Chapter Twenty
Sophie
Damian notices that I’m not acting like myself during the next day’s lesson.
Axel and I have our first date today and let’s just say I haven’t really been eating much or reading, which are both major crimes.
But I can’t help it. I’m nervous and excited.
Probably more nervous than excited because I’ve never been on a date before.
Heck, I’ve hardly spoken to a guy one-on-one if you don’t count family or the students I tutor.
I changed out of my school uniform before I came to the library. Addie and Carly picked a cute dress from Addie’s closet that hugs me in all the right places. I hope I didn’t overdo it.
“Should we end this early?” Damian pulls me from my thoughts, a small grin on his face, as if he knows exactly where my head is at.
Shaking my head, I straighten up. “Of course not. We still have a lot to cover.”
He shrugs. “It’s not that important. We can skip.”
“No way.”
He bends close. “Still scared of my mom?”
“I’m not scared of her. I was tasked with helping you with your classes and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
He ponders it for a bit. “Hmm. But it’s not every day that my tutor has her first date in her life, is it?”
“How do you know it’s my first date ever?”
“Pretty obvious.”
My face feels hot.
“It’s not a bad thing,” he says. “I’m not making fun of you or anything. I’m actually glad I’m winning this challenge.”
“Wow. I’m so nervous. What do I say? Do you think this dress is too much?”
His eyebrows dip. “How should I know?” He gives me a once-over. “I mean, you look good. Pretty.”
My heart pounds all over. Did he just call me pretty?
“Carly and Addie insisted I wear it, so I’m trusting them. Gosh, I can’t believe I’m going on a date. I, the loser bookworm of the school, am going out with a nice guy who seems into me.” I sigh dreamily. “Have I ever thanked you for pushing me?”
He holds out his hands. “You don’t have to thank me, but yes, you did. When you came to my place last night.”
“Right.”
He looks into my eyes. “You’re not a loser, Sophie.”
“I know. Just kids think that I am.”
“Ignore them.”
“I do. I don’t really care what they say.”
“Good.”
The library is silent except for someone making copies at the machine.
“So let’s get back to chem,” I say.
I’m still a little off as we go over the material, but we manage to get through it and we don’t go overtime.
“Have fun with Axel,” Damian says as he throws his backpack over his shoulder.
“Thanks. Don’t forget to send me your homework tonight.”
He nods and leaves the library. I should get my butt moving because I don’t want to be late to my date, but I need a second to mentally prepare myself.
If this is the perfect guy for me, I don’t want my nerves to mess it up.
I need to take a deep breath and relax. Axel seems like a great guy.
There’s nothing to be nervous about, right?
Ugh, I wish.
My friends already wished me luck and texted me before my lesson with Damian to have a great time.
Why do I feel so pressured for this to go well?
It’s just a date. And if Axel turns out not to be the guy I envisioned, I’ll either continue looking or give up.
William King will always be there for me.
But now that I’ve tasted what it’s like to have a potential guy, maybe William King isn’t enough.
The possibility of feeling in real life what I feel when I read makes my head spin.
I want it. A lot. I always told myself I’ll never go through what the female MCs go through, but maybe I’m wrong.
My parents are in love, even though they’ve experienced so much loss.
Carly’s parents are crazy about each other.
Even though the odds are small, it could happen to me.
I just have to give myself and Axel a chance.
So after nodding to myself and inhaling and exhaling a few deep breaths, I make a quick stop at my dorm room to put my school things away, then head for the student parking lot. Axel and I are meeting at Lottie’s, the best pizzeria in town.
The drive feels like it’s taking forever, even though it’s a little more than twenty minutes.
I find a parking spot, kill the engine, take another few deep breaths, give myself some pep talks, then get out of the car.
The place is packed with people, which is normal for Lottie’s.
I hope Axel is here and managed to snag us a table.
It wouldn’t be romantic to eat our pizza standing.
They have tables and chairs outdoors as well, but it’s too cold to sit outside.
Scanning the tables, I don’t see Axel. But a hand in the distance waves, and I smile.
He’s in a booth in the back, kind of in a secluded area that’s away from the other diners.
Good. I want to be alone so we can talk.
I’m already sensing romantic vibes. This guy knows exactly how to make a girl feel good.
I’m at his side in seconds and wave. “Hi!”
He grins in that cute and warm way. He takes in my dress. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks. You look handsome.” He’s wearing a white T-shirt and jeans and his hair is brushed back neatly.
“Thanks. Please, sit.”
I lower myself across from him.
“I would have ordered, but I don’t know what you like,” he says.
“A regular slice is fine and an orange soda.”
Nodding, he goes to order our pizza. Then he returns with a wide smile on his face. “How was your day?”
“Good. Yours?”
“Had a test that I aced, but other than that, school was pretty boring. I bet you’ve got loads of interesting classes at HBA.”
“Yeah, but let’s not talk about school. Let’s talk books.”
“Okay, sure.”
“Tell me your favorites.”
He lists a few and I’m glad I read most of them. We go into an in-depth discussion of what we loved and didn’t love about them as we eat our pizza. I can talk to this guy for hours and never get bored. It’s like he shares my brain because we both think pretty much the same thoughts.
