[Loner]

"Wow, no kidding," Michael said, looking around at the packed parking lot in surprise. There had to be at least a hundred cars there, if not more. Apparently what he had heard about Khaavren's being the talk of the town was pretty accurate.

It took a few minutes of circling, but he finally managed to find a spot, and a short while later, they were being seated in what Michael would have called an exotic clash between a 1920's ballroom and what he thought a sultan's palace would look like. "Holy cow..." the young man muttered, his eyes wide. "This place is amazing," he added, sitting down on one of the many cushions scattered about, since that was apparently the extent of the seating.

[cashewmanz]

"I know, right? They've even said that if they make enough money, they'll occasionally update the interior for a new motif," Amy glanced about, eyes darting to every other table in the place. It was packed, and the wait staff looked frazzled. "It might be a bit of a wait, I guess," she said. Eventually, a waiter did come and ask for their drink preference. Amy requested water and asked what the cuisine's theme was tonight.

"Tonight's theme is Spanish, miss," the waiter replied.

"Ooh, Spanish food! I already know what I want to order!"

[Loner]

Michael beamed at the exuberance in Amy's voice - it never failed to warm his heart to see her in high spirits. After Amy had placed her order, he requested one of the specials of the evening, chicken verde, which a review column in the newspaper had highly recommended.

"So where are we going dancing after this?" Michael asked after they had got their drinks, but still a few minutes before the food arrived. "You never did tell me," he teased lightly, reaching out and putting his hand over Amy's. What with his exams recently, he hadn't had many chances to go on a date with his girlfriend over the last month, and he was in a playful mood.

[cashewmanz]

"We're going to Penny's Bar downtown," Amy said between bites of food. It was your general college bar, though it was slightly more upscale than the others, as it catered to the older students too. "I figured we had so much fun there last month, it'd be silly not to go again. But don't worry, the dancing isn't even going to be the best part of this night," she winked at him.

[Loner]

Michael raised an eyebrow as he dug into his own food with a ravenous appetite, curious as to what Amy meant by that. It had certainly been a lot of fun the last time they went, what with some of the new dance moves Amy had taught him, and he was looking forward to trying out what he'd learned again.

The rest of the dinner passed uneventfully, mostly broken into chunks with bits of laughter here and there as the two of them talked over what their plans were for the summer - Michael had been itching to go camping, but he wasn't going to try to force it on Amy if she didn't want to.

After the waiter had brought their check, Michael leaned back in his chair with a contented sigh and patted his stomach. "Wow, that was spicier than I'd been expecting," he said, glancing from his plate to his girlfriends. "How was yours?"

[cashewmanz]

"Delicious! Like I said, it's been so long since I've eaten this kind of food," Amy smiled as Michael glanced over the check. "Not too expensive, I hope," she said. Once they paid the waiter and left a nice tip, they got ready to go to the bar for drinks and dancing.

Amy was getting a bit more nervous as they got closer, though. Ever since the mugging incident, she'd felt horrible about concealing the whole truth from Michael. She'd never found a way to tell him, though. She had hoped that after a night out on the town, he'd be happy and loosened up enough to handle what she had to say. She kept her smile up the whole way there, though, trying to have a good time.

[Loner]

Penny's was a good half hour drive to get to, well on the other side of town, and by the time they got there it was just a little after ten - normally just a bit before Michael usually turned in for the night. But the company and conversation over good food, and his anticipation of being able to hold Amy in his arms as they spun around the dance floor was keeping a small but steady supply of adrenaline in his veins, and he squeezed his girlfriend's hand as they pulled into the parking lot a moment later.

Like Khaavren's, the place was packed to the brim, as would be expected at the beginning of the weekend, and even after managing to find a park, they had to wait in line for a while before they finally managed to get inside. Once inside, surrounded by thundering music on all sides, Michael turned to Amy and said with a grin, "Would you like anything from the bar?"

[cashewmanz]

"Well you know me, I don't need much..." Amy said, blushing. She'd always been irrationally embarrassed by her low alcohol tolerance. "Something light and fruity would be nice," she decided. The music was loud and you couldn't see the other side of the dance floor from where they stood--it was going to be difficult to move about, but so long as they had a few drinks, they could make anything fun.

