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Candace was actually thrown off by Dakota's mention of a hotel. It wasn't that she wouldn't, it was the fact that he said the hotel room as if he already had one prepared. "Seriously?" She was surprised, not annoyed or insulted or angry in any way. How did he get all of this done so quickly on such short notice?! Dakota was some kind of magic worker! She squeezed his hand, grinning again. "That's fine by me~." They could go back to Deus in the morning.

While Dakota spoke of his name he had Candace's undivided attention. So it wasn't his dad's name? Huh! Well then. Though when he spoke of his parents' situation her smile softened. She knew that feeling, though her parents were married and didn't split up. It wasn't a fairytale. But Dakota loved his family, he missed them. He'd become a Hunter to protect them and Candace gave him a lot of props for that. Her reasons had been much less selfless. "You can be pretty bad, but you've gotten better." Candace reminded him gently.

When the question was turned back on her there was no hesitation in Candace's answer. "No. Every now and them I miss things but...overall, not really. It was boring, average, nothing incredibly exciting and my family life was less than stellar. I didn't hate it but I wasn't very happy either. I loved my dad, but I hated my mother and my father, her lover on the side." Candace said this as simply as if she were speaking of the weather, picking up her glass of champagne to finish it and pour herself another glass before she picked up her bag. It was a larger bag than she usually carried, containing Dakota's Christmas present.

It had taken some digging, an entire day of her leave, but it turned out the internet was a very handy tool for finding what she needed. It brought up more search results than she thought it would. Thankfully Dakota had helped her more than he probably realized. "They don't like it when we cling to the past, I think." She said seemingly off-handedly, taking out a large manila envelope and opening it. She dug around for a moment until she took out a picture frame made to feel and resemble soft birch wood. Inside the frame was a girl, a girl who would probably be very familiar to Dakota. Very familiar. She was posing with a horse, smiling at the camera. Candace had seen some not-so-cheerful things on the girl's facebook involving missing her brother but..he deserved to see the happy things. "But something I like about where I am now is I can give the people I adore things that might mean a lot to them." The frame was set down on the table and joined by a second frame, the girl again now with an older couple and another older woman who resembled her. "I was worried at first they might not be the same family, you know? Facebook and the internet can only give so much. But..."

The hand against her cheek caught Candace off guard. It wasn't a touch she had been expecting right at that moment. Dakota's words got him a shy little smile, her cheek warming against his hand as she blushed and nodded. She was glad he hadn't tried to offer his deepest sympathies or anything like that. His face when he drank the champagne was a nice mood lightener for her, laughing and waving down a waiter to ask for a couple glasses of water. "I only drink champagne on special occasions. Weddings, Christmas, New Year's." She shrugged. It wasn't her favorite but it would do sometimes.

Candace watched Dakota like a hawk, remaining quiet for the moment. He looked happy, reverent even. She'd done well in her choice to try and find Dakota some more recent pictures of his family. When he spoke her name she sat up straight, watching Dakota come around the table to where she was sitting and allowing him to take hold of her head. She smiled, closing her eyes. "You're very welcome." The kiss was returned and she made no move to make it anything other than sweet and gentle. His promise made her giggle, tilting her head up to give him another kiss. "Deal. She's very lovely, and she misses you very much. They all do." While she wouldn't be giving the specifics he still deserved to know that his family missed him as much as he missed them. Candace never expected anything back in return for her gifts during Christmas, and Christmas was her only exception to doing things only for her own benefit. Though really it was hard to deny that seeing someone this happy because of something she did was really awesome. She caught Dakota's lips for one more kiss before she pulled her head back, smiling up at her date. "Would you like to sit beside me instead of across from me?"

Dakota moved to sit beside her and she leaned in to catch his lips for a kiss, her fingers brushing the underside of his chin and lightly holding it between her thumb and index finger. Yes, to an outsider they were just an affectionate and happy couple spending New Year's Eve together. "I'm glad I'm meaningful to you." She chuckled, kissing him once more. It did please her that he was so grateful for her gift, and even just getting to know her. It was nice.

