After she pushed his hand away, Zoe saw Dante scoot back on the couch a bit, putting a bit more space between them. But then they were just sitting there looking at each other, the blush still on Zoe's face.

When Dante did speak, Zoe just nodded once. ”I mean, we just met…” Zoe whispered. And though she didn't think that Dante had a girlfriend, she had almost made this mistake with Jay. A few times.

Then he was apologizing, telling her that it had been a while. Since his divorce. Zoe blinked. She was the first woman since his divorce? ”Me too,” Zoe replied, the blush that had been starting to fade resurfacing. It's been quite a while. You... surprised me.”

Those few moments just looking at each other seemed to drag on forever. He didn't regret anything. Not at all.

It'd been awhile for her too, yet she was more hesitant than he. Dante guessed it had to do with that 'good girl' vibe he picked up.

"Well, yeah. Seemed like a fitting thing to do," he said with a shrug. With that, he looked at the time on his phone and stood up to go to the closet that was his laundry room. When he emerged, he was carrying her clothes.

"There you go. They're nice and warm now," he said, sitting back down. Though he was still wishing he could have warmed her up.

He thought it was fitting, appropriate for him to touch her chest as soon as they started kissing. Though, Zoe realized, she was sitting on his couch in just a blanket. ”You do realize you don't have to grope every girl you kiss,” Zoe pointed out as Dante stood, her blush still slowly fading. Though her voice was not as harsh as it could have been. It was actually a little awkwardly teasing.

But as Dante left the room, Zoe sat there and thought. The impromptu date had been nice. Enjoyable, in fact, even work Dante's smoke show ending up getting them soaked when the sprinkler went off. And until his hand had wandered, Zoe had been liking that kiss.

A couple moments later, Dante returned with her clothing, still warm from the dryer. As he sat down on the couch again, Zoe leaned in and have Dante a quick kiss. ”I should probably get dressed,” Zoe said, though she hesitated before actually standing up.

He nodded. Sure he realized he didn't need to grope every girl he kissed, but honestly, what was the point of that? Made things more fun. Especially considering he wasn't looking for a relationship right now.

And then when he returned from fetching her clothes, she kissed him again. It was quick and innocent, but it was still a kiss.

"All things considered, probably," he said lightly, shrugging a bit. She stood up and he put his feet on the crate that was his coffee table. Though he did notice her hesitation. That was...interesting.

If a little confusing. Oh well.

All Dante did when she pointed out that he didn't have to grope everyone he kissed was nod. Better than just a shrug, but still it wasn't much of a response.

But as she made her way to the bathroom to get dressed, Zoe was thinking about what Dante had said. What had he meant by that? Was it because she had been sitting there practically naked? Or was it because she had kind of pushed his hand off of her? Did he feel like she rejected him, and he wanted her to leave? He had gone to get her clothing rather quickly after the kiss ended. Was that the whole reason Dante had asked her to go for a walk with him back in the park, so it would lead to sex?

Zoe obviously didn't have any answers by the time she left the bathroom, once again fully dressed, the sole difference being that she hadn't bothered to button up her shirt, which revealed a powder blue tank top underneath. Sitting down beside Dante, Zoe looked over at him, then reached her hand out to grab one of his. ”Just… Slowly?” she asked, her voice soft.

He was silent, but with good reason. Maybe the only reason he had asked her out on this date was an attempt to get lucky. But as he sat down on the couch, he just sort of looked at the TV, expecting her to get dressed and leave.

But she didn't. She came back out to him, her shirt unbuttoned to reveal a tank top, and then took his hand. Her voice was soft, but he heard what she was saying. Dante nodded, his face more or less deadpan as he looked at her.

Leaning in, he moved to kiss her softly again.

Zoe wasn’t sure what Dante was thinking when she sat down beside him on the couch again once she was redressed. He didn’t exactly look surprised, but at the same time, when she took his hand, it didn’t look like he had been expected her to sit down. And Dante didn’t say anything when she asked him to just go slowly. He simply nodded his head as he looked at her.

Slow was good, Zoe couldn’t help but think. It wasn’t that she was inexperienced, but she didn’t exactly have a lot of experience, either. And this was her first date with a man she had only met that day.

Without a word, Zoe saw Dante leaning toward her again. Feeling her breath catch in her throat, Zoe watched as Dante leaned in, only letting her eyes slide closed as she felt his lips softly press against hers. And as they kissed, Zoe’s free hand came up to the side of Dante’s neck again, her fingers sliding into his hair at the base of his skull.

