Hot Ginger: The 3rd Date

"Dark 'N' Stormy?" asked the waitress. Saoirse nodded and smiled. "And a pint of Guinness." she said, setting the drinks down on the table. "Are you ready to order?" she asked. They ordered their food. "The stones are heated to 450° and should stay warm for around 45 minutes. One stone will be enough for you to share but if you need anything just let me know." the waitress smiled and left.

"Cheers!" Neil said, holding his glass up.

Saoirse clinked her glass against his "Cheers!" she repeated, looking in his eyes before they each sipped their drinks. "Wooooo!" Saoirse breathed. "Never mind Dark & Stormy, that's Hurricane Ophelia. Taste that, it'll melt your face off!" she laughed, widening her eyes as she held her glass out towards him.

Neil held his hand up to decline. "Excellent start!" Neil chuckled. "I'm only having this one and then I'll change to fizzy drinks." he said. Saoirse nodded. "This'll be fun. Cooking your own steak on a stone." he said, rubbing his hands together excitedly.

"You get to feel like a caveman." Saoirse smiled. Neil stuck his chest out, lifted his arms up, beat his chest and stuck his chin out. Saoirse laughed. "Yep, you're there!"

Saoirse's phoned chimed. "Was that yours?" Neil asked, looking at his phone.

Saoirse nodded. "Yeah, it's either my sister or Eve." Neil frowned. "My notifications are personalised for people I text on the regular." she said.

"Evelyn from work?" Neil asked. Saoirse nodded. "If it's her tell her I said HELLO." he said.

Saoirse shook her head. "I hate people looking at their phones when you're out with them. It's a real bugbear of mine." she said. Neil frowned and nodded slowly, sliding his phone conspicuously from the table into his back pocket. Saoirse sighed a laugh. "If there's an emergency, someone can ring me but anything else can wait until I get home." she said, feeling the need to clarify.

"What if she's discreetly checking I haven't peeled your face off and made a lamp shade out of it?" he asked quietly, looking at her as he leaned his forearms on the table.

Saoirse's eyes widened. "As beautiful as that would be, Neil," she said sarcastically. "I haven't told her yet." she said gazing at him. "I haven't told anyone." He raised his eyebrows. "Don't want to get ahead of myself." she said with a small smile. "Dropped a pin in my group chat for personal safety reasons so no need to fret." she whispered exaggeratedly with a smirk. Neil sipped his pint and nodded as he held up his hand, indicating he respected what she'd said.

"Nah, I get it. Work and all." he winced. "Haven't been shouting about it myself." he said.

"I feel bad though cos it was Eve who told me that she thought you liked me." Saoirse said with a shy smile. Neil looked surprised. "I thought you were never going to ask me out!" she laughed. "Despite my feminist spouting, I did really want YOU to ask ME out." she said with an embarrassed laugh.

"I was just playing hard to get, Saoirse!" he teased in a low tone as he smirked at her. "Worked, didn't it?" He asked. Saoirse tried to hide a smile. "Nah, I haven't told anyone in my office either." he shook his head. "I've said I'm seeing someone, that's it. At least we're on the same page." he raised his eyebrows and looked at her. Saoirse nodded. They sat in silence for a moment and Neil gazed at Saoirse as she looked round at the restaurant decor. "You look gorgeous." he said in his low, soothing voice. Saoirse thanked him, smoothed down her blouse, looked at him and smiled before blowing him a kiss. She was about to return the compliment when she was interrupted.

The waitress arrived with their steaks and another waiter who brought the hot stone; the steam billowed above them as they put the hot stone in the middle of the table, set the dishes down and the theatre of the restaurant showed itself.

"Mm Mm Mm!" Neil growled as he threw the first piece of steak on his side of the stone. "Let's get it on!" he growled as his steak started to sizzle and cook quickly. He inhaled deeply and a smirk crossed his lips as he gazed at her. "Saoirse?" he asked in a low voice. She looked at him. "CAN YOU SMELL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKING?!" he growled in an impression of Dwayne Johnston.

Saoirse cringed, shaking her head gently. "Oh man, you've been storing that one up since I suggested this place!" she laughed.

Neil stuck out his tongue playfully. "It does smell good though!" he said. "Good call, Saoirse. Good call!" he said, reaching his hand across the table to fist bump her.

"Thank you!" she beamed. "I thought you'd like it." she smiled, looking at him as she put her fork into her mouth.

"How's your steak?" he asked as he watched her chew. She nodded and her face creased in enjoyment. "Juicy?" he asked.