"It's probably not advised in case it gets tracked to you, but I have no relation to you so I figure it's no big deal." Plus she'd deleted the history after getting what she needed. No tracking! Ha. She nuzzled her face into Dakota's cheek with a little smile, giving Dakota's hand a squeeze. He was so happy! Though the server's arrival did have her sitting up straight, chuckling at Dakota's quick choice on food.

"I'll have the bellevue lobster, and the duck fois gras." It had been a long time since she'd had duck. It'd be interesting. The server took note of their orders, retrieved their menus from them and left. Candace sighed and settled against Dakota again. "Thank you again for this, Dakota." Now to fill the time while waiting for their room.

Were they treating this like a regular first date? Candace refrained from commenting too much on that simply because if she did he might take her joke too seriously. Oh, Dakota. So simple, so sweet. She was quickly finding herself adoring the young man. "First date questions, huh?"

The first question got Dakota a laugh. Candace was not surprised. She picked up her glass of champagne with a playful little smile, her nails drumming lightly against the glass with a series of soft tinkling clicks after she set it back down on the table. "If this is our first date then perhaps I shouldn't let you find out. It wouldn't be proper~." Candace teased, her thumb rubbing light circles against Dakota's hand. "I'll let you try another question."

Candace had opened her mouth to playfully protest Dakota's just as he leaned in to worry at her neck. She giggled involuntarily, blushing with embarrassment over her immediate reaction and turning her head to kiss Dakota's temple. "Persuasion sounds like fun." He was going to just have her before, but now Candace kind of liked the thought of him trying to persuade her. She liked games.

His second chance question was...unexpected. She blinked. "In what context? I've gotta know why I'm picking one over the other, that's important." Duh.

Oh man, those were the terms? That was actually a tough decision. She could listen to Morgan Freeman all day, but Jackson was more useful. Sure, it was just his characters who were the useful ones but.. "Samuel L. Jackson. He's more durable, can hold his own in a fight, and I wouldn't be as heartbroken if I lost him. He'd go down fighting, it would be a moment of glory. I feel like Morgan Freeman would be the most tragic thing to watch, like punting a puppy." That was a fun question. Candace's were more personal than silly, she just wanted to know everything. She couldn't ever shake it.

"Hmmm...a cougar or a girl your own age?"

Well that was an unexpected answer. She'd been half expecting him to be like 'aw man a cougar would be so hot sign me up' or something. Dakota really did seem to be growing up from just a boy to a young man in the time she spent with him. Candace did some quick counting in her head when he brought up the age gap, suddenly pouting in Dakota's direction. "I'm too old for you." Oh, a year out of Dakota's decided age gap. How terrible. She was just being silly, really..but it'd be funny if Dakota took her seriously. H was...wow..H was almost twice her age. Sometimes she forgot that.. "Age isn't such a big deal sometimes. It helps if the person makes you forget they're twice your age.." And he was very good at that.

Candace looked toward the glass wall and out to the city below them, nodding in agreement with Dakota's words. The city below was very beautiful. "Not really. I told you I used to be a cheerleader but that was the only sport I actively pursued. I work out a lot more now though, kind of have to." She shrugged. "Do you have any hobbies outside of hitting on women? I've had a few people tell me I should pick up one." A hobby, Dakota. A hobby.

Candace was enjoying herself more than she thought she would. The conversation was interesting, amusing, and the company was pleasant. And the scenery was beautiful. It was even better from the top of the tower, she couldn't take her eyes off the glittering city below and around them until the fireworks started to go off.

She heard Dakota's voice beside her and felt him squeeze her hand, looking up at him with a warm smile. "Thank you for bringing me, handsome. C'mere." She gently pulled him close to her for a kiss. It wasn't how she expected she'd be spending her New Year's, or who she had anticipated it would be with, but she liked how it'd turned out. The woman draped her arms over Dakota's shoulders, grinning and leaning her weight into him. "You realize you're going to have to keep this up for the rest of our dates though, right~? You can't just start off with a bang and continue with a little fizzle." Candace was only teasing, even pouting her lips and leaning in close. "Though ending with a bang would be nice, too." He had promised he would try some persuasion from an earlier question, after all.