The Second Date – Tyler tag Maggy

[Tyler Durnham]

Seeing how a girl’s house (where there were parents involved) was a place Tyler usually never had the need or inclination to visit for more than two minutes, all that was needed to pick up his current girl, two visits in two days, especially for the sake of a girl, and not even a popular girl at that, was a very generous deed to his mind. No one could ever disagree that the footballer wasn’t a gift to the female population, the things he went through for them. It was a worthy trade off though, he loved women, so it was only fair that they loved him as well. Maggy was different though, she was tougher to crack, the challenge Tyler had been craving. And the fact that she intrigued and interested him, while completely unexpected, made it more worthwhile.

And dammit, he thought to himself, he was genuinely starting to like her. Even the fact that he was reasonable sure he wouldn’t walk away from her at the end of the night with anything other than a kiss, given her past behaviour, didn’t deter him in the slightest. He would keep that information close to his chest, though he might feel the need to talk it through with Bree. She was a bit more caring then him, she might point out a better way for him to handle the band girl. Sloane didn’t need to know that his interest might actually be real, he didn’t need to provide her with more ammo, though he did enjoy their sparing matches.

Parking in front of his date’s house, he made his way to the already familiar front door, knocking loudly on it. He had been attempted to wear a suit, given where he decided to take Maggy. Then he worried that perhaps she might be uncomfortable if she wasn’t as dressed up. But he gave in to temptation, choosing a black Armani suit, with black shoes, dark blue shirt and black tie. His jacket remained in the back seat of his car, his compromise on dressing down.

[Magdalena "Maggy" Veloz]

Magdalena had, indeed, made an attempt to dress nicely for Tyler. Nicely, of course, meant a purple and black plaid dress with a corset, ripped tights and a fishnet and ribbon hat. Of course, as much as she found herself attracted to Tyler she could not bring herself to wear heels; she would remain with her comfortable, trusty boots, thank you very much! She knew her ensemble couldn't have been what the football player had in mind when he'd suggested fancy, but nevertheless she found herself hoping he would appreciate it. She smoothed her hands over her skirt nervously, glaring when her mother cooed over the delightful Durnham boy. Urgh. She almost wished she had rejected Tyler simply to annoy her mother! It didn't help matters that the older Veloz kept insisting that Maggy ought to wear something more traditionally feminine -- as if her daughter owned anything that would have fallen under that category.

Still, her mother's meddling accomplished one thing, and that was a sense of great relief at the sound of the door. "I'll get it!" She announced, for what was possibly the first time in her life. She stalked over to the door and wrenched it open, "You're here. Good.." She threw a glance behind her, at her mother, who began to invite Tyler in before Maggy flew out the door, slamming it behind her.

"She's being insufferable," Magdalena informed her date, "She really likes you." She said this rather resentfully, as she had always fancied herself dating someone her parents would despise. Stupid, handsome, charming Tyler, ruining all her plans! She swept her gaze over the boy once, then realized what she was doing and promptly turned her gaze to her feet. "Umm. So. You look nice," She offered, taking off for his car; the threat of her mother still lingered, so they couldn't loiter on the front porch.

[Tyler Durnham]

It was a little bit of a surprise to have Maggy answer the door, he had figured that her mother, or most likely father, who he hadn’t yet had the chance to meet, would want that pleasure to possibly quiz him on his attentions and all that old fashioned stuff. But it was his date, and Tyler barely had a chance to take in just what it was she was wearing, as well as notice her mother quite keen on getting him inside the house, before Maggy flew past him and shut the door. He didn’t mind, he wasn’t one normally to socialise with parents, unless he had to charm them off course. And it seemed like he already did quite well with her mother.

He laughed at her comment, understand why the girl was so keen to leave now. He supposed he was a lot different to the boys that Maggy usually dated, if she dated much before him. No wonder her mother liked him. All mothers seemed to, clean cut, well mannered, good looking. There wasn’t much more they could ask for in their daughters date.

And then the inevitable happened, finally. The girl had gotten over her nerves enough to check him out. He grinned as he watched her face, seeing her realise this and stare back down to her feet. But before he could thank her for her compliment, or return one of his own, she was already taking off towards his car. The night was going to be interesting.