She raised her eyebrows. "Moist?" she offered as she swallowed. He sniggered. "Speaking of... you look hot tonight. Very handsome, Neil." she said, as she fixed her gaze on him. Neil chuckled awkwardly, thanked her and his cheeks flushed as he glanced at her.

"Feels like we didn't really get to talk much last time we were out." she said, looking at him. "Doesn't it?"

"I think talking in the cinema is frowned upon." Neil said sarcastically. "They don't seem to like it when that happens."

"Is that why you chose it for the second date? So you wouldn't have to listen to me?" she joked.

"Well, sitting in the dark means you don't have to look at my ugly mug so we both win." he replied.

"I like your face, I like looking at it. It's very nice!" she grinned.

Neil laughed at her tone. "Thanks, I'm glad you think so. I like yours too. And your voice." he said with a small smile rippling his upper lip.

"How long have you been single?" Neil asked.

"Oh getting into the nitty-gritty?" Saoirse smirked at him. Neil smiled and shrugged with one shoulder. "Nearly 7 years would you believe!" she said, feeling strangely embarrassed. "Looooong time. Longest I've been single since I was 16 actually." she said, thinking.

Neil looked at her. "Nothing wrong with that. As long as you're happy, who's counting?!" he said.

Saoirse nodded. "Yeah I was until..." she started.

"Until just now? Hold on, TAXI FOR EVANS!" Neil interrupted, gesturing pretending to hail a cab.

Saoirse laughed. "No!" she said firmly. "Until a couple of years ago. I just started to feel..." she thought for a moment. "Lonely I suppose." she said timidly with a shy smile. "Just started to miss having someone to share things with. I have my friends but there's only so much you want to do with your friends, you know?" she said, looking up at him. Neil hummed in agreement as he ate his food. "Before that, I wasn't well for quite a while. I had to have surgery and I ended up in Intensive Care so I wasn't really in the market for a relationship." she said, looking down at her plate.

Neil looked up at her. "You were in Intensive Care?" he asked. Saoirse nodded. Neil sat up straight. "So was I." he said quietly.

Saoirse looked at him and her breath caught in her throat. "You were?" she asked. Neil nodded as he maintained eye contact with her. Saoirse felt a strange affinity wash over her. "How come?" she asked softly, looking at him nervously.

"I broke my neck." he said matter-of-factly.

"You broke your neck! How did you do that?" Saoirse asked, shocked. Neil said nothing and just looked at her. "Oh, sorry. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." she said quickly, getting flustered. Neil shook his head and waved his hand dismissively indicating he didn't mind. "What happened?" Saoirse asked again, softer.

Neil gave an irritated sigh. "I was trying to think of something funny to say but nah...eh...I was surfing. Hit my head off the bottom of the sea and *crack*." he said matter-of-factly.

Saoirse held her hand to her chest. "Oh my God! That's sounds terrible. What did that feel like?" she asked, realising it sounded like a stupid question.

Neil laughed as he looked at her. "Ehh it was sore!" he said. "Why were you there?" he asked. They had forgotten their food for the moment and maintained eye contact as they spoke.

"My appendix burst." she said quietly. Neil winced. "It caused problems with my kidneys and my bowel and I had to have a lot of surgery to try and fix it all." she said.

"Bet that was sore!" Neil said, looking at her intently. Saoirse laughed nervously and raised her eyebrows in agreement.

Saoirse nodded as she continued "So I'm a patchwork quilt of scars" she paused, unconsciously gesturing across her stomach "that I'm fiercely proud of." she said timidly.

"Offffttttt you weren't well at all." Neil said, blowing out a long breath.

"I nearly died." she said. "But I didn't - HURRAYYY!" she said quickly, trying to lighten the mood. Neil laughed quietly and shook his head. "How did they fix your neck?" she asked.

"Took a bit of bone from my hip" he said gesturing to his right hip "and put it in here... through the front into the back." he said, lifting his head and pointing to a scar just below his shirt collar. "See that scar?" he asked

Saoirse leaned in to look and nodded.

"Wow! That's amazing! I've never noticed before. Can I touch it?" she asked.

"CAN YOU TOUCH IT?" he repeated, outraged. "Nah!" he chuckled, pulling his collar up again.

Saoirse sat back and gave him an apologetic smile. "Wow! That's amazing! It's brilliant what surgeons can do, isn't it?" she asked. Neil nodded. "And how amazing our bodies are - actual machines!" she said firmly.

Neil lifted his pint, nodded firmly once and held his glass up. "I'll drink to that! Cheers to being alive and well." he said, sincerely. Saoirse clinked her glass against his and they sipped their drinks in silence for a moment. "So you definitely had more important things going on than whether or not you were single!" he chuckled.

