"You're probably smart enough to have picked it up if you needed to, to the extent that's a general intelligence thing."

"I think there's an extent to which social skills are separate, but it couldn't hurt."

"Yeah, probably."

"I don't think either of my parents would like being blue."

"They're cop and...?"

"Teacher. Grey one-year-olds."

"Ah, yeah, I can see how that wouldn't transfer. My father has cop and military background, I think he might find himself taking a liking to being in a position of power. My mother was a nanny, though, she wouldn't have. But patrilinear here."

"I guess my dad might do very local politics okay if he'd been raised to it. He's a very local sort of person. My mom would probably just travel and go to fancy blue parties and slum it in downscale restaurants while figuring this was very exciting."

"Your mother sounds interesting."

"She's fun. Very eclectic interests."

Grin. "So, I have a client in half an hour so I should get going, but are you free tomorrow evening?"

"- uh, technically, yes -"

Eyebrow raise. "Should I assume that's a no on the followup question of whether you wanna have dinner with me?"

"I don't date greys."

"—oh, I suppose that would make sense, wouldn't it. Well, just as friends? You seem nice and interesting and I'd love to get to be your friend."

"- yeah. I'd like that."

"Awesome. Here's my email—" He has a business card. "We'll figure time and place out, if you don't have a favorite restaurant or somewhere you've been dying to go to in mind already. I should get going, though."

"See you tomorrow!"

"See you." Off he goes!

She emails him two restaurant options (sandwich place, fried dumpling place).

He tosses a coin and picks the fried dumpling place.

And she's there at dinnertime, dressed in the same outfit she put on post-swimming but in different colors.

Sahde isn't in the same outfit but pretty much just as casual.

"Hi! Nice to see you again."

"You too, how are you doing?"

"I'm great! How about you?"