"This is not coffee you can bend to your will!" Qamar declares, mock-urgently. "This is coffee you must learn to survive! Coffee you can, if you are skilled... and lucky... learn to coexist with!"
She burst out laughing and immediately tried to hold it back with a hand over her mouth.
"Can you teach me to make this coffee? I feel the need to dominate it as soon as possible."
He eyes her. "But are you worthy of learning these secrets?" He looks her over through overly-skeptical eyes. "Can you handle the secret... of the bean?"
"The bean has a secret?" She leaned forward. "You know better than to dangle a secret in front of me. Bean secrets are especially tempting."
He regards her carefully for a long moment.
Without breaking eye contact, he slips his phone from his pocket. He glances at it briefly while typing something in.
After a moment of searching, he's apparently satisfied. He shuts the phone, putting it back in his pocket, and sits back.
"We'll be delayed to dancing," he explains.
Suspicious and delighted, she tapped his foot with hers. "You realize that if we do anything that'll keep me awake all night, you'll have to spend every second of it with me. No staring at ceilings, either."
He blinks. Somehow, he missed part of that and only heard ceiling. He glances back up. "Did... do you want to move to a table outside or something?"
Confusion was shared by all. "No, this table is fine. What are you talking about?"
"Why do you keep talking about the ceil..." ...and then the rest of what she'd said sunk in, and he hesitates for a brief second. "...oh. Um... okay."
"You seemed more interested in the ceiling back in my quarters. It's not bugged if you were looking for any surveillance."
The hesitation was...well, don't think about that. "I'm kidding, Qamar. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. We're having a good time and I like spending time with you."
He breathes out. "It's not that at all. I mean... you're incredibly beautiful, and, well..." His voice drops to a hissing whisper. "And you were naked."
His voice returns to normal, though there's definite blushing there on his cheeks. "I just wanted to... respect you."
"The towel covered more of me than my swim suit," she pointed out. "But, I wouldn't change anything about you, so I do apologize for making you uncomfortable. I didn't think there was anything questionable about my boyfriend waiting in my quarters while I finished getting ready for a date. I should have asked if you were all right with it."
He blinks. "I just..." He thinks for a moment. "It's not that it's questionable, or that I was uncomfortable. I just wouldn't want you to think I was trying to take advantage of you."
"That is one thing I'm not worried about with you," she said simply.
"Oh," he says quietly.
"Then... next time I won't try hard to not look?" he says, as if asking for permission.
"The next time you won't try hard not to look," she said with a firm nod. "I like that you don't assume but maybe communication is something we should work on?"
"Okay," he nods. "So... when should we discuss barriers and limits?"
A slow smile appeared. She decided it was a good thing they were in public right now because she was tempted to indulge in a public display of affection just for that expression alone.
"Later, when our date is over. Otherwise I'll be too distracted by your barriers and limits."
He considers. "Alright. Though I am left wondering how much of this is cultural."
"Possibly quite a bit. Although if you tell me that my father hasn't been a barrier, I'll say you're hedging." | 
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