Fifty-eight minutes. She thought fifty-eight minutes would be enough to provoke some level of interest within him. Oh, how ignorant she was to think fifty-eight minutes was long enough to change his mind about anything! Not that he had terribly come to any definite decision about her at all, beyond that she was...terribly peculiar. Piper, however, seemed...determined to demand the chance to come to her own decision upon him and her desire for him, irregardless of how Alistair felt about her in return. For a moment, those emerald eyes stared almost judgingly at her, his arms crossed over his chest before, finally, he agreed to her terms. After all, Alistair did want dinner now that he was here. He could suffer through one meal, if only to placate her. Unfortunately, it was unlikely that she would invoke even a vague intrigue from the sullen artist. Though Alistair had never taken a great interest within the opposite sex to begin with, one thing he was certain of was that he was distinctly uninterested within those women who thought they could command anything from him. He watched as her once bright smile faltered, her bright blue eyes looked up at him in clear surprise.
Her protest, however, was cut off short as their waiter approached their table, the man's mere presence drew Alistair's gaze from the woman across from him as he listened to the waiter introduce himself.
"Good evening, folks, my name is Eddy. Have you been here before?"
"Yes."
"Welcome back! Can I get you started on something to drink."
"Water is fine."
"And you miss?"
The emerald of Alistair's gaze shifted towards the woman across from him, her blue eyes briefly fluttered towards the waiter before a soft hue of pink graced her cheeks. She clearly hadn't been paying attention, her obliviousness to the present moment prompted a soft sigh from Alistair's lips. Somehow, he wasn't surprised - this was exactly how she ran into vampires in the middle of the night or tripped over thin air. He said little of his own thoughts, however, as Alistair listened to her order, only for the waiter to insist he'd get everything right away. His departure from their table, however, only caused the woman to pick up their conversation exactly where they'd left it off. Alistair watched as she turned her hair behind her ear, only to insist she hardly meant to come across that way. It was her insistence that she had a sore spot for people thinking she was an idiot, however, that caused his brow to rise. "Do you make a habit of telling men what they think?" He inquired, turning her very question back upon her. Alistair paused for a brief moment, letting those words sink in before he added, almost as an afterthought. "I didn't think you were an idiot." Presumptuous, forward, demanding, and a shopping fiend, yes, but she had shown on more then one occasion that she could have a quick mind, when she desired to use it.
The last thing Alistair expected, however, was any further explanation on the topic at hand. He was hardly prepared to hear her entire life story and yet, it seemed this was where she intended to start the 'getting to know each other' process. Great. Despite his inward groaning, however, Alistair maintained the facade of polite interest, the face one he had mastered throughout school and a large part of his career. Truthfully, Alistair failed to see a problem with the lives of her sisters, lives that she so clearly abhorred. How proud she was of her degree, and of her business. They were accomplishments, no doubt, even if her family seemingly did not consider them to be. Alistair knew well what it was like to have parents disappointed in you, though he doubted her family reacted quite like his did. It was her admittance that she didn't want him to think of her like that which caused Alistair's brow to rise ever so slightly. Why on earth did she think he had thought of her enough to attribute to her the traits she so hated in her sisters? A soft sigh left his lips, "Piper, I don't know you so I don't think anything of you." He informed her, quite bluntly.
Alistair watched as her gaze dropped down to the menu in front of her, her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink as she continued. It was her admittance of thinking near constantly of that night, however, that brought a hint of incredulousness to his features. "Wonderful?" He inquired, clearly taken aback. "Piper you could have died that night. Do you have any idea what that feels like? To have a vampire bite you and take every ounce of blood in your body? There was nothing wonderful or exhilarating about nearly dying. You're lucky you're even sitting here." There was not an ounce of that 'hunt' that he looked back on with fondness, much less his own brush with death at the fangs of a vampire. Alistair had done his best to reserve his judgement of her but now....to find their last evening together 'wonderful', he was beginning to question her sanity. Maybe she was an idiot. He watched as her gaze turned back to the menu, only to ask him what his recommendations were. Alistair glanced down at the menu in front of her, only for another soft sigh to leave his lips. He leaned forward to point out the objects in question on the menu before her as he spoke. "Their Chicken Parmigiana and Chicken Scallopini were amazing, their Philadelphia Steak was...not great. I've been told their salads are good." He informed her easily enough, only to settle back in his seat.