A Sweet Treat...and a Donut Too!

[Rhys Rockwood]

Saturday had practically come and gone, leaving Rhys with an evening to himself and no plans. In a rather out of character course of action, he choose to go to the mall for some food instead of staying home and cooking after his normal workout. He'd been eating his typical diet of good food; surely he could skip that for one day of eating the typical awful fast food his country was quite fond of.

Rhys swapped out his athletic shorts and sleeveless shirt for something more appropriate. Jeans, collared shirt. He still wore his Vibram shoes. It was a rare occasion that he wore something other than those, typically when he needed cleats for playing sports which wasn't often enough. As he walked through the mall, he noticed a donut shop that he'd never seen before; it was at least work a look.

He ducked inside and glanced around to get a nice look. It seemed like a nifty place, and it smelled delicious. Donuts smelled and tasted so good. His mouth watered at the scent. 'You know what, forget dinner,' he thought as he wandered up to the counter, 'I want some donuts.' Rhys smiled at the girl behind the counter and greeted her. "Hi there. You doing okay today?" he asked, leaning on the counter with one arm.

[Charlie Saynsberry]

It was just a few minutes before closing time, and Charlie was eager to get home and relax. It had been a long day at the donut shop, teaching some new employees and generally being on her feet nearly the whole day. She was exhausted. Still, she had to stick in there for the next ten minutes or so, since she had allowed the newbies to go home a little early while she cleaned up. She didn't really expect anyone to come into the shop this close to closing time, so she had let her hair down from the ponytail she usually wore while working and ignored the stray strands that kept falling over her face.

She was humming as she emptied the last garbage bin when the bell signalling someone had entered the store went off, and she cursed quietly. So much for leaving soon; some customers took ages to order, while she had to stand there with a smile plastered to her face as she waited for them to decide. She hoped this wasn't one of those instances.

She popped up to the front counter, and found to her surprise and pleasure that a handsome young man had entered the shop. She self-consciously brushed back her hair and put on an actual genuine smile, discreetly looking him over as he eyed the donuts.

"Hey cutie!" she replied cheerfully and unashamedly, mimicking his motion and leaning into the counter. "I'm doing great, thanks for asking. You're lucky you came in now, I was just about to shut down for the night. How can I help ya?" She offered a wink, hoping her make-up hadn't smeared when she was slaving over cleaning the dishes. She wished she had checked before coming to the counter now.

[Rhys Rockwood]

Rhys didn't bother hiding the fact that he looked her up and down as best as he could manage from in front of the counter. "Oh, you're about to close?" he repeated, sounding a little surprised. Rhys glanced at his watch. "Huh...I guess it's later than I thought. I must have lost track of time somewhere. Impressive considering I try to keep it strapped to my wrist or trapped in a plastic box."

There was nothing wrong with a bad joke now and then, particularly to start flirting with a cute young woman. "If you're in a rush to get out of here, then I won't bother you. I just hadn't seen this place before, I guess, and I wanted to check it out. But if you're not in a rush, I'd like to trouble you for some doughnuts. What do you have left over from the day? I'm sure whatever it is will be fine. I'm not that picky," Rhys said with a shrug.

He stretched his neck a little and heard it pop. It was a nice feeling, and he exhaled with a smirk. The shop had seemed nice when he walked in, and it seemed nicer with a cute girl at the register. Rhys would even bet that it would seem even better if she at least smiled at his ridiculously bad joke, and pretty much be the best stop of the night if she flirted back. That would be a nice bow to finish wrapping up his day.

[Charlie Saynsberry]

Charlie caught his glance-over, and grinned to herself. At least he wasn't shy. "Yeah, sorry about that," she replied. "We're short on employees, so we close earlier than a lot of places in the mall. We are hiring, though!" she added,"So hopefully we'll be able to change our hours soon." She laughed at his joke. It had been bad, but it was cute nevertheless. "Time does seem to have a way of escaping us," she agreed.

