the rest of the pack in a way they probably hadn't noticed she'd needed to. So she gets that, too, in her own way.

"I love the change of the seasons the most, especially winter into spring. It kind of, like...breathes new life into everything. It always feels like you get to start over. ...I'm not sure why I feel that way, but it's nice. You know? Plus, driving...I do that to clear my head sometimes. Just drive until I nearly run out of gas..." She used to do that with Allison, too, music blaring, dancing and singing along in their seats. Lydia's claimed that back as her own after Allison's death, because it had been before she'd met the other girl, but she does sometimes miss having her best friend there to partake in the fun with her. "We should road trip sometime. Just for fun. Not really go anywhere in particular, just...drive all day, stay the night somewhere, then turn around and come back. I used to do that with Allison," she says with a fond smile.

"Yeah, change is a part of it. I think for a long time, I was stuck in the same patterns, a rhythm that got comfortable," as wrong as that rhythm was. It was leading to something, to Baby being free of his debt and the criminal life he'd been forced to lead. He remembers, when it all first started, he'd wanted it. For a short amount of time, he'd been so angry that crime felt like the right thing to do.

It hadn't lasted, of course. "I was still moving, but it was like I was going around in circles. It's better now. It feels more worthwhile."

Now, he drives because he loves it. Because he loves the feel of a car around him, loves the control and the power and the ease, loves kicking an engine up a gear and feel it roar. He loves the speed and how he can do incredible things with it. For plenty of people, it might be shallow, but to Baby, it's like a metaphor to his life. Everything had been going by so fast, for years, he'd barely been able to hold it together. But now, he's the one in control. And for someone who hasn't had control over his own life for years, it's important.

"Do you want to talk about Allison?"

A hum of understanding passes Lydia's lips as she chews another bite. She knows that feeling; that of going in circles. It doesn't feel like forward motion, so it doesn't necessarily feel like motion at all. Lydia's been there, too. What she doesn't expect is for him to turn the conversation so abruptly and the question feels like a sucker punch to the gut.

Lydia realizes suddenly that...nobody has ever asked her that question. Not her mother, not her friends...not even Allison's father. Nobody has ever asked Lydia if she wants to talk about it. So, she might look a little bit confused and taken aback as all of that registers and she swallows her mouthful of food only to pause for what feels like forever.

Wetting her lips, she clears her throat. She'd shared a little bit with Spencer, but he hadn't asked. She'd just shared.

"Nobody's ever asked me that before," she confesses, her lips pursing together in thought. "...she died to save my life. She died because I couldn't defend myself. Or maybe because I wasn't convincing enough warning her to stay away; I don't know. I don't know if I'm ever going to forgive myself for that, but I'd really like to. Someday. You know?"

This is literally the most depressing date of all time. Lydia's pretty sure they're breaking records right now, but maybe she'll at least get a friend out of it.

It's not the most flirty date ever, for sure, but at least, the conversation is interesting. It's not empty, 'where are you from's' and 'what do your parents do'. It's a real conversation, and Baby is invested, now, feels like there are stakes and that this is important. Not only for him, but also for Lydia, because it's obvious she has a lot she wants to let out.

"I don't know the story, and I'm not going to assume I do. But Allison, she made her own choices, right?"

What he's trying to say is that it's not on Lydia, if she made the decision to go, even having been warned. It's just... some people's ways. Heroes.

A wry smile crosses Lydia's lips, even though it falls away from her eyes as they flicker to the tabletop, and she nods, a soft huff of amusement escaping her. "Oh God, you couldn't tell Allison anything," she says with a sad sort of fondness, her eyes shifting up to meet Baby's a moment later. "She was probably the most stubborn and headstrong person I knew. But if I'd been better, I could've been fighting beside her instead of needing saved," she says, shrugging.

It's too late now. Would've, could've, should've never got anyone anywhere and Lydia knows that much. That doesn't make it any less frustrating a pill to have to swallow, though, after the fact.

"I get what you're saying, though, and I appreciate that sentiment. It's one I've been trying to sell to myself ever since it happened. I take a lot of responsibility for it, though, because I didn't just know she died, I—"

Lydia stops abruptly, frowning slightly and clearing her throat. It felt good to tell Spencer what she really was. This date is not ending in sex, she can kind of already tell, so she might as well see if it also feels good to be that honest and open with Baby. He's listening, after all, isn't he? She can see that he's engaged in the conversation.

"I literally felt it. I knew she was going to die. You know how I said I have tinnitus? It's voices in my head. I'm a banshee; I predict death. The voices are a low buzz all the time, but when someone's going to die, they get louder and I can hear what they're actually saying. So I knew and I couldn't stop it. There was nothing I could do because I couldn't fight back then. It's just a lot to carry, sometimes," she says. Then, she wrinkles her nose. "And now that I've probably sufficiently freaked you out..." she adds loftily, looking apologetic as her voice trails off.

