He ended up taking her to a pretty nice restaurant. Nothing too crazy, but definitely something a regular 18 year old couldn't afford. He still had some money left over after paying for the personal trainer course out of the money he took from his father's secret emergency stash. He was sure his father would just "love it" if he knew he was paying for his wife to go on an expensive romantic date with his son. That just made it even sweeter though.

She smiled watching him open the door for her. It had been a long time since she last went on a romantic date. Those stopped happening with her husband shortly after the marriage was done. Most good things stopped happening after that point. Finally things were looking up though. She had experienced more happiness in the past few weeks than she had in years.

She had even stopped caring that her stepson she had been helping raise since he was 13 was the reason. The massive changes he seemed to have gone through both physically and mentally over the past few weeks helped separate the two in her mind though reducing any shame she was feeling. He wasn't her stepson, he was her lover.  'And perhaps her boyfriend,' she thought with a small blush.

The waiter took them to their reserved table for two. The lights just dim enough to where the atmosphere felt cosy despite the people around them while still being able to enjoy each other's company.

Dave pulled out her chair to help her sit down before taking a seat himself.

Jackie looked around before looking at him with a warm smile. "This is nice," she told him.

He chuckled lightly. "Then it was worth it," he said.

After the waiter brought them their drinks Dave ordered an appetiser for them to share. Despite his age they didn't actually card him when he ordered an alcoholic drink to go with his meal.

Since she left her hand on the table he reached out rubbing it gently.

They spent the time talking about everything in their lives other than the situation with his father, her husband. Instead they didn't talk about him at all rather enjoying their first date as any other normal couple would, wanting to learn more about their partner. Jackie couldn't help but smile a lot feeling like she was finally getting something she had been missing for the longest time. She had enjoyed their budding relationship... really enjoying it. However until now it had still felt somewhat incomplete.

For Dave the date was rather fresh. Though he had recently had his first date with Kate this one was very different. Where that one was filled with youthful excitement and outright sexual provocation this one felt more mature and even sensual. Not that one was necessarily better than the other, just different. Them being so different actually enhanced both of them since it was an entirely different and fresh experience making him enjoy both more than he would have otherwise.

Jackie cut into her filet mignon medallion revealing the ever so slightly red interior. "So what will you be doing after you complete the course tomorrow?" she asked.

Dave got the porterhouse himself. It might not be quite as tender as the filet mignon, but he needed some more meat to satisfy himself. Ever since he got his father's ability and started working out his appetite had skyrocketed.

"Well there will be the apprenticeship starting immediately after. That will last until they either determine I'm ready and assign me a client or I manage to get one of my own. That might take a little, but I hope it won't be too long," he said. He took a sip of his XX to whet his throat.

"Since that will give me more free time than the course was I am planning to join a MMA gym to brush up on my martial arts technique. When I don't have to be in the classes for hours every day and the entire weekend I should be able to do that for at least a few hours a week instead," he said.

For a regular person a couple hours a week would be nowhere near enough to become outstanding at something, but he had already noticed the benefits [Enhanced Neuroplasticity]. He was able to pick up new things much faster than before requiring at most half the repetition that it did before, possibly even one fourth. It was hard to guage the exact difference, but it was significant.

He could just practice his combat techniques for only four hours a week and walk away with somewhere between 8 and 16 hours worth of experience. Not only that, but it also synergised with [Hypertrophic Hyper Responder] which would also help build the muscles he used during those training sessions faster than normal. So there was no need to spend hours a day on it to make progress anymore. Although [Enhanced Neuroplasticity] wasn't as overpowered as [Hypertrophic Hyper Responder] it was still an extremely useful ability since it helped him in just about anything he did. As long as skill and experience was involved it would be useful.

A wider smile broke onto her lips. It wasn't hard to guess why he was planning on doing that and it warmed her heart. "That will be nice," she simply said.

Dave looked into her eyes with a warm smile. "That's enough about me though. What about you?" he asked.

She nodded shyly. "W-well I've been thinking about going to this Mexican cooking class to expand my range in the kitchen," she said. She had always loved cooking for her loved ones. Something that had unfortunately been dulled over the years spent with her husband, but she was finally getting joy out of it once again inspiring her to do more.

"Oh, I love Mexican food. Then again, who doesn't?" he said with a chuckle.

Her smile widened. "I'll make sure to let you try plenty of it..." she said.

She playfully ran her hand up his arm from his hand. "...and me," she added much quieter with a blush.

prognastat

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Writing Soundtrack: System Of A Down - Various Tracks