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It had been awkward trying to ask for advice on a first date, especially when all he had to draw from was his own circle of family. Their experiences, if not non-existent, were a bit...lacking.

In the end, he'd decided the best course of action had been to keep things simple, at least for now. It was pressure enough to be on an actual date for the first time without having to worry about meeting reservation times, juggling tickets, or fretting that anything pre-planned might not go off as he'd hoped.

After the rocky happenings of the last meeting they'd had, he felt they could both use a night alone to relax, get to know one another better, and have what he hoped would be a good time without any unforeseen troubles.

And so, he'd eventually settled on calling to ask her to dinner with coffee afterward and they'd play the evening by ear from there.

It had sounded simple and no-pressure enough. However, even now as he sat behind the wheel of his dad's car (which he'd borrowed with permission this time), Zhane realized he was still a little nervous. Nervous about WHAT, he couldn't exactly say, as he kicked the car into park and opened the door to step out and stretch a bit.

He had dressed up some, changing out his usual overshirt/T-shirt combination for a black silk shirt and a pair of dress slacks. This much, actually, had been Kendall's advice....he'd said this way if she overdressed, he would not look like a complete bum by comparison, and if she underdressed, he wouldn't look like an idiot.

His eyes flicked to his watch, confirming that she still had about fifteen minutes before they'd agreed to meet by the front gates and he decided to use the time to get some fresh air and try to shoo away the last of his jitters.

He had been on the third pass of an idle pacing he'd picked up in front of the Camaro's hood when he'd heard the gates shift open. He turned in time to watch Tinania step out and stop before him, which likewise made HIM stop short.

He didn't know what exactly he'd been expecting her to come out looking like, but she was....wow.

He lingered where he was a moment, the tip of his tail squirming uncertainly, and then approached her, putting a hand on her shoulder and leaning in to brush a kiss over her cheek.

"You look nice." he told her as he drew back again, smiling. The words of the compliment, though lacking, were backed by the warmth in his eyes as he looked at her.

At her words, a small bark of laughter escaped him before he could stop it and his face, like hers, reddened as he dropped his eyes away to look with terrible concentration at the ground for a minute before looking back at her.

Whether she was teasing or not, he couldn't say. But for the sake of keeping the evening light-hearted, he decided to take it as such for now.

"You wanna save some room for dinner, though, don't you?" he smiled, offering her an arm to walk her to the car.

Well, so far, so good....he'd not made an a** of himself right out of the starting gate. Even as the thought completed itself, he shook it away. It was going to be impossible to relax if he kept thinking like that.

His head rested briefly on top of hers as they sauntered to where he'd parked the car, moving to open her door for her.

"I figured we'd just let the night play itself out." he told her. "Have dinner, go someplace for coffee, and see what we feel like doing from there." He paused a moment, earfins pricking. "If that's all right, I mean....was there something you wanted to do instead?"

He figured he'd offer the option in case he'd planned a perfectly boring evening. But at least it was better than the first idea he'd had of taking her to the zoo, which Kendall had thankfully shot down as soon as he'd presented it.

"Dancing...?" he asked after he'd closed her door and crossed around to climb in the driver's side. "I....well, I suppose so." he said, giving her a smile as he fumbled the keys out of his pocket. "I've never been before, though, so you'll have to show me how."

The idea didn't strike him as too bad, honestly...dancing was one of those things he only did when he was by himself and probably looked like he was having some sort of epileptic fit so learning to do it properly wouldn't be unappreciated.

Starting up the car, he shifted it into drive and giving her one last smile, started them off officially on their evening as the secluded path was left behind them.

"Well, even if I don't, at least I'll have someone there to make it look good anyway." he smiled. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her hands fidget in her lap and along the hem of her skirt.

Keeping one hand on the wheel, he reached over to place his own over hers, giving her fingers a brief, reassuring squeeze. The cold of his palm wordlessly told her that he was feeling similarly, but that they'd be all right.

They arrived at the restaurant a few moments later as he pulled them into a parking spot. It was not a big place, and as it was early in the evening, the lot was not yet crowded, making a reservation needless.

"I wasn't sure what you liked, but I think this place has a little of everything." he said, looking to her as he reached for the doorhandle to let himself out and open her door for her.

He'd been about to assure her that he was sure they'd have both, but the words died on his tongue as she said his name. He faltered just a moment, and then shifted across the seat to kiss her softly.

He did not let it linger, though, as he pulled back to let himself out, and crossed over to sweep her door open, offering her a hand as he did so. He was not doing a very good job of hiding the fact he was practically glowing.

If a month ago someone had told him someone like Nani would even be giving him the time of day, he'd have written it off as a joke in bad taste.

He'd been loathe to let go of her, sharing similar feelings. Every time he was near her, he didn't want to leave her. Having never been attracted to someone before, he wasn't sure if that was how it was supposed to be or not, but he was sure of one thing -- he was happy around her, and he didn't want to ruin it by trying to pick apart the why's of it.

At her question, as they headed for the entrance, he chuckled. "Maybe a little." he told her, his mother's words coming back to haunt him about how he really ought to back his feelings by getting to know her better. "But I think we should just talk about whatever comes up." he relented, not exactly liking the idea of feeling the obligation to probe each other over what might turn out to be sore subjects.