Chapter 5 Past
FIVE
PAST
ARNICK
Me: Sure! Or I could come shopping with you!
I hoped he said yes, because I really wanted to go shopping.
So far, I'd just magicked up whatever I wanted to eat or use, but I'd seen those big stores on TV, and I wanted to go to one.
I hadn't braved it on my own because I was honestly a tad afraid I'd get lost. Not that I couldn't just portal out if I did, but these days, there were cameras everywhere, and the last thing I needed was to get captured disappearing on one of them.
Theo: You want to come shopping with me? Won't you get bored?
Me: Not at all. I think it could be fun.
Theo: Okay. I'll pick you up at 4:30. We'll have to stop by my place so I can put everything away so it doesn't go bad.
Me: I understand. I'll be ready.
At 4:30 p.m. on the dot, I was standing outside my apartment building, dressed for a date in a light blue t-shirt, black jacket, black jeans, and thick, black boots I'd copied off the TV.
I wasn't sure if I was dressed well-enough by human standards, and I hoped Theo wouldn't hold it against me if I wasn't.
A dark blue car rolled to a stop in front of me, and I smiled when I spotted Theo at the wheel. Waving at him, I climbed into the passenger seat.
"Hey, Theo."
"Hey, Arnick. Were you waiting long?" Theo asked as he pulled out onto the street, and I ran my gaze over him. He was dressed in an off-white sweater and blue jeans, his red hair styled back, and he looked amazing.
"Just a few minutes," I assured him, and he nodded as he took a left.
"You didn't have to come with me for this," he said, and I shrugged.
"It sounded fun."
That made Theo laugh for some reason, and I smiled because he had a nice laugh, warm and throaty. It didn't really match his soft speaking voice, which made it cuter for some reason.
We stopped in the parking lot of a large supermarket, and I followed Theo inside, taking the shopping cart from him since it was the least I could do. I had no idea what half of the stuff on these shelves was, so I'd be more useful pushing the cart anyway.
"So, what do you usually do on the weekends?" Theo asked as he picked up two bags of flour from the shelves, turning them around and checking something on the back.
I pursed my lips as I tried to figure out how to answer. "The last few weeks, I've been just exploring the town, trying to find out where everything is," I said, since that seemed safer than saying 'I've been patrolling so any dark souls don't get in.'
Theo hummed, then glanced at me, his green eyes curious. "You like the town, then?"
"I do. There's a lot to do here."
"That's true," he agreed as he placed the bags into the cart before moving forward. I followed after him, struggling a bit when I realized one of the wheels was crooked.
"Everything okay?" Theo asked as I fought the cart, and I shot him a smile.
"Yup, all good," I assured him as I used some magic to get the wheel back in its rightful position.
We turned into an aisle lined with shelves upon shelves of bread, and Theo hurried through it, clearly not intending to buy any. Why would he, when he could bake much better loaves at home?
Eyeing an extra-big loaf, I reached up and poked it, enjoying the way my finger sank into the soft bread even through the plastic covering it.
When I glanced up, Theo had stopped, and he was watching me, an amused smile on his face.
I jerked my hand away, hurrying to catch up with him as I shook my head at myself.
Get a grip, Arnick. Try to act human.
Theo didn't say anything as he kept walking, and I kept my hands to myself as we reached the next aisle.
"What's the most spontaneous thing you've ever done?" Theo asked, and I wondered if these were common first-date questions I didn't know about. Was there a list?
I imagined 'set a fire in my friend's room' wasn't the right answer, so I scratched my head for an appropriate one before saying, "Moving here. Well, the decision was spontaneous, but I did spend some time researching this place before I moved."
It was all true, if not in the way Theo would hear it.
Moving to the human realm had been a spontaneous decision—on the king of Otherworld's part. When I was told about it, I spent some time filling my head with all things human-world so I wouldn't be lost when I came here.
"What about you?" I asked, and he grinned.
"I dropped out of college to open a coffee shop."
"That was brave," I said, and he snorted.
"Reckless, more like. I had some inheritance from my parents' death, and I couldn't focus on college after they were gone. So I dropped out and opened Cozy Cuppa. That was six years ago."
"I'm sorry, about your parents. May I ask what happened?"
"Car accident," he said with a shrug, telling me he didn't want to talk about them.
He turned to the shelves, pulling out a packet of... chocolate chips. I had no idea you could get them in packets. I might have to magick some up for myself later.
Theo met my gaze, and smiled, his eyes flicking to the packet in his hands. "You really like chocolate, huh?"
I grinned. "You caught me."
Laughing, he placed the packet in the cart. "Come on, only a few more things left."