[Loner]

"You got it," Michael said with a wink and a squeeze of her hand before gently pushing his way through the crowd over to the bar. For a second he thought about getting her a Long Island Ice Tea, but while it was somewhat sweet, it was also crazy strong, and the last thing either of them wanted was a hangover.

It took a few minutes to get the bartender's attention, but at last he had a Newcastle in one hand for himself and a Fuzzy Navel for Amy. Carefully squeezing between people as he made his way back to where he left his girlfriend, he glanced around with a faint smile at the strobe lights and the speakers that were blaring various soundtracks from Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' into the air.

That one would be fun to dance to.

When he reached the spot where he'd left Amy though, she was nowhere to be seen. Had he missed her in the crowd somewhere? "...Amy?" he called out hesitantly, looking around him.

[cashewmanz]

Amy had rushed to bathroom after Michael left. She was very nervous about what she had to tell him later, and much more about what she needed to do. It made her stomach feel uneasy, and the biological processes inside her body already nauseated her enough for this. She splashed some water on her face and looked at herself in the mirror.

"Amy..." she said to herself. "This will be okay. He may not take to the idea at first, but...he's the right person. The perfect person. And you'll take good care of him. You will." She took a few deep breaths and slowly walked back to their table.

[Loner]

Michael was just about to try giving Amy's phone a call when he noticed her walking back to their table, although she looked...anxious? Standing up, he pulled out a seat for her and asked with a smile, "Hey, is everything okay? I didn't see you when I was coming back from the bar, and I didn't know what happened to you." Sitting across from her, he put his phone away and looked around them. He'd never seen the place this packed before, and the ambient noise was almost to the point of being a roar.

"Would you like to dance?" he prodded gently, sensing that something had his girlfriend a little tense.

[cashewmanz]

"Yeah, I'm fine. My stomach was just a little uneasy..." she said as she saw the look of worry on his face. "I probably just ate too much at the restaurant, I'll be fine!" She explained with a smile as she reached to pat his hand. She took the drink he'd gotten her and took a quick sip. "This is delicious, by the way..." she suddenly found herself drinking the entire thing in a few large gulps, eager to have something to quench her thirst.

"Dancing sounds good...I'm in the mood now," she said as she raised herself from the booth and helped him up in turn.

[Loner]

The crowd was boisterous as they made their way out to the dance floor, weaving between couples and dance partners, urged on by thundering feet and the club's energetic atmosphere. Michael smiled as Amy looked back at him and winked, just a few moments before they stopped and she slipped into his arms. The music wasn't really one that he was accustomed to dancing to, but that didn't stop him and Amy from improvising - their hearts speeding up as they melded into each others embrace, spinning and twirling.

"I really need to take up yoga or something, you're way more nimble than I am," Michael murmured into his girlfriend's ear after awhile, spinning her out on his arm and pulling her back in. The scent of her shampoo tickled his nostrils, and he held her close to his chest as they swayed amongst dozens of other couples.

[cashewmanz]

"What can I say? It just comes naturally," Amy said as she bent back at the waist and wiggled her hips. "You're not so bad yourself, though, mister! Maybe later we can teach each other some new moves?" she asked slyly. They continued to move with each other, as quickly or as slowly as the song might dictate. Eventually, Amy found herself out of breath. "I didn't expect to be tired so quickly," she lied. "I think I'm about done here...how do you feel?"

[Loner]

"Wearing out faster than I anticipated," he said, offering her a faint smile. To be fair, Michael hadn't expected to run out of air quite so fast - he was quickly beginning to appreciate just how fast dancing could take your breath away. There were still couples enjoying the pulse of the dance floor around them, but the energy, while contagious, was fading.

"We can turn in if you want," he replied, somewhat breathlessly, giving her hand a quick squeeze. "It was more of a workout than I thought it would be," he added, giving her a quick kiss as they made their way back to their table. And it had been too; for while Michael didn't consider himself out of shape, dancing was only a few hairs below some of the karate classes he remembered taking during high school - very intense, and a lot more aerobic than he would have otherwise thought.