"Yes!" she laughed. "How long have you been single?" Saoirse asked. They started eating again.

"Ehhhmmm...3 years ish." he said. "I've been on some dates that didn't really go anywhere. Well, they weren't really relationship type dates." he laughed awkwardly.

Saoirse smirked. "Yeah? Cruising that meat market of a hipster bar near City Hall?" she joked, gesturing in the general direction of the bar. Neil scrunched up his face and nodded. "Oh shit! I was only joking, Neil! Sorry!" Saoirse gasped.

"You're sorry?" he chuckled. "Think how I feel. Have you been to that place?" he asked with a laugh.

Saoirse shook her head. "No but I've heard it's a bit grim." she said.

"Super grim!" he said. "One night stand guaranteed and maybe an STD if you're lucky!" he joked.

Saoirse screwed up her face. "Thanks but no. I've never had a one night stand and I'm not about to start." she said.

Neil looked at her. "You've never had a one night stand?" he asked incredulously.

Saoirse frowned and shook her head. "No, I've never even kissed anyone I wasn't dating." she said. Neil's eyes widened and he stared at her. "Don't look at me like that, there's nothing wrong with that!" she exclaimed with a laugh.

"I know, I know there's not" he said apologetically. "but...really?!" Neil exclaimed.

"Yes, really! Why do people find that so odd or hard to believe?!" she laughed. "But now that you know that, and before you call me a frigid bitch, think about how lucky you were getting to kiss me on the first date!" she nodded and smirked. "I mean it's a bit different with you because we see each other at work every day but still." she said holding her palm out towards him.

Neil looked horrified. "Saoirse, I would never call you that! I'd never call anyone that!" he said sincerely as he leaned over the table towards her. "I'm not a total cunt!" he chuckled.

"Oh! Dropped the C-bomb already." Saoirse laughed as she put a forkful of food in her mouth.

Neil sat back slightly and pursed his lips. "Nah, you know..." he started, setting his cutlery down.

"I'm teasing, I'm glad we're relaxed!" she interrupted, reaching across the table towards him. Neil nodded as they looked at each other. "So, no, it's never appealed to me. I don't want to kiss someone I don't know. As for one night stands, I imagine the sex would be terrible. I don't want to be at my most vulnerable with someone I don't know and therefore can't trust. I just don't see the point." she shrugged.

"You've risen even higher in my estimation." he said with a smile on his face as he held her gaze.

"That'll be short-lived. You haven't fucked me yet!" she teased, sticking her tongue out playfully.

Neil's forehead furrowed and his mouth turned into a perfect O shape as he looked at her. "Feisty!" he whispered. Saoirse laughed. "When did you last have sex?" he asked with a smirk.

Saoirse hesitated for a moment. "With a man...?" she asked. Neil stared at her. "I'm bi." she said. "My last relationship was with a woman. I haven't had a boyfriend since I was in my early 20's" she explained.

"No pressure then?" he asked, pulling at his shirt collar in jest.

"Does it make a difference if it was a man or a woman?" she asked.

He tilted his head in thought. "No, not at all." he replied. "You didn't answer my question!" he teased.

She tilted her head as she looked at him. "Have you not been listening and taking notes, Neil?" she teased. "I have been single for 7 years and I don't do one night stands!" she giggled.

He stared at her. "You haven't had sex for 7 years?!" he exclaimed. "How?" he asked.

"Believe me, it's easier than you think!" she said dryly. "Anyway, I thought 'as long as you're happy, who's counting', wasn't that it?" she teased. "I don't fancy terrible sex with a stranger," she said. He raised his eyebrows and took a gulp of his drink. "So I have a wank - job done." she held out her arms in a shrug gesture. Neil coughed and spluttered as he swallowed his drink, his eyes watering and blinking as he looked at her. "Oh come on, you said the word 'cunt' not even 10 minutes ago. Piss off with your double standards!" she smirked.

He cleared his throat and held his hand across the table to fist bump her. "Respect!" he said, impersonating Ali G and smirking at her. She gave him a satisfied nod.

"When did you last have sex?" she asked.

He looked at his watch. "Hmmm!" he hummed in jest.

Saoirse sighed a laugh and rolled her eyes. "Earlier today with that waitress?" Saoirse suggested as they looked at each other. "Is that why she keeps looking over?" she asked, smiling with her tongue between her teeth.

Neil smirked and shook his head. "Nah, she's just admiring the stunner I'm having dinner with." Saoirse smiled with her lips pursed. "At least 6 months ago I last had sex." he said quietly, looking at his plate. "Before we were really..." he said urgently, looking up at her and gesturing between them with his hand.

