Chapter 21
Act II, Scene XIII: Date in London
Kalina
T he dinner for Ted and Savi was as perfect as it could be.
Family and friends gathered together to celebrate their love, all they’d overcome, and their beautiful future.
I tried my best to be excited and happy, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Titan. After all these weeks together, I’d thought I could read him. I’d thought after tonight, something more would happen between us.
But he’d agreed with Savi.
Because all we had was part of the Agreement. Something I came up with. Something I asked him to do. And he’d held up his end of the bargain, he’d found me a date for the wedding.
Then why did I feel like I always did after a breakup? Why was my heart in my throat now?
Charlie was only in town until the wedding—which gave us less than two weeks to find a day where we were both available. We picked a day, time, and agreed on a movie.
Movie dates were a great first date choice. Dark room, not too much talking, and a chance to get cosy.
I sat at my dressing table and applied the third shade of lipstick within ten minutes. It didn’t feel right. I groaned and wiped off the dusty pink shade, then tried again.
Easy, with no expectations. What this date was meant to be. There would be no awkward lull in the conversation or personal questions I wasn’t sure how to answer.
Everything would be fine.
‘Lina, why does it look like your cupboard exploded?’ Scarlet popped up in my doorway, her eyes wide as she took in the destruction of my bedroom. Clothes covered every surface—from my bed, to the floor, and the ottoman behind me. ‘And why do you look like you’re having an existential crisis?’
‘Because I am?’
She hurried into my room; concern causing her brows to furrow. ‘Hey, talk to me, what’s wrong?’
‘I have a date. With Charlie,’ I added the explanation as if I’d been seeing anyone else.
‘Oh.’ She scrunched up her nose then shook her head.
‘Oh? Scarlet, what do you mean.