THEO
Arnick was... he was unlike any man I'd dated before.
He was sweet, earnest, and kind of weird. He kept getting distracted by random, everyday things, and it was fun to watch him interact with them. If I didn't know better, I'd say this was his first time in a supermarket.
After I had everything, I drove us to my place, where Arnick insisted on carrying everything inside.
I'd only hesitated for a second before inviting him in, trusting my gut when it told me he was safe.
Once I'd put everything away, I didn't linger, and we went back outside.
The bowling alley wasn't far from my place, and we barely just managed to avoid the evening traffic.
The clanging of pins reached our ears as we stepped inside, the scent of sweaty shoes, popcorn, and coffee mixing in the air in a familiar but disgusting way, and Arnick wrinkled his nose as he glanced around, wiping the look off his face when he saw me looking.
"I know it stinks a little, but well, I think it's impossible to find a bowling alley that doesn't smell like this," I said with a chuckle, and he waved me off.
"It's all right. I just needed a moment to get used to it," he assured me, and I led him to the counter to get some shoes before finding us an open alley.
"Have you played before?" I asked, and he shook his head.
"It looks simple enough," he said as he watched the guy in the next alley roll the ball.
"Yeah? Wanna give it a shot?"
Nodding, he grabbed a ball, biting his lower lip as he eyed the pins before sending the ball sailing through the air. It slammed into the middle pin, cracking it in half and taking the pieces with it.
My mouth hung open as I stared at where the ball had disappeared before slowly panning my head to Arnick, who was watching the scene with horror.
"Oops."
Laughter spilled out of me as I fell forward, bracing my hands on my knees as I was reminded of our first meeting.
"So I guess it's not just me, huh?" I panted out once I'd managed to stop laughing.
"I'm sorry! I didn't realize!" he exclaimed, and the desperation in his voice just made me guffaw again.
"It's okay. We'll pay for the damage before leaving."
"I'll do it," he said quickly, and I smiled.
In some way, I was glad this had happened.
Because it made me see our first meeting in a different light—it'd honestly been nothing more than a mistake, a miscalculation on Arnick's part—and it showed me that while he might be a bit too strong physically, he was a sweetheart, and he'd never intentionally misuse that strength.
Once we'd both calmed down, I picked up the next ball and showed him how to gently roll the ball, knocking over three of the remaining pins.
Arnick copied me, and while his ball rolled into the gutter, it didn't cause any damage this time, so I called it a win.
We played for a while, then got some food—pizza and fries—and took a break while the woman behind the counter stared at us through narrowed eyes. She'd clearly caught Arnick's epic throw and was probably worried we'd take off without paying for it.
After we'd finished our food, we played for a while later, and Arnick managed to sink quite a few of the pins once he got the hang of it.
"Did you have fun?" I asked as we made our way outside after Arnick paid for a whole new set of pins—the woman had told him you couldn't buy a single pin, and while I doubted the veracity of that, Arnick had just handed over the money—and he nodded quickly, a grin on his face.
I'd found out quite a bit about Arnick today. He was sweet, respectful, and self-aware enough to know when he'd messed up. He also didn't hesitate to apologize or make up for his mistake.
Maybe, just maybe, I could let my guard down just a little. Maybe this could really turn into something real, something worth opening myself up to.
Arnick was different. A little weird, but in a good way. He wasn't like any of my exes, and maybe that made him too good to be true, but it was worth the risk to find out, wasn't it?
As I drove toward his apartment, I decided that I wanted to get to know him better. I wanted to spend more time with him, to talk about the things that mattered.
"Would you like to go out with me again?" I asked as we reached his place, and he turned to me, his blue eyes sparkling with warmth.
"I'd love that."
Smiling, I leaned forward and kissed his cheek before pulling back.
He gave me a warm smile as he touched his cheek, as if he could still feel my lips there, and the look on his face... Had anyone ever looked at me like that before?
"I'll text you," I said, and Arnick nodded, reaching for the door.
"Good night, Theo," he murmured as he opened the door and stepped outside.
"Good night, Arnick," I replied after he'd shut the door, but the way he ducked his head to smile at me told me he'd somehow heard me.
With one last wave, I drove away, watching him through the rearview as he stood there watching me right back until I took a turn, breaking our lines of sight.
Warmth bubbled through me, leaving me feeling like I could float away if I let go of the steering wheel.
First dates were usually clumsy and not quite fun, and while there had certainly been a few uneasy moments today, overall I'd thoroughly enjoyed my time with Arnick.
Arnick was fun and a touch shy, sweet and wholly wonderful, and I already looked forward to our second date.