He walked faster than her, opening up the passenger door, waiting patiently for Maggy to sit before closing it and taking his own seat behind the wheel. He took his time now, looking over his date, amused to how she was going to be received at the restaurant. He didn’t know if he was a little biased, but he actually liked, in a way, what she was wearing. At least it was a dress of some sort, and she clearly went to some effort for him, which was an improvement. “You look beautiful Maggy.” he smiled softly, and leaning over, both for the benefit for his date and her mother if she could see, to give her something to swoon over all night, gently kissed her, drawing it out as long as he could. Something else he was surprised to find out he greatly enjoyed with Maggy.

Then Tyler pulled away from the cub, not one to loiter himself. He had actually spent a little more time planning this night then he usually did. Maggy was a special case after all, and though there were a few places that he generally rotated between on those occasions he needed to take a girl out, he felt it called for something different tonight. So in the end, he decided to take her out to a restaurant that he and his father often frequented together, one that they were known for their tips, and one that he had never taken a girl to. The trouble he went to for her. He would never let it be known. Couldn’t have it affect his reputation after all. “I thought I’ll take you to Cecconi’s tonight. It’s an Italian restaurant, one of my favourites. I think you’ll quite enjoy it.”

[Magdalena "Maggy" Veloz]

Magdalena couldn't decide if she wanted to shy away from Tyler or lean into the kiss, which resulted in a very awkward half-backing away while trying to kiss him. Needless to say, it didn't work very well, and she scooted as far to the other side of the car as possible when he turned his attention away from kissing her to driving, fidgeting with the edge of her dress. She wondered if she ought to comment on the fact that he had just kissed her, but decided to pretend that nothing out of the ordinary had happened -- unless, of course, one counted sitting pressed against the door as noticing.

"Cecconi's?" She echoed. She didn't keep up with the hip restaurants; she couldn't afford any of them even if she was the sort of girl who would wish to frequent them, which she wasn't. "Where is it?" She supposed if that's where he was taking her, she should at least act interested -- although she was going there with Tyler, so she really was interested, but she didn't want him to think it was only his presence that was interesting to her. That might have been true, but if he was making the effort to take her to a place that (she presumed) was fancy and expensive, then she should appreciate it. She would appreciate it more if he got tickets to see Ladytron or Shiny Toy Guns should either come hold a concert anywhere near LA, but that seemed less likely. He probably didn't even know what those bands were, let alone have any idea when they were playing.

"Ummm." She said after a moment of uncomfortable (for her) silence, "Can we listen to the radio or something?" At least then if there was a lull in the conversation, which there was likely to be since she was a terrible conversationalist (though slightly better than normal with Tyler -- inexplicably as far as she was concerned), then they could fall back to listening to the music.

[Tyler Durnham]

It would have pretty much close to impossible not to notice that Maggy had spent most of the car ride shoved as far to the side as possible, as far away from him. For most girls he would be offended, except he knew that Maggy was shy and such behaviour was to be expected, plus he couldn’t imagine any girl actually not wanting to be with him if she had the chance. He just had to be patient, which was easier said than done seeing how it had been at least a few days since he had seen any real action, which was quite a while in his books. He had a feeling Veloz would be worth it.

“Actually, it’s not too far from my house, a few blocks away. My father and I like to eat there at least once a month or so, since he’s often away on business, it’s sometimes the best chance we get to catch up.” And seeing how that was more personal than he felt comfortable being with a girl, he cut himself short right then, changing topic just slightly to something that would give him much more enjoyable thoughts. “He and my step-mother aren’t home tonight actually, if you want, after dinner I can give you a bit of a tour.” And possibly make out in his pool house, at the very least.

“Sure thing, radio it is.” Tyler agreed, coming to a stop at a red light. He turned it on, tuning to some alternative rock station that he had never before listened to in his life, figuring that it would be right up her alley. He would have favoured something in the more mainstream rock, but a man had to do what a man had to do after all.

“Oh, almost forgot.” Not really, but he had to set up an opportunity like this after all, and the invitation was the perfect prop. He leaned over the girl just a little, his fingers grazing over her knees longer than necessary, before popping open the glove box and pulling out the card inside. With a grin, he closed it again and handed it to Maggy, this time his fingers brushing over hers, just in time for the driver behind to practice using his horn. “Alright, alright.” Tyler grumbled, pulling away once more. “It’s an invitation from Bree, for a brunch she’s holding on Saturday morning. I’ve told her about our...misunderstanding, and she feels bad about it. Though I’ve told her I’ve explained things, there’s nothing to feel guilty about, I think she still wants to make things up to you, and, I’m afraid, give the third degree to the girl I’m dating.” he laughed, thinking he sounded sincere enough. “I’d be coming to, so, I mean, don’t feel like you have to attend to anything, I just think it would be good.” And just the right amount of awkwardness too, the perfect touch.