"No," Baby's reply is sharp and intense, very, very heartfelt. "It's not on you. You can't live your life like this."

He'd know, because he does the same thing. And if he was to apply the same logic to himself, maybe his thoughts would be very different from what they currently are. But their circumstances are different, too. Baby has to live with his own choice of killing Bats. Lydia didn't drive into a pole to skewer her friend.

But then Lydia keeps going. Talks about what she can hear, sense, what she knows, her powers. Baby sits back again, his appetite mostly gone by now; not because of what she's saying, although he does feel overwhelmed by it.

"I can't even imagine what that's like. I'm sorry, that must be... awful. I still don't think it means you are responsible for everyone around you, though, Lydia. That's too much to bear, for anyone."

Baby's only telling Lydia exactly what she's been trying to tell herself all this time, however unsuccessfully. It's nice to hear it from someone else, though, admittedly. Lydia doesn't talk about Allison much, if at all, so this whole conversation is kind of foreign to her. Not in a bad way, but just generally speaking.

His reaction isn't actually very surprising. It's hard to explain what she is and what she can do without getting a similar reaction. Spencer had been a bit of an anomaly, she thinks, considering he was more fascinated with the science of it than most people would've been. She gives Baby an apologetic look; one that tells him she knows it's a lot to take in and she's sorry.

"It was," she admits. "It was really awful back then when I didn't know how to use it. Now, I know better. Now, I can use it to help people. But back then? Yeah, it was pretty awful," she agrees with a small frown. "I try not to take responsibility for everyone, but...well. It's just harder to shrug it off when it's Allison. She was my best friend. ...she was my first best friend," she tells him. The truth is, Lydia had been a Queen Bee, so she'd been popular, but she'd never had a best friend until Allison had come around. She'd mainly had acquaintances or boyfriends. Allison helped Lydia grow into the person she is now and she's sure any of the people she's met here so far wouldn't like her much at all if she was still her old self. So knowing that she potentially could've saved her friend, it's hard not to hold herself accountable for her shortcoming.

But being here is important. She's here to get her wish, a wish that would make Beacon Hills safe again; one she's wishing because if she can't save Allison, maybe she can save everyone else and then Allison won't have died for nothing. "It's getting easier over time. But that's probably enough about me..."

"It's okay to grieve," Baby replies, voice soft. "But you shouldn't feel guilty that you've survived, and she didn't. It's not your fault."

It's the kind of thing he'd say, over and over again, to anyone under the same circumstances. It's the truth. It's not Lydia's fault that she lived through whatever she and Allison went through.

"If anything, you might want to try and live your life to an even higher tempo, to make up for the fact that she can't."

Shrugging, Baby looks down at his empty plate, then back up at Lydia. He's still not really good or comfortable in talking about himself - it's not something he has much experience in.

"Honestly, there's not that much else to say about me..."

"You say that," Lydia says, "but it's easier said than done. She's been gone a while now and being here is the first time I've had time to...and now I've just spent so long pretending to be okay, I'm not actually sure how to grieve," she confesses, looking thoughtful and concerned, somehow, all at once. And Baby can say until his face turns blue that she shouldn't blame herself, but Lydia can only actually stop doing that when she's ready and has gone through the grieving process properly. Therefore, she just nods and leaves it alone, deciding not to argue the point for the sake of arguing. He means well and she appreciates it. That's good enough.

But the latter bit, that makes Lydia smile a little and she nods again. "Yeah, that's kind of the idea. I mean, being here. Part of it is the wish, to pay forward her sacrifice for me the only way I know how. The other part is to live life as fully as I can because she never got to, so now I'm living for two of us."

She pauses and smirks a little in spite of herself. "Which is why I was sort of planning on taking you home tonight and having so, so much sex, but I'm not sure that's going to happen considering this is probably the most depressing date of all time," she replies with a hint of amusement at herself. Hey, admitting it is the first step to accepting it: this isn't a good romantic date and Lydia's failed at something sexual for the first time...ever.

It was bound to happen eventually.

"You want to get out of here? Go for a drive or a walk or whatever?" she offers, instead.

When Lydia nods, Baby takes the hint. He's not entirely useless at human interaction, after all, and he's spent a long, long time observing people in his life. So he nods, and moves on from the harder parts of their conversation, not exactly disappointed to be talking about something else.

Not that he expected what she says next. While she was quite obvious on their drive to the restaurant, her mention of having so, so much sex still makes him choke on the mouthful of coke he just attempted to drink. He pounds on his chest a couple of times, knowing he must be bright red - he is just hardly used to such brazen, unashamed talk, even after months in Cadelle.

