Nina is bored at a charity event, and accidentally spills punch all over a handsome stranger. She offers to pay his dry-cleaning bill for her gaffe, but he offers to take her to dinner instead. Dinner? Watch and see! But before you continue to the rest of the article, if you haven’t seen S2 E4 yet please watch now.

SPOILER ALERT – YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

As stated in the opening paragraph, Nina is at a charity benefit for Mental Health Awareness. It’s a topic that both Nina (and me) believes very strongly in. But while she is there, she feels bored out of her mind. She can’t wait to get home to her cozy penthouse. As she’s grabbing a glass of punch she collides straight into a handsome stranger and splashes punch all over him.

At first, he’s furious that his suit is ruined. Nina instantly apologizes for the accident, and he simply smiles and laughs it off. She offers to pay for the dry cleaning. He tells her it’s not necessary. “A little club soda will get it right out,” he says. He then introduces himself as Sterling Matheson, a publicist for Outdoor Travel magazine. Sterling then requests for her to join him for a drink. Nina says, “Sure, why not.”

They go up to the bar and share a drink together while chatting. It’s here Nina finds that she is attracted to him, and it catches her off-guard somewhat. As we know from earlier conversations, Nina has been attracted to men in the past but never pursued it further. Except for the brief tryst with Glenn in Sulani, she’s never gone further than that. Now she is very attracted to Sterling. It seems like Sterling feels the same way.

Nina once again offers to pay to get his suit cleaned. At that moment, Sterling says, “Have dinner with me instead.”

“Dinner?” Nina asks nervously. “You mean…. like a date?“

Sensing Nina is nervous, Sterling smiles and says, “Not if you don’t want it to be. More like a warm-up, a get-to-know-each-other-dinner.”

“Well, it does sound nice.” Nina says with a smile.

Meanwhile, a complicated unscripted fight is taking place in the background. It is between a young woman with short black hair and a bartender. These moments are rare. They usually turn out to be the funniest parts of the episode. Sims walking around in wedding dresses is another highlight.

This episode was written about three months before The Sims4 released Lovestruck. One of the options in the expansion pack is a “Get to Know Each Other” Event. So, I worked that into E4 while filming the episode.

When Sterling asks her what her favorite type of cuisine is, she answers, “Selvadoradian.”

The event is set for the next day at 8pm. Nina is smiling because he makes her feel special. It’s the way he looks at her. It’s a feeling she hasn’t known for quite a while.

He tells her that he knows a great little Selva restaurant in the heart of San Myshuno. Which is essentially the Oasis Bar & Bistro built by Marmelad. I placed it in San Myshuno where the gallery is.

Shortly after, Rachel comes over to the bar. She tells Nina that the President of the Love Network is here. He wants to speak with her. Nina says that she’ll be right there.

Sterling says, “I’ll see you at eight tomorrow.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it, Sterling.” She says.

“So will I, Nina.” He says with a smile.

Rachel instantly knows something is up, as they walk away and asks, “A date tomorrow night?”

“It’s not a date,” Nina says with a grin.

“Yeah, right.” Rachel says, “But, a guy? Wouldn’t think it!”

“I’m……surprised myself.” She says.

The next day, Nina meets Sterling at the restaurant. He’s suave and charming when he meets her and offers her a single long-stemmed rose. Nina already feels like she’s being swept off her feet.

As they sit down to dinner and talk, they find that they both are enjoying their time and the atmosphere. Nina loves being doted on him by him, and he loves to dote on her. She tells him about her daughter, he tells her about his two children. We also find that Sterling has been divorced for three years. His children live with their mother in Del Sol Valley. She automatically knows that this is the beginning of something special and loves spending time with him.

For dessert, they have Flan. Which is one of my favorite desserts to have too. I recently had it after not eating it for twenty-five years. In Nina’s case, the reason is far different from mine. I never had it again because I didn’t have the opportunity to make it at home. I also didn’t think about making it. One night, my husband surprised me with a dinner invitation to a local Mexican restaurant that opened up nearby. I saw Flan on the menu there. I had to have it. It was just as good as it was twenty-five years ago when I first had it in New York City.

Nina’s reason for not having it reminds her of her father. Spoiler alert – Nina’s father used to make it for her when she was a little girl. It cheered her up while her mother was away on some adventure. As we know, Nina’s mother Caroline was not the most family-oriented woman but luckily her father was very paternal. Nina and her father would spend a lot of time together especially after her mother died. The reason for Nina’s mother’s dying will be revealed in E7 S2. I can tell you it was not just old age.

Having become an orphan, when her father died, Nina no longer wanted to see flan or eat it. The memories that it brought up, although good ones, hurt her. So, for that reason, she tried to avoid things that made her remember her parents.

It wasn’t until Nina started attending therapy that she was able to get a handle on her grief. Being older now, she has finally found closure on the deaths of her parents.

While she’s on this not-a-date-date with Sterling, she smiles while enjoying a yummy plate of flan. The flan is a cc food by IceMunMun. In fact, I have given her an in-game photo that she will post after this episode airs. The photo is down below. The drink is a Cortado from @Littlebowbub’s Home Barista Mod.

I initially considered using the title “The Not a Date Date” for this episode. However, I felt it gave too much away. It revealed that these two would go out together. I liked the title “Oops” because it fit with Nina’s gaffe at their first meeting. It also allows the build-up to the dinner invitation.

The dinner ends with Sterling asking to take Nina out on Friday for a real date. She agrees, and they smile and leave off cordially with one another, as it is not a romantic situation yet. But on Friday, they will be on their first official date which is in E5 S2 entitled, “It’s a Date“

Having recently launched my Patreon account, GXer2 members can watch this on early access. The video will be available beginning 11/6/24 at 9pm EST. It will remain accessible until the premiere on 11/13/24 at 8pm EST when it will be public on Patreon.

As I write this GXSimmer YT has just received it’s 100th subscriber and I’m ecstatic. I never thought I’d be at this number in this amount of time. I’m so happy that it’s happened so quickly.

I decided to start GXSimmer Patreon. This gives viewers even more reason to support this little channel. It also helps me create even better content. If you decide to be a part of this journey, thank you. Because as this little channel continues to grow, you are at the heart of it.