She walks into the restaurant her legs shaking. 'Will he be here? Will he stand me up? How do I look? Is this really happening? How will I talk to him? What will I say? What does he want from me? I'm not beautiful or charming or anything. What is really going on?'

Then he sees her and stands up, slowly glides to her side at the hostess desk and takes her hand. He guides her silently back to the table. He slips her jacket off and pulls out her chair.

They both sit.

Looking across the table he says to her, "You look lovely tonight."

She slowly lifts her eyes to his, "uhm thank you my dress is new." She swallows the large lump in her throat and picks up the glass of water. Hastily drinking half down.

"Aliss, I told you before, nothing to fear here. I like you and want to get to know more about you. Now tell me, what do you like to do with your time?"

She looks at his unbearably handsome face, blushing. "I read a lot, watch movies, play with my cat. Sometimes I go out with Janice but not that often."

"I was wondering about your friend; you are two very different women. Its curious that you have a friendship with someone so different from you."

The waiter walks over to the table. "Do you need more time?"

"No, we will start with the crab cakes with the remoulade, I'll have the salmon and she will have the cobb salad." He ordered with confidence and without asking Aliss what she wanted. This was impressive and Aliss took notice.

"Now, where were we? Ah yes, you were going to tell me about your first boyfriend." He winked at her.

His teasing started to relax her a little bit. She avoided answering and instead talked about her work, a bit about her family and her interests in books, the types of movies she liked and of course, about her cat, Keanu.

He showed genuine interest in her conversation and started talking about his schooling, his friends and his interest in pursuing a career in medicine, particularly his dreams of being a coroner. Ideally for this police department. His interests in solving crimes with the evidence left on the bodies intrigued him.

Aliss was shocked at this idea and the look on her face showed it. However, to each their own.
The meals came and the evening went on. Although Aliss had to be prompted to ask and answer questions, his ease and confidence made her open up more and more. He began to see her sense of humor peeking out and enjoyed it very much.

At the end of the dinner, they walked out to their respective vehicles. At hers, she turned to look at him. Without a beat he captured her face and kissed her gently.

Holding her close he says, "Next Tuesday I will take you Ice skating, be ready at 6 pm. I'll call you before and get your address. This time I am picking you up."

"Ok" was all she had the nerve to say.

He bent over to kiss her again. His gentle kiss soon became more passionate. Aliss had little experience with passion and was scared and shocked at the same time. She started to pull away when he gentled himself again.

"Aliss, you need to let yourself free. Enjoy all that I have to offer. Remember, you are safe with me."

The two started dating more and more. Mark usually picking the places and events. Aliss, not one to go against the grain, agreed and found herself enjoying her time with him. Eventually Mark was able to spend the night with Aliss and he discovered her virginity. After taking this, he found that she was slowly opening up all the sides of her personality. She wasn't always the prim and proper girl. She had a bit of a wild side that she kept in the sheets and off the streets. Soon enough Aliss was in love.