Still very exhilarating though - in some places more than others. Sipping the last of his beer after they'd made their way back to their table, even though it had warmed somewhat, he offered his arm to his girlfriend, and eyed the door. "Your place or mine?" he asked, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face and offering her a chaste kiss. "It looks like it's getting close to closing time, so we need to go somewhere."

[cashewmanz]

Amy savored Michael's kiss as long as she could--she wasn't sure how things were going to go tonight and wanted to enjoy him. When they broke apart, she took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. "I want to take you back to my place...I've got some things there that I hope you'll like..." she kissed him again as they stood up to leave.

The drive back to Amy's apartment didn't take long, it was only over a few blocks. Though with the distance to Khaavren's from her place, it had felt like they'd gone nearly out of town that night. It was a decently large building--15 floors, and Amy lived on the very top. She'd lucked out on her apartment when she bought it. For some reason, it hadn't sold like the other floors, so the price had been dropped numerous times to attract tenants. She chose not to ask too many questions about it, because it served her purposes just fine.

Amy fumbled the key into the lock and opened the door to her dimly lit apartment. The first room inside was the kitchen, while a living space was further back by the windows and balcony. Her bedroom was off to the side. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, I'm going to get myself changed, too," she brushed his arm as she went to change to excite him a bit.

[Loner]

Resisting the urge to pull Amy into his arms and kiss her, Michael let her go and wandered into the kitchen, grabbing a bottled water from the fridge and taking a few thirsty gulps. The combination of alcohol and dancing had left him parched, and as the cool water flowed down his throat he sighed contentedly. "I wonder what she was referring to when she said she had some things she hoped I'd like," he said quietly as he collapsed onto the couch and leaned back into the cushions.

He was briefly tempted to turn on the TV and start surfing, but decided it would be insensitive, so he instead wandered over to a nearby bookshelf and started perusing. Amy's interests in literature ran far and wide, spaced out occasionally by some of the books that he'd bought her, like a few of the novels of the Dresden Files. Grabbing one of the later books, he settled back onto the couch and let his mind drift between reading and daydreaming.

The dancing earlier had been just as much fun as he'd hoped - they'd even had a brief chance to try out the Charleston step they'd been practicing at home. The feel of Amy in his arms, the smell of her shampoo tickling his nostrils...yes, he was most assuredly looking forward to going back in a couple of weeks.

Glancing up as Amy made her way back into the living room, Michael got to his feet and walked over, setting the book down on the kitchen counter and wrapping an arm around her waist. "You look great," he said, his eyes tracking over her and the clothes she'd slipped into.

[cashewmanz]

"Oh, in this old thing?" Amy asked as she twirled around in a sheer nightgown. "You're too kind, mister." She sat on his lap and snuggled up to him. "Listen...there's some things that I've been meaning to tell you. About what happened a few weekends ago...and..." she blushed and looked downward in embarrassment.

The nerves were almost too much for her to handle. She'd practiced what she was going to say for weeks but still wasn't prepared. She looked into Michael's eyes, her own starting to well up as she contemplated his anger. "I love you, Michael...I do. But I haven't been completely honest with you. I'm...I'm not from here."

[Loner]

Wrapping his arms around her, Michael gave her a comforting smile. "I love you too. I kind of figured that you weren't from around here - I never could place your accent. Is it the East Coast, or somewhere out of the country?" he asked, one hand rubbing slow circles on her lower back. Amy didn't have anything to be afraid of, he'd told her before that he wouldn't judge her.

Family reunions might get a little complicated if she grew up outside of the country, but that was okay - he was always open to new cultural experiences. "Just a heads up though, I may pester you for samples of the local cuisine at some point," he murmured, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear and giving her a chaste kiss.

[cashewmanz]

"No...not like that..." Amy whispered as she looked up at him. "Ugh, why do you have to be so cute and innocent?" She pushed him away half playfully. She took a deep breath and looked back at her boyfriend, who had not for a minute shown any falter in his caring eyes. She knew she could do this. She knew he'd still love her. She hoped he would.

"Michael...I meant the planet. Earth. I wasn't born here. I was born on a planet far from here. I'm...well to you I'm an alien. I'm sorry, but I...I lied to you. My real name isn't even Amy!" She cried out as she started to sob.