Ocean view at seven. (Espn)

Well, here they were.  Owain had picked Espn up at her very nice apartment in the Elysian Apartments and Condominiums.  The moment he went back to his office, Owain had melted back into Commander Mode and put out the excitement of the dinner at seven to the side of his brain, but when the day was drawing to an end and he had no more work to do, he felt sheer excitement at what as the time drew nearer for his date with Espn.

Owain had taken a quick shower and put on casual, but decent, clothes which consisted of collared, button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the wrist and with a sleeveless black vest over it, dark jeans, and polished leather brown shoes.  The place he was going to take her was a rather fancy place in the regular context.  It wasn't going to be extremely formal, so he decided that he'd just dress decently casual.  He did have a sense of style when the time called for it; otherwise when he was in the thick of soldierly action, he felt right at home in a mud-splattered t-shirt and shorts.  Not that Espn was likely to appreciate that, though.

As expected, she looked absolutely gorgeous without trying and, who was rather reserved, had been compelled to kiss her hand and lavish much compliments upon her.  He then drove her to the mall where the restaurant was; it was on the higher levels of the mall, and once they got there he got them an outdoors table at the balcony which afforded a view of the ocean to the side. 

They sat at a table for two, him on the seat across from hers.  They already had their wine even though they were waiting for their delicious seafood.  Owain quickly glanced at the lapping waves of the ocean and felt the gentle island breeze.  He really missed the old Camp Jupiter, but nonetheless he felt blessed to call this place his home and, of course, to be able to know the beautiful daughter of Aphrodite who sat in front of him.  He averted his gaze from the view of the ocean and smiled at her, lifting his glass of wine to clink against hers.  "Here's to a beautiful island sunset," he said, obviously in a very good (and besotted) mood.  "And...to an equally beautiful face."  That had come out of its own volition, and he laughed with both embarrassment and bemusement.  "By the gods, I can't stop saying that.  This is like...the fourth, no, fifth time I've used the word 'beautiful' on you..." He shook his head.  "I think you've cast a dangerous spell on me, Espn." 

Although Espn constantly heard that she was beautiful, for some reason, hearing Owain's unique, accented voice say the words made her blush into her wine. She pull the glass down and smiled, "You flatter me, Commander. I had no intent of casting any spells." She giggled, "Perhaps you are the one casting the spells and you don't even know it yet." Espn teased, something about him was different then the fling type relationships she'd had in the past. This was real, maybe, and she didn't want to mess it up.

Owain grinned.  "Me, pulling spells? If that is so, why am I the one acting afflicted and you perfectly in control?" God, she was so smart and sophisticated.  He was so glad to have her in his life, and if he was taking any woman on a date, he was glad that she was the one.  He glanced at the view of the ocean again.  "But really, this is a nice place, isn't it? An upgrade from the food court, I'd say. What do you think? I hope I did justice to you..." He looked at her again, some kind of sparkle in his eyes.

Espn grinned, "I hope I didn't disappoint you, Commander." She gushed, taking a small sip of wine, "I mean, there is no way you could do me wrong! Unless of course you brought me to tell me you hate me and never want to see me again." She looked at him expectantly.

His lips twitched upward in a bemused smile.  "Disappoint me?" he repeated.  "You can try your hardest, Miss Cassidy, but that's not a goal you'll ever achieve."  Owain couldn't imagine Espn ever disappointing him.  She was intelligent, beautiful, kind, and resourceful.  Charming, too, and he might be influenced by that a bit, but it was harmless.  He had a will made of iron and wasn't easily manipulated into doing something he wouldn't want to do.  Although, he was still human, and so unless he was required to he didn't really interact a lot with those who could potentially manipulate him. 

His eyebrows were raised.  "Absolutely not! You can be sure that what I want is the complete opposite.  My life would be like an endless room full of darkness if that were so."  Finally, a waiter came to take their orders.  Owain ordered a dish with lobsters and a dip, and he looked at Espn with a smile, wondering what she wanted to eat as the waiter took her order.  Owain had told her earlier to not worry at all about expenses, as he was paying for it all and could pay for anything she wanted to eat.        

She hadn't even glanced over the menu by the time they came to take her order. Espn was too busy oogling Owain and hoping that her flirting wasn't too awkward, although there wasn't much of a chance for that given that he was literally the spawn of a goddess of lust and love. It would be like a son of Ares being shit with a sword, unlikely and completely out of character. In a short, sweet word, she batted her long lashes at the waiter and whispered, "I'll have the same, please. And more wine." She lifted her glass off the table ever so slightly to emphasize the order before turning her stormy blue eyes back to Owain, "Can I just say, Commander, that you continue to amaze me."

The waiter walked off to get their orders.  Owain was quite glad that Espn was getting the same thing as he was.  "Good choice," he said with a wink.  He looked into her eyes, those vivid blue, enchanting eyes.  "I'm very flattered," he said when she told him that he continued to amaze him.  "Alas, you are far more amazing than I, or anyone, can ever be, and we all would do better not to compete with you."  

He shifted in his seat a little.  "So, Espn, what's your history?" he asked, as he hadn't really heard about her background before.  He thought that now they were getting better acquainted with one another, it was a good way to bond by sharing their past.  "I should like to know how the loveliest and most beautiful being came to exist in this world."

Espn sucked in a deep breath and leaned forward with a flirtatious smile, "Oh, and what is the guarantee that you will still like me after I tell you all my deep, dark secrets?" She teased, tilting her head to the side, blue eyes sparking like diamonds. She giggled and leaned back before continuing, "Let's see...I am one of a set of triplets. My dad was a big sports fan. Like huge. Named up after football icons. My sister's names are Peyton, for Peyton Manning, and Elli, for Eli Manning, and my name is, obviously, modeled from the sports network on TV." She pursed her lips in thought, trying to think of something of substance but nothing came to mind.