the girl dad.

"We put enough pressure on yourselves in every day life." Marin spoke, eyes focusing on the other as she shrugged. "Why do it here? We see each other for what, five minutes? If we find someone interesting enough to give it another shot that's awesome, but, initially." she paused. "All for fun." A motto she herself lived by; the more fun you were having the better. As he introduced himself she nodded. "Pleasure's mine." she added. "You said one of them. Does that mean there are two of you?" @connorxbowen

"Yeah," he nodded his head in agreement to the other's words. He hadn't known what to expect for speed dating. Outside of Fatma, he genuinely felt like he had been out of the dating game for so long. And speed dating had never come across his radar before. "Yes," he nodded his head once more, "Makayla Hoffmann is the other," though he wasn't sure if she knew of her. "Is fun the only thing that brought you out tonight?" @marincole

When the other admitted that he recognized her, it made Emma feel less annoying. She was a people watcher, which in turn made her recognize people a lot quicker than they often recognized her, however, it was nice for someone else to be recognizing her for a change. "I do work at the library." she smiled. "And I also agree that I thought it was going to feel like a job interview but it's actually been nice." she spoke. "Though, I have to say.." she paused. "Maybe this is too blunt but I always thought you were dating someone." she admitted, cheeks flushing. "I mean you're handsome enough I figured you'd have a line of women out the door waiting to date you." @emmajlin

The woman's statement caused Connor to pause a moment for reflection. A faint smile, touched with amusement grew against his lips. "No, that is not the case. For either." Admittedly, sure, he had been dating someone. Yet, it was not something he could have been too open about. He didn't know which people knew of Fatma and Altan's open marriage and who didn't. "I've just been focusing on raising my daughter since she came to live with me full-time." It had been quite a few years now, but it was the easiest excuse to give. "I haven't had much time to date." Connor's smile softened, "Though I can say the same about you. Your beauty and kindness have always radiated in a way that I would have presumed you were taken by someone." @emmajlin

He had half expected the brunette to get up and leave with her statement. Yet, when she didn't, he found that to be a good sign. Maybe they weren't soulmates. He wouldn't be able to gauge that in a short amount of time, but it was something. "Honestly?" His lips thinned as he sorted his thoughts. He didn't want to lie, but how much honestly was too much in speed dating? "I'm dealing with a broken heart and I didn't want to lead anyone on by showing up and connecting." He paused, shaking his head briefly. "Yet, leaving someone here, without an explanation somehow felt worse to me." @martyxrivera

"I don't think we have to be good at it." she spoke with a shrug. "That's why it's speed dating. So if we make someone absolutely miserable they can move on in five minutes and never have to think about it again." she admitted, bringing the glass to her lips, taking a sip before she let it rest on the table top again, fingers rubbing against the rim. As the other spoke, introducing himself Marin offered him a smile. "I guess I'm not surprised that you're a fire lieutenant." she started. "You look like you would be." she shrugged. "I'm fine with small talk or not." another shrug. "Name's Marin. I'm a piercer here and town and the only reason why I signed up for this thing is because I was bored." she admitted. "Doesn't mean I won't take it seriously so don't shut me out." @connorxbowen

Connor found himself relaxing at the woman's words. She signed up because she was bored. For some reason, he found that refreshing. It wasn't the same reason that anyone else had likely signed up for. "Well," he let out a quiet huff of laughter. His expression softened and a faint smile rested against his lips. "I have to say that's pretty humbling given how much pressure I put on this whole thing for myself." It hadn't been intentional, but he was trying to force himself to move on from Fatma. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Marin. I'm Connor," he introduced himself in return this time, "one of the fire lieutenants." @marincole

"Can I be honest?" Emma questioned as she sat down in the empty chair at the other's table. She had waited to sign up for this even until what felt like the very end, and had even almost not shown up out of fear of embarassing herself. Yet once she was here she felt herself a little more relaxed, thankful she'd given herself the opportunity to meet people again. since returning to Kismet Harbor. "I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this as much as I am.” she beamed, eyes focusing on the other. Reading his name tag - Connor - she immediately tried to find something to use in her memory to describe him as. It was only as she was searching him for some sort of indicator that she realized that she'd met him briefly when he'd come into the library for story time on 'firefighter day'. "Oh, wait." Emma paused. "I hate to be this person but you're the fire lieutenant right?"

Connor's smile came easily as the woman's grin appeared on her lips. Her honesty was refreshing and his shoulders relaxed him a little further into the chair. "Yeah, it's not bad." He gave a small laugh, briefly glancing around the room. "I had a feeling that it was going to feel like a job interview." His attention returned to her then, amusement settling into his expression. "Yeah," he nodded his head as she recognized him. "I am and you," he paused a moment, "work at the library right? I bring my daughter in there often." His mouth curved into a soft smile at the recognition. @emmajlin

"Yeah, I'd say most of my favorite meals are the simple ones." But, Connor had always been a relatively simple person. He didn't grow up with a lot, but didn't grow up lacking either. Connor's life was fulfilled but not often by material items. "Most people at the station are happy with it too, at least as far as I know." Connor chuckled softly. "Yeah, sure. I might take you up on that." He said to Sebastian. "Meal prep sounds like a great idea a lot of time and then I run out of that time or don't have any ideas." @sebastianxthomas