It was almost a relief to arrive at the restaurant though, his turf, now this was where he could really win Maggy over. He pulled over to the curb, swiftly hopping out and throwing the keys to a nearby valet. And then, as any proper gentleman should, he opened up her car door, offering her his hand.

The footballer was used to getting many looks whenever he walked into a place with a girl on his arms, but the looks, as with the girl, were rather different on this occasion. And he wondered if perhaps he had made the wrong decision bringing Maggy here, he wanted the girl comfortable after all. That was the only way he was going to get anywhere with her.

“Ah, Mr Durnham, good to see you again. And with a beautiful woman too, your girlfriend? Please, right this way, only the best table for you.” Tyler was used to the maître’ d, but it was still good to see the friendly, even if overfully cheerful face of Tacino, even if to help detract from the other looks. The man knew his job, and within moments Tyler was pulling out a chair for Maggy at a small table near the back, before they were left alone again.

[Magdalena "Maggy" Veloz]

Magdalena fiddled with the menu, using it as an excuse to not look at Tyler. She couldn't get his words out of her head. give the third degree to the girl I’m dating. Were they dating? She had agreed on this one date; she didn't think that counted as dating...unless he was counting their date on Valentine's Day. Okay, so two dates didn't really count, either. At least, she didn't think it did, but she admittedly had minimal experience in that area, and none of her friends had ever dated, either, so she couldn't even use them to measure against. She doubted Levi could so much as look at a girl, let alone talk to one, and Mew had similar issues. Phil, he was friends with Annie, and Melodee, but he'd never made any attempt at dating. At least he had a sort of decent excuse. Kind of.

She snuck a glance over the top of the menu, admiring Tyler. He was very pretty, she had to admit, and she wasn't entirely certain how she had ended up here next to him. She wanted to say this was a position that other girls would envy, but she quickly corrected herself -- it was a position many girls had been in, and many more would be. She doubted it was possible for any girl to tame Tyler Durnham. It was, however, a very nice fantasy, and she supposed she would start enjoying the pretense until reality hit her with a two-by-four.

"Dating," She stated, narrowing dark eyes at him; he had changed many topics since that brief comment in the car, but she had fixated on it, worrying at it and wondering what exactly he meant. "When you say dating, what exactly do you mean?" That conversation at her home the other evening, should that have been a hint that he wanted something serious? She hadn't really believed him, but perhaps he was telling the truth. "I mean, do you mean, like, exclusive dating or just dating dating?" She wondered, clutching the menu like a life-line. She had never thought she would be having this conversation -- she'd always assumed she would be single until college, at least; after all, it was her last semester of high school. She'd never had much of a crush on anyone, unless Han Solo counted, and it was only recently, since he'd started talking to her, that she had let Tyler's prettiness -- which she had noticed, but not thought much about -- affect her.

[Tyler Durnham]

One of the things Tyler most enjoyed about going out with airheads, for lack of a better term, was besides their often exquisite looks, it wasn’t difficult to know what they were thinking, as deep thoughts almost never crossed their minds, and as long as Tyler threw in a comment about their looks every now and then, and spent a small fortune on them, they were quite happy. Oh, he missed the good old days of that, like the pretty and vain Coco.

Maggy, while pretty in her own right, was far from an airhead, and her penchant for thinking was starting to aggravate Tyler, only because he didn’t know where her thoughts lay. And for him, rich, popular Tyler, the not knowing was far too annoying. Don’t get him wrong, he wasn’t one for the old fashioned belief of women belonging only in the kitchen. He found a strong, smart woman quite appealing actually. It was just that the fact he couldn’t work out was Maggy was thinking about, what she thought of him, was quite unnerving. Girls should be thrilled to be alone with him, he was irresistible after all. And yet she wasn’t, or she was and she was hiding it well, or, and though it seemed impossible yet he had to entertain the notion, he was actually more interested in her than she was in him. That had to be unheard of.

And she still wasn’t speaking. It had to have been at least a few minutes now since they were left alone at the table, Tyler having read the menu over twice even though he knew it off by heart by now. He was never at a loss for words, and he was sure he could find something to speak about if required, he wanted to know what was going on in her head. This was serious, he realised, Veloz was starting to get to him. It was the way she was looking at him, it had to be, he figured. He was used to stares of admiration, but he had no idea how Maggy was looking at him.

