The Paladin's "date"

"Well, Mariko, judging from your attire and your actions, I thought you were a slut. A bit later I came to the conclusion it was to throw me off. Other than that, you seemed like a nice girl." He then looked at his phone to check the time and then slid it back into his pocket. "Speaking of, after this, do you wanna come over to my place." he gave a wink, implying the obvious.

Mariko couldn't help but chuckle at Michael's response. "Yeah, seems a lot of people are rather quick to jump to that conclusion…" She generally wasn't one to worry about what other people thought of her, but that still didn't make the thought that most people likely thought of her that way any more flattering.

But she was brought out of that train of thought and chuckled again at Michael's invitation. "My, what a generous offer, sir~ But I'm afraid tonight's my night off." she replied with a wink of her own, teasingly speaking as if she were an actual "slut."

"I understand." He was really looking for another round, but he'll just have to deal with his sex doll tonight. He didn't look that sad, especially considering her only option involves a sex doll of his favorite anime character. "No matter. I got a sex doll of my favorite anime character back home. I'll use her again."

Mariko giggled again as Michael spoke, glad he didn't take offense to her answer. She'd enjoyed the night he had spent with her a while back, and he definitely seemed like a good guy to have as a friend. Still, sometimes it was just better not to live up to that impression of her as a slut that she seemed to give.

"I think I'm gonna stick around and listen to a few more songs. You're welcome to stay and join me, unless you'd rather be getting back home."

"It would be a bit rude of me to leave, but since you suggested it, I guess it's not much of a big deal." He then stood up and pushed the seat in. "Oh, one more thing." he then reached into his back pocket and pulled out some money, more than enough to pay for the meal "The rest is for you, my friend." He didn't want to undershoot the meal, so he just left it at that and began to walk away. "Talk to you later, Mariko-chan. Wait, chan is used for close friends. Or was it children. Maybe lovers. Ah, screw it. This is why I watched dubbed anime." He left it at that as he left.

For a moment Mariko was about to object as Michael put the money on the table. She generally didn't like other people to pay for her meals, even if it was the polite thing to do. But, she held her tongue and accepted the kind gesture, before chuckling as he struggled with what to call her.

"I don't mind friends calling me 'chan.' You can use it if you want. I'll see you around." she said as he left. And for the next hour or so, Mariko just stayed at the table, casually sipping her wine and enjoying the soothing jazz music.