"Um," he says, intelligently, before gathering his thoughts. It's not that she's not gorgeous, or fascinating. But he's done the one-night stand thing, here, and he's done the fuck buddy thing, here, and they weren't as satisfying as Baby thought they would be. He thought this is what he wanted - no strings, a bunch of fleeting moments to make up for the heartbreak. Turns out, he isn't sure if what he needs isn't, simply, support and friendship. "Don't get me wrong, Lydia - you are absolutely beautiful, and the date wouldn't stop me, but. I'm still getting over... something. Someone. And I thought this was what I needed, but I'm realizing I was wrong."

Still, at her offer, he nods.

"Let me pay, and then we sure can."

Lydia's lips press together to keep from laughing, just for a second at his initial response, before she collects herself and apologizes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to...I didn't notice you were taking a drink," she says honestly. She would've waited a few seconds so that he didn't choke on his Coke. Oh well, no harm done, she supposes, since he goes on talking.

A small smile crosses her lips and Lydia looks down. A moment later she looks back up again and she's nodding. Somehow, she'd rather him figure it out now than use her and figure it out later. Not that Lydia's never used someone to try to get over someone else. She had a veritable parade of boys in her bed when Jackson left for London and hadn't ever called. Now, she knows, there was more to it than him just moving on from her and Beacon Hills, but it learning that didn't make it hurt any less in retrospect. She'd used sex to try to distract herself from the world around her; she wouldn't have been able to fault Baby for doing the same thing, with her, if they'd gone to bed. Hell, she likes him well enough for a first meeting, but she hardly knows him. To some degree, she'd have been using him, too, and Lydia doesn't like being a hypocrite.

"I get it, I've been there, too," she says. "And thank you, for the record. If you ever change your mind or you end up over the someone...you know where to find me," she adds gently. It's an open invitation because of course she's attracted to him, but Lydia Martin does not beg nor does she wait around. If Baby's interested later and she's still unattached, they can revisit this. If not, then oh well. It isn't the end of the world for her and she thinks it probably won't be for him, either.

Lydia shakes her head and lifts a hand to beckon the waiter. "We can split it," she counters. It's not really a date, anymore, she thinks. They've moved past date and onto two people just hanging out. There's no reason for him to have to pay her way. "Friends split the bill," she tacks on with a wink.

Friends, she says, and maybe it's too early for them to call each other that, but it's more accurate than to consider this to be a date. It isn't, not really. So he nods, going for his wallet.

"Honestly, right now... I think friends is what I need the most."

He thought he should try and flirt with everyone around him. Should try to just fuck and move on. But he knows, he knows it's not the person he is. He's too much of a hopeless romantic. He's too much of a sap. While he enjoys every moment he gets to spend with Jo, he knows the relationship is not one meant to last - at least not the sexual part of it. He knows that it's just not the kind of person he can make himself be, and they've talked too much about Baby finding out who he is, exactly, for him to compromise that.

"But... noted. I'm sorry if this date didn't end up very satisfying for you."

Lydia shifts to get her purse so that she can pay her own half once Baby agrees. She'll just feel a lot better about this whole thing if he doesn't treat it like a date since they've sort of blown that portion out of the water. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Lydia likes to think Allison would've gone about things differently than Lydia herself is going to and so while she's decided she's living for the both of them, it's not the worst thing in the world if things don't go Lydia's way. This is a good example of a positive compromise, in her opinion.

"Don't feel bad," she says, shaking her head. "I don't. I think we both contributed to the tonal shift of the conversation, so it's okay. Besides...I'm always in need of friends," she adds. Especially friends that she hasn't bonded with specifically through tragic or traumatic circumstances. It'll be nice, she thinks, to cultivate these sorts of relationships, like the one she has with Spencer. Lydia decides Baby probably belongs in a similar file and it's never a bad thing to make a new friend.

Her eyes move over his face and she takes him in for a moment. "So what do you think? Drive?" She can guess that he'll choose driving over walking, but Lydia is honestly amenable to either. He can choose and then they can head out.

Baby gives a little shrug, his smirk a little sheepish.

"I'll always pick driving over walking," he answers honestly, leaving half of what's owed by the check, before standing up.

Overall, despite some weird moments in the conversation, Baby isn't mad about the evening. It's been a nice time, and they've talked through a lot, managing to bond even through a difficult conversation. At least, it wasn't superficial, and he has to appreciate that.

"Driving it is, then," Lydia agrees with a warm smile as she places the other half of their check on the table with a tip in addition.

Lydia packs her purse up again and pushes herself to her feet. "Shall we?" she asks and while she'd normally hold out an arm with a coy little grin, instead Lydia just nods toward the door. Not all is lost, at least. Maybe a friendship can be built here instead.

"Ready when you are."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT: SWIPER, NO SWIPING!

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