"Oh, there's no rush," she assured him, and actually meant it. If he wasn't a cute young man, she might feel otherwise, but she would give him more than a few extra minutes of her time. She motioned at a display case, where the day's doughnuts were sitting, waiting to either be eaten or put in the day-old bin. "This is what we have left from today's batches. There isn't a lot to choose from, but I'm pretty sure you'll be able to find something you like, especially since you aren't picky." She leaned towards him and, as if telling him a secret, whispered,"Personally, I love the raspberry Romeo's. They're totally unhealthy - well, everything in here is, really - but they're fantastic. And you look like you can just work it off anyway," she finished with another wink.

[Rhys Rockwood]

"Raspberry does sound tasty," Rhys agreed as he glanced over what they seemed to have left. He really couldn't tell what was what, and it all looked as unhealthy as the next thing. "Tell you what. You put an assorted dozen of whatever you think I need to taste in a box, and I'll get those. In return for your expertise on what the tastiest varieties of doughnuts are, I'll supply your dinner for tonight. Sound fair?"

Sure, he would've asked her to pick stuff for him regardless, but offering dinner at least made it seem fair. It sure wouldn't hurt things if she accepted his offer either. It had been a while since he'd taken a girl to dinner. The seconds between voicing the invitation and hearing her answer were always the worst; a quick 'no' was better than a drawn out 'yes.'

Rhys chuckled suddenly. "I realize that I've skipped a vital step. I haven't introduced myself to you yet. Seems a bit rude to suggest we have dinner without even knowing each others' names. I'm Rhys," he said, holding his hand out to her and smiling.

[Charlie Saynsberry]

Charlie raised an eyebrow at the man, an amused and slightly surprised smirk on her face. He wasn't shy in the least. "I have to say, it's been a very long time since someone asked me out on a proper date, especially someone as handsome as yourself," she admitted, leaning further into the counter. She didn't mention what she was usually used to. "I'm not generally good at that sort of thing. But, your offer is hard to resist. I think I'll accept." She flashed him a grin, then sighed and looked down. "I'm not exactly dressed for a date, though. I don't really dress my best to work with messy dough all day." A slouchy Doctor Who t-shirt paired with ripped jeans might be okay for some things, but she didn't consider them proper for a night with a stranger. "Could you give me a few minutes to change? I don't live very far away, and I'm not one of those girls that takes aaages to get ready," she added, rolling her eyes.

She began to package the donuts, picking out what she considered to be the best they had; she skipped over the bacon and bubblegum flavored ones, going for her favorites and her customers' most popular kinds. Soon they were packaged neatly in a neon green box; she had thrown in an extra, but only charged him for a dozen. She took his offered hand and shook it, replying,"Nice to meet you, Rhys. I'm Charlie. Although most of my friends call me Firecracker," she added, deciding, for now, not to explain why. She would show him, if she felt like it. Which, really, she most likely would, considering how much she liked to show off.

"So, can I meet you Pyrrhos's Place in, say, a half-hour?" she asked. "I don't know how you feel about Greek food, but their spanakopita is fantastic." She went to the front window and changed the 'open' sign to 'closed', then turned back to him. "Unless you have something else in mind."

[Rhys Rockwood]

Rhys blinked a little bit. "Who said anything about a real date? I just offered to take care of your dinner. I think someone might be expressing their subconscious desires and hearing what she wants," he teased. He liked how easily they'd started a back and forth and took it as a good sign that she was interested in him too.

"As for letting you change, yeah, you can do that if you want, or you can not worry about it. I obviously don't mind because I asked you to dinner even with you wearing that. You could just wear that and I'd be perfectly happy with it." Rhys shrugged, making sure he paid for the doughnuts. They would make for a nice dessert, maybe even breakfast the next day if they didn't all get eaten.

"And I don't think I can cook Greek food, so we'll probably have something else. Oh, I didn't mention this, but I'm just going to cook for you. It's easier than going out, I can show off my skills in the kitchen, and it will likely taste better than any meal cheaper than forty bucks," he bragged. Maybe it would be quite that good, but unless he screwed up in an impressive way, it would certainly be worth eating. With his appetite, Rhys could easily eat two or three times what most people eat; his power burned off everything and demanded more.