Saoirse nodded "Properly flirting with each other in the kitchen you mean?" she asked. He nodded and they sat in silence for a few moments.

"So after being ill, do you have a different perspective on life?" He asked.

She nodded as she sipped her drink. "Yeah, I love quite specific things that I realise I would no longer experience. I get so overcome with emotion." she said, glancing at him and feeling embarrassed. "Sorry, I don't want to bang on about it, like some self-righteous, evangelical nutcase!" she giggled nervously. Neil shook his head as he gazed at her with an adoring look in his eyes. He tipped his head, inviting her to contine. "Ok...one thing that I absolutely love is the Starling murmurations." she beamed. Neil nodded and smiled. "You know that feeling when the sun is setting, people are making their way home from work, the sky is filled with this display and I just..." she sighed heavily as she looked down shyly and clutched her hand to her chest. "Well... it's one of my favourite things." She smiled and Neil nodded, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand.

The waitress approached to clear the table and returned with the dessert menu and they ordered.

"I still find it difficult to deal with the emotions I have around being in Intensive Care." Saoirse said. "How do you feel about it?" she asked.

"It's just hospital." Neil shrugged and she could see him thinking. He seemed dismissive but was looking around, avoiding eye contact which was strange for him.

"Hmmm yeah." she said slowly. "I suppose I was really sick..." she started.

"So was I!" Neil interrupted, defensively. "We were both sick just in different ways,

Saoirse." he sighed an awkward laugh and started fidgeting in his seat. "With the sports I do I've been in and out of hospital with that many injuries that it's almost normal now." he laughed nervously. A gulf of awkwardness stretched out between them for the first time.

"I know you were, I know you were sick, I didn't mean to sound like you weren't." Saoirse said timidly. She felt herself retreating, worried that she was offending him yet feeling like he was dismissing her.

Neil noticed her body language and softened his demeanor. "I dunno, Saoirse." he said softly, looking at her before looking away when she caught his gaze. "To me it's just hospital." he shrugged. "I mean, there is research into how being a patient in Intensive Care messes people up and stuff." he said, finally looking at her carefully.

"Yeah, Neil. It messes people up and stuff!" she said harshly as she nodded and repeatedly jabbed her chest forcefully with her finger as she spoke. "I've got PTSD." she said quietly.

"Right OK, I understand now. Sorry, Saoirse." he said sincerely, looking down and shaking his head slightly. There was a brief silence and Neil held out his hands in a small shrug gesture. "Have you been in hospital since..." he asked, looking up at her. Saoirse nodded and sipped her drink as he spoke. "You have? Oh right, OK. I see." he said. "I guess it's just circumstances and everyone experiences things differently?" he asked softly, raising his eyebrows. Saoirse nodded and smiled with her lips pursed as she thought.

"Did you have any problems because of your accident?" Saoirse asked.

"Eh... just a bit of paralysis down my right hand side..." Neil said, gesturing down his right arm.

"JUST a bit of paralysis?!" Saoirse exclaimed, knowing he was playing it down big time.

"Yeah but all good now!" he said quickly. "See?" he smiled, wiggling the fingers on his right hand at her in a wave. They were silent again for a moment.

"Thanks for talking to me about all that." she said.

"Nah, it's fine." he replied, concentrating hard on his plate.

"Can I talk to you about it again another time maybe?" she asked quietly. Neil nodded casually. Saoirse thought it best to change the subject. "Oh I forgot to tell you, I've got a new job." Saoirse smiled widely.

He looked up at her suddenly. "Are you leaving?" Neil asked, trying to hide his disappointment as his heart dropped.

"No, no it's the same job but a bit of a promotion, more responsibility. I'm managing the staff in the office on the ground floor but I'll still be in my same office." she said.

"Oh, Congratulations! Well done!" Neil said sincerely. "That's good." he said, more to console himself. "Do you have to sort out the fights about annual leave and stuff?" he asked with a smirk. "I would hate that!"

"No thank God! Seamus manages all the annual leave and things like that, he's the man for that job cos women in groups are bitches!" she sighed a laugh. Neil made a screeching cat noise. "You know it's true. Plus, they're all old enough to be my mum and they think I'm 21." she said.

"What do you do to motivate your staff then?" Neil asked, looking at her with a smirk.

"Show up periodically with a ghettoblaster playing Eye Of The Tiger and then just leave without saying anything." Saoirse said with a straight face. Neil laughed heartily which made Saoirse smile.