Soft lips closed behind white teeth around the tines of the extended fork and Stella took the proffered bite from Anton. She briefly looked at him while doing so and promptly flushed again.<br/><br/><i>'why am I such a dork?'</i>she thought.<br/><br/>"Oh," she said after she had chewed and swallowed, giving him a thumbs up, "this is delicious, so tender! And coffee on steak? I can't get over it."<br/><br/>They enjoyed their dinner, taking all the time they needed, they had over an hour before the show began, and it was a big meal. "I ate entirely too much," she complained when they were done and walked to the theater. Anton offered her his arm and she took it, enjoying the proximity this offered, and the stability. While she had become more used to wearing high heels she didn't usually wear heels this high. She was a little sad that the walk only took a little over ten minutes even though her feet were quite glad that they would get rest sooner than later. Snuggling against Anton felt warm and comfortable. He smelled good and it just felt ... right. Her subconscious tried to pipe up again, telling her she was a fool, and she agreed, but she also decided to allow herself this intimacy and enjoy it without expecting anything to come of it. Was she fooling herself, perhaps, but those were thoughts for another, lonely, night. Not this one.<br/><br/>The theater was in an old building and they had maintained much of the old world charm after renovation. Their feet trod across red carpeting, gilded frames held posters and shadow boxes held costumes and accessories, it was gorgeous. Anton had secured them excellent seats and they enjoyed the drama with an excellent view.  Stella became engrossed in the story, watching her name sake struggle with her life and choices, and when Mr. Kowalski became violent without thinking or artifice, grabbed on to Anton's arm for comfort as she held her breath and watched the production.<br/><br/>It was quite late when they finally made it out of the theater amidst the throng of others, and headed down the steps. Stella shivered a little, it was cold, even with the stole. They were, like everyone else, discussing the production, the story, the characters, and the theater itself.  It had been such a lovely evening, but all good things must come to an end, she thought.<br/><br/>"I ought to call my Uber," she said, opening her purse to retrieve her phone, only to find out to her dismay that the battery had died.