Dante hadn't expected this. He'd expected her to leave, but part of him was glad she hadn't. He'd have gladly settled for a light makeout session, which was somehow okay on the first date, but sex wasn't. Morals are weird; this why he didn't have many.

Besides, her sticking around did mean there was still a chance at the second date. And then he'd have a shot, right? As long as that wasn't something she saved for her boyfriend, or something. Either way....this was nice. Unexpected, but nice.

His arm wrapped around her, resting on her middle back as he continued the kiss, sliding a little closer closer to her.

When Zoe had left work that afternoon, there wasn’t a single part of her that had expected to go out for dinner with someone, even if they hadn’t actually eaten anything. And if that was a surprise, that was nothing to the fact that she was now sitting on Dante’s couch, making out with him.

Not that Zoe really minded what had happened. It was surprising, yes, but she had had a good time with Dante when they were walking, had a strangely enjoyable time at the restaurant. And this… this was just nice.

Feeling Dante’s arms wrapping around her waist, his hand on her back, Zoe leaned into him, moving her hand out of his to wrap around his back, while her other hand slid further into his hair.

Slow....wasn't Dante's forte. Not in the slightest. He didn't really have the patience for it. But nonetheless, this was nice.

With his hand free, he moved that hand to tangle in her hair, his other hand running the length of her back. This was still looking to be a pleasant ending to an otherwise rather boring and mundane kind of day.

After a few moments, he pulled back from the kiss, still holding her as he looked her in the eyes. He had to admit this was quite enjoyable. Even if this was all that happened.

Feeling Dante’s hand closing in her hair, Zoe gasped into the kiss, tightening her arms around him. This was incredible. It had been so long since she had been with someone, even as simply as this. And then his other hand was running up her back, and Zoe shivered. She wanted, needed, to go slowly, this was just the first date after all. She didn't’ have sex on the first date, she wasn’t that kind of girl.

Even if she had technically been naked in his apartment already.

A few moments later, Dante was leaning back though his arms didn’t move from around her. Zoe just opened her eyes to look at him, a small smile on her face. But he didn’t say anything, didn’t do anything else. Dante was simply sitting there, looking her in the eyes. Yes, slow was good, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t keep kissing. So Zoe leaned in again, closing her eyes as she pressed her lips against Dante’s.

He tensed slightly as her arms tightened around him, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He kept his arms wrapped around her even as he pulled away to look at her. He'd started to say something, but then she was kissing him again. So, he didn't fight it; he simply returned the kiss.

However, it was sort of confusing him. She'd said to go slowly, and yet she was perfectly fine with making out like teenagers. Who was to say how long that would even last? Honestly, he didn't know, but he wasn't exactly complaining. This was still rather nice, after all.

Was she making out with Dante like a teenager? It was hard to say, Zoe hadn’t kissed anyone until she was in college, so there were no makeout sessions hidden from her parents in high school. But whether she had done that in high school or not, sitting here kissing Dante like this was quite nice.

Though, the longer the kiss went on, Zoe started wondering where this was going. And more importantly, where Dante would think this was going. Maybe it would be better if they did stop, despite how nice this was. Or because of how nice this was. Dante had already given her the impression that he wanted, and was possibly expecting, more than just kissing.

Yeah, probably best to stop, Zoe decided, slowly pulling back from the kiss, her loosening in Dante’s hair.

Just as he was starting to get used to this, she pulled back, and her grip loosened. So, his did the same, just out of response. Was he disappointed? Yeah, but he knew it was coming, eventually. After all, she said no to the sex, and he respected that, as much as he didn't like it. And obviously going slowly didn't lead her to change her mind.

So, as their lips parted, and her grip loosened, so did his, and his hands returned to set in his lap. "Well, nonetheless it was a damn good time," he said with a slight smile and that signature shrug.

At least when she pulled back from the kiss, Dante’s arms loosened around her as well. Though, Zoe couldn’t help but think that he looked a little disappointed with the fact that she had pulled back, and that her hand had loosened in his hair when she did.

And then Dante’s hands dropped from around her and fell into his lap. Zoe let her hand slide out of Dante’s hair, resting on his cheek for a moment as he spoke. And he smiled, even if it was a very small smile, Zoe was starting to realize that this was big for Dante. ”It has been,” Zoe replied with a smile of her own as she dropped her hand down to her own lap. ”Much more enjoyable than I would have expected. I know I would definitely like to do it again.”