Then finally she spoke, and he smiled, the most genuine smile of the night so far. So that’s what had consumed her thoughts. To lie or to tell the truth, difficult choice. Well, surprisingly, the truth had gotten him further with the band girl than he had gotten with his usual schemes, so he decided to continue along with it. “Well...” he started, thinking about his answer even as he gave it, “Like I told you last night, this whole dating thing is pretty much new to me. But I thought we could take it one step at a time. After tonight, maybe the brunch on Saturday, and see how it goes. I’ll be honest, you’re not like any girl I’ve ever been out with.” he smiled softly. “I like that. I figured we could keep it casual, if that’s what you’re comfortable with.” And give him an out to sleep around still, without her getting angry.

But before he could hear her thoughts, some cute little redhead he’d seen there before, and admired, came up to take their orders. He didn’t pay her anywhere near as much attention as normal now. He took the liberty to order one of their more expensive bottles of wine (they weren’t about to ask a Durnham for his ID), and wild mushroom bruschetta for an entree for them both. He considered garlic bread, but given the after dinner activities he very much hoped to get up to, changed his mind. He ordered veal osso buco for himself, and the moment Maggy ordered, dismissed the waitress and leaned back in his chair, his turn to appraise his date now. With a deliberate cock of his head, he smiled. “So, what do you think?”

[Magdalena "Maggy" Veloz]

Magdalena wanted to say No way, I ain't sharing but that was too honest, and she had an idea that the moment she tried to tie down Tyler Durnham he would flee.

"Okay," She agreed, "Casual, then." At least if they weren't exclusively dating, she had an excuse for dismissing any attempts at physical intimacy, should he be bold enough to try. She wasn't sure if he would; he probably slept with so many girls, he wouldn't need to ask her, but then again if he really liked her that meant he wanted to, right? And while on the one hand the idea was appealing, on the other hand she was wary of physical relationships, particularly when neither of them were terribly committed. It would have been more difficult had they really been a couple, but as they weren't, she didn't have to worry about that eventuality as much.

When the entree came, she dug in shamelessly. "This is so good!" She told her date, "I guess you have good taste, after all." Other than his interest in herself, which remained inexplicable. Granted, she was fairly certain she was superior to the flakes who floated by on their looks, but she was jealous of them anyway, and she knew most boys, while they may claim to prefer intelligence, really wanted attractiveness. She couldn't blame them much anymore, though, not now that she was on a date with the prettiest boy in school simply because she couldn't refuse his pretty, pretty face.

[Tyler Durnham]

A grin lit the footballer’s face when Maggy agreed on their relationship being casual. He expected her to say that. Not for his reasons, so that she could get away with dating and sleeping around with anyone she felt like. While she was pretty, and wildly attractive to him in a way he just could not decipher, given his far more usual type of woman, he doubted her to be one to sleep around. Given that, not that he had paid much attention to the band girl since recently, Tyler couldn’t recall having ever seen her with a guy in a way that suggested they were anything other than friends. He seriously doubted that her and Phil had ever been involved, and presumed the girl was still deliciously untouched. He could be quite happy with being her first.

No, the reason he thought her to be keen on the idea of dating casually was that the idea of exclusively dating, him focusing all his attention onto her and vice versa, intimidated her. She was a shy girl, well, at least shy around him, though a remarkable improvement to what she was when he first paid attention. At least now she was speaking whole sentences, and looking at him when she spoke. That was something. He figured, with a bit of effort, she’ll be the one asking him to just date her. Which, scarily enough, wasn’t as frightening a thought as it really should be.

He grinned as she started to eat, instead waiting for their waitress to fill their wine classes. When she left, he took a sip before idly grabbing some bruschetta before it all disappeared. “Well, I must say, my taste as of late has been greatly improving.” Tyler offered with a broad smile. It would be impossible to not notice the meaning behind that. “And speaking of taste,” he started, pausing to have another sip, “I’ve been reading that book you lent me, the H.P. Lovecraft. It is admittedly...different to anything I’ve read before.” he laughed. “But, I have to say, I’m finding it interesting. About a third of the way through so far.” He actually wasn’t lying about his interest, though he had been completely prepared to if he hated the book. But to his surprise, it wasn’t too bad, and so it had so far been far from a struggle to make himself read it. A girl getting him to read, and enjoy, fantasy. Another weird occurrence. If he wasn’t careful, he would end up wearing Spock ears and attend conventions.