“What did you think about the romance?” I ask regarding one of the books.
He shrugs. “Wasn’t the best.”
“Right? You’d think the guy saving the girl would be the most epic and swoon-worthy thing in the world. But the author just glossed over it.”
He nods. “A romantasy without romance is just a fantasy.”
I giggle, maybe a bit too loudly.
He smiles. “Are you excited for the movie adaptation?”
I groan. “Yeah, but it’ll come out in two years. Two years.” I shrug. “Either way, the movie will never be better than the book.”
He shakes his head. “Never.”
I smile. How could this guy be so perfect?
Our conversation shifts to our favorite book-to-movie adaptations. The guy is kind of being a book and movie nerd right now, and I love it. It feels so natural to talk to him, so comfortable. I feel like I can be myself around him and he won’t think I’m strange. I don’t want the date to end.
He must share my thoughts because he says, “Want to get ice cream from down the block?”
“Sure.”
We leave Lottie’s and make our way to the ice cream shop.
Our hands are side by side and for a second, I wonder if he’ll take mine.
I want him to, but maybe it’s too soon. Holding hands is a significant step in a relationship and I don’t want to dive in too deeply until we’re both ready.
Axel doesn’t seem to realize my hand is only inches from his, but that’s okay. Whatever he’s comfortable with.
I wonder if he feels so natural with me the way I feel with him. Is this his first date, too? Probably not because he’s so good-looking. But I shouldn’t assume.
He turns to me. “I’m having an awesome time, Sophie. You’re great.”
My cheeks heat up. “Thanks. You’re great, too, and I’m also having a great time.”
He grins. “Awesome.”
We both laugh.
We reach the ice cream shop and he holds open the door for me. “You’re such a gentleman,” I compliment.
He bows. “Anything for my lady.”
I find myself giggling again. We stand in line with many others. The place is chaotic, since it’s the best ice cream in the area. Some people come from the next towns over just to buy this ice cream.
But it’s so worth the wait.
“Have you been here before?” Axel asks me.
“A few times. Mostly when I celebrate with my friends. I miss it like crazy when I go back home. I get such a craving.”
“Where’s back home?” He gets this strange look on his face, like he’s worried I live too far.
“New Jersey.”
His body relaxes. “Phew, okay. Was worried we wouldn’t be able to spend the summer together.”
I gape at him. “Oh…” Is he really thinking that far ahead?
He scans my eyes. “Sorry. Was that too presumptuous of me? I just feel so comfortable around you that I’m saying whatever is on my mind.” His gaze lowers like he’s mentally reprimanding himself for messing up the date.
I’m so happy this means as much to him as it does to me.
“It’s okay. I feel so comfortable around you, too.”
He smiles in such a warm way that makes me all tingly.
“Next!” the guy behind the counter calls.
We step forward and give him our orders. I go with strawberry cheesecake with sprinkles and fudge while he chooses pecan.
We grab a table in the back and lick our ice creams. So yum.
We don’t talk much because we’re focused on our treats. He keeps sending me smiles and my stomach can’t take the butterflies anymore. But I don’t want them to stop ever.
When we’re done, we take a stroll around the area. “Want to go to the arcade?” he asks.
I take out my phone to check the time. “Darn it. Curfew is at ten and I still didn’t finish my homework.”
He smiles again. “No problem. Rain check, then?”
“Okay.”
“Cool. Can I text you?”
“I’d love that.”
“Cool.”
He smiles and I smile and we just stand there. Are we supposed to hug or something? It would be romantic if we did, but maybe he’s not ready for that.
“Let me walk you to the parking lot,” he says.
As I trail him, I’m a little disappointed. This guy is sweet, but he’s not as romantic as William King. Ugh. Why am I comparing a real guy to a fake one? Sure, maybe Axel doesn’t make me feel the way William does, but this is real. This could lead somewhere. William vanishes when I close the book.
We parked on different ends of the lot. He offers to walk me to my car, but we’re going in opposite directions, so it doesn’t make sense for him to walk all the way to my car.
“Okay. I’ll text you.”
“Bye.”
I’m still waiting for that hug, and again, I’m disappointed when he doesn’t give it.
But then his arms come around me and he holds me close.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d be comfortable with this,” he whispers in my ear.
“But I couldn’t say goodbye without giving you one.
” He draws back, searching my eyes. “Is that okay?”
It’s more than okay. It’s the best feeling in the world. I want to hug him again and again and again. But not to sound too desperate and eager, I say, “Yes, it’s okay.”
He smiles. “Good night, Sophie.”
I wave with a goofy smile on my face. “Good night, Axel.”
We separate to our ends of the parking lot. I try to hold back from squealing. He hugged me, he hugged me, he hugged me! And it was the most spectacular hug in the world. I can’t wait to return to the dorm and tell my friends everything.
At a red light, I text Raven to gather Carly and Addie in our room. As soon as I get there and burst in through the door, I dance around saying, “He hugged me, he hugged me, he hugged me!”
And I spend most of the evening telling my friends each and every detail of my date.