"You make a valid point there." Ezra nodded as he looked over at Connor. "I have always been the kind of person that feels like I'll never truly know if I don't put myself out there, in any sense, so I think this is a good way for me to do that." And even if in the end the only thing he did get out of it was him being able to tell Lainey later that he'd tried, even if he'd been stuck inside the jewelry store for the majority of his life. "I think at the end of it all even if it's just a way for me to meet new people I'll take it." he admitted with a shrug. "This town may be small, but there are times that I feel that there are always people to meet." @connorxbowen

Connor listened intently as Ezra spoke about putting himself out there. "Yeah, no, that's a fair way to look at it. One I should consider looking at myself." If he wanted to move forward and move on from Fatma, he would have to put himself out there. "Yeah," he nodded his head to the man's words. "We do get a lot of new people in town, often enough that there is always someone new to meet. Even with the tourists. I've enjoyed getting to know many over the years, repeat travelers that make Kismet their destination. It's a different kind of fulfilment in life." @ezrayoung

Connor's eyes were drawn to her hand, the way she fidgeted with the ring on her finger. A ring that wasn't placed there by him, a ring that meant she was with someone else. The question might as well have knocked the air out of his lungs. He inhaled sharply through his nose. It was one he had thought about time and time again. "Yes." The answer fell from his lips, barely above a whisper as he met her eyes with his own. While the words themselves were quiet, they held a sort of conviction. He meant them. "I would do it all over again." @fatmaxaslan

"Yeah, maybe." He thinned his lips, doubtful that it was something he would go to right now in his life. Connor had began to nod his head, accepting her wave as an indication of goodbye. It was when she turned back around that his breath caught in his throat. "Yeah." He answered, not hesitating. The response had come so naturally to him, even if he hadn't wanted that to be the case. "You can ask me anything." His eyes met her own this time, his heart thudding rapidly inside his chest as he awaited her question. The milliseconds ticking by felt like an eternity to him, slowly, painfully ticking on. @fatmaxaslan

"Thanks, man." Ezra nodded, eyes focusing on the other. He didn't need the reassurance from the other, but he did appreciate it. Breaking up his family hadn't been easy and even though he knew it had ultimately been for the best in general, there were days he felt guilty that Lainey was growing up in a broken home, something that Ezra had thankfully never had to experience. His parents had been together until his father died; it had been his twin brother that had tainted the family name. "Ah, okay yeah." Ezra nodded as the other admitted that he didn't think the speed dating thing was going to go anywhere. "I can't say I disagree." he shrugged. "I almost feel weird even trying. Chloe and I haven't even been split up a year yet and I mean we were together for most of our lives." he admitted. "But, there's no animosity there and I know that there's no need to wait just because it's what would look the best." he shrugged. "I'm anxious to see how it goes regardless." @connorxbowen

"Yeah, I get that." Connor said, nodding his head with a half-smile. Going to speed dating wasn't something that he thought he'd ever have to consider signing up for at his age. Frankly, he thought he would have been married to Sammy's mom and when that didn't work out, he thought that he would have found someone by now. It just so turned out that the someone he found, was married. "Sitting around hasn't really got me anywhere, either, though." Connor admitted with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "At least this way, we can both find out something. Even if that something is that you're not ready yet." Connor hoped that this was a way for himself to move on, but part of him feared that he wouldn't be ready. @ezrayoung

Connor nodded his head at her first comment. "Yeah, she is excited." And to him, that was what mattered most. At her question, he paused for a beat. It was enough to show that he was thinking about how to answer it. "Uh, yeah," he began to admit, "there's that speed dating thing that's coming up. I'm going to check it out." There wasn't any part of him that seemed remotely excited about it, but it was a small town. Word would get around that he had been there. Even if he tried to play it off as making sure his sister didn't get unsuitable dates. "The Blues Festival is fun." Connor added, moving the subject away from himself. "You should go." @fatmaxaslan

"Yeah, but with your confidence, it works." Connor agreed with a quiet huff of laughter. "Yeah, that might be more complicated than I'm used to, if I'm being honest." He let out a short laugh before shaking his head. "I prefer to use the grill outdoors if I'm cooking. Throw a bunch of meat and veggies on. That's my kind of simple." Connor told Sebastian, "Or if it's my turn to bring in food for the station, I'll stick to something like chili or pasta. I can make it once and not have to touch it for a couple of days. It makes it a lot simpler." @sebastianxthomas

Connor looked down at the cat that seemed to content to be cradled in his arms. He shifted, moving a hand to feel around the cats neck before shaking his head. "He or she is not." An unfortunate incident all around. "I know the veterinarians. This isn't my first or last cat rescue from a tree." He smiled warmly at the woman. "I appreciate you calling so that it could be taken care of. This one will find a place to go if I have anything to say about it." Hell, Connor knew that he'd take it home or make it a firehouse cat if he had to. @trishaxchambers

"There's one just outside of town." Connor answered, "I'm sure there will be some here with the summer, if I know Abraham." It would come as no surprise to Connor if Abraham hosted a few shows, especially for the children this summer. He gave a single nod of his head. Of course she could vouch for them and even if he knew that she wasn't the veterinarian to the horses, he trusted her. Even if she had broke his heart. Connor knew that he couldn't exactly blame that on her, despite the bitterness that was lingering just beneath the surface of everything. "I'll be there. I made sure to take it off for her." @fatmaxaslan