[Charlie Saynsberry]

Charlie groaned, realizing her mistake. "Well, I suppose the fact that most of my nights out with men only involve drinking and bedrooms makes dinner sound like a marriage proposal," she explained with a wry grin. "But I'll make sure to keep things in perspective." Sure, she was easy, but it was all just fun and games to her.

She shrugged at his comments, a little embarrassed. "I suppose if you're fine with it, then we can work with my nerdy shirt and jeans," she laughed, glancing down at the TARDIS across her chest. At least there wasn't any flour or jam smeared on it, she thought. It wouldn't be a first. Sure, what the heck. She didn't need to change. She had just gotten a little overexcited about the prospect of going out.

She cocked an eyebrow at his plans, wondering if he was really actually going to cook, or if this was all just an excuse to get her home. After a moment's thought, she shrugged. What was the harm? If he turned out to be a creep or something, she could always just shoot a firework in his face and run. "Sounds good to me. I don't think I've ever actually had a man cook for me before, so I hope you're a good one to be my first," she smirked. "Tell me your address, I'll be out there as soon as I finish closing up shop!"

[Rhys Rockwood]

"I'll wait around if you don't mind. You can just follow me there," Rhys suggested. "I'm not in a rush to be anywhere, and the apartment is clean enough for company already." He was a bit of a neat freak, but that was mostly just the end result of having nearly endless energy. "It'll be more fun to cook while you're there than before you arrive. Plus, you'll know I didn't just heat the food up."

She was in for a pleasant surprise when he finished cooking; he'd been cooking for himself for a while and wasn't bad at all. You might even call him good at it. "Help me out some more though. What kind of food do you like? Beef, chicken, pork? And please don't tell me you're a vegetarian. I can work with that, but it's nowhere near as fun. Or filling, for that matter."

[Charlie Saynsberry]

"A patient man. That's nice for a change." She raised her eyebrows at him, grinning. "It'd be too much for me to ask you clean the dishes though. It shouldn't take too long. I can't wait!" She turned towards the kitchens, calling out,"You're welcome to come back if you want! I don't care one way or another. Just look out for rabid dust bunnies." An inside joke she had with her coworkers.

"Nope, definitely not vegetarian. I'm sure I'd be thinner if I was vegetarian," she laughed. She was quite fine with her figure; a few extra curves never hurt anyone. "Hmm. Chicken sounds good. Although I'm fine with anything really. Just having someone else cook for me for once is wonderful." She began scrubbing at the pans in the sinks, going as quickly as possible. She was right, it didn't take too long, and soon she was wiping her hands and taking a relieved breath. "Phew. Always my least favorite part of the day. Alright, cutie, lead the way," she finished with a flash of a grin. "I'll be right behind you."

[Rhys Rockwood]

Rhys laughed at her comments about patient men and rabid dust bunnies. She was definitely a girl with lively sense of humor. He followed her to the back and waited around while she washed dishes, feeling a little out of place since he wasn't doing anything; by the time she was finished, he felt like he should have at least volunteered to help even if she turned his help down.

"Chicken is a good idea. Easy to fix, and there are loads of ways to do it. Hmm...I'm feeling spicy barbeque chicken. That sound good to you?" he asked, already running through the ingredients in his mind. Rhys was fairly confident he had everything he would want for the meal, and he'd just bought dessert.

Charlie was ready to go, so Rhys moved back out to the front of the store. "I'd warn you to keep up, but I really don't drive that fast. I probably run faster most days," he said with a bit of a smile, holding the door open for her. It never hurt to be polite.

[Charlie Saynsberry]

"Sounds good to me," Charlie replied with a shrug, drying her hands. "I like things spicy," she added with a grin and a laugh. There was a reason her nickname was Firecracker. Well, more than one reason really.

"I'm sure I'll keep up fine," she assured him, grabbing her keys and throwing her apron over the door. She raised an eyebrow at him as she did so. "I'm assuming you're a meta, then," she asked. "Super speed?" she guessed. She gave him a smile as he held the door open for her. "How polite." She stepped out gingerly and started towards her car. "See you there soon, yeah?" she called over her shoulder. She hopped into her car and turned it on, and began to follow Rhys as he drove off.