"Oh?"

He shakes his head. "Sometimes I just feel like I'm some trouble magnet or something. I'm not complaining, see, I like leading an interesting life."

"I'm pretty content with my reasonably boring life, personally."

"Really? Then I suppose you won't want to go out for dinner with me tonight."

She pauses in the middle of setting down her milkshake, studies him for a moment, then slowly completes the motion.

"Well. And what does James Orland the Eternally Single Adventurer want with a humble baker like myself?"

"To get both of us some free breakup chocolate and, who knows, maybe more."

"I'm not sure that answers my question," she says, taking another slurp of milkshake without breaking eye contact.

"Doesn't it? I think it does, but you're free to ask for clarifications."

"Why? Why me, why now?"

"Those are both very good questions. You're extremely charming, I like you a lot, and I'll answer the last one only if you say yes, and only after the date."

...she puts her milkshake down so she can cross her arms and glare at him. But she keeps smiling, so it's not much of a glare even so.

"...Fine," she says at last. "If the answer turns out to be 'so I can introduce you to my collection of taxidermied ex-girlfriends', I have at least two friends you've never heard of who'll know where to send the police."

This was a bad moment for him to be sipping coffee again. He sporfles but manages not to spill any coffee; instead, he chokes on it, and spends a few seconds choke-laughing at it, setting his coffee down and hitting his chest a couple of times. "I promise there's nothing like that," he says, then coughs some more. "Cross my heart."

She grins, sunny and cheerful. "I believe you!"

He grabs a napkin and holds it in front of his lips to cough some more, his eyes watering. "So," cough cough, "how about I pick you up here after your shift ends? Or do you want to go home first to get ready?"

"Depends how fancy a date you plan to take me on," she says, smirking.

"Sky's the limit, dear heart, unless you prefer I surprise you."

"Hmm." She thinks it over. "...Pick me up after work and don't take me anywhere where I'll be embarrassingly underdressed."

"As you wish."

She laughs. "And don't forget to hide the taxidermied ex-girlfriends."

"You will see no hint of them."

Giggle. "Good!"

He drinks the last of his coffee and grabs his untouched pastry. "Now I believe I should go to let you mock me to all your staff."

"You got it," she says agreeably. "See you at six-thirty."

"I will see you then!"

So he excuses himself and goes back to his apartment, eating his pastry on the way.

Successfully arranging a date with Valentina despite her suspicion of your motives has caused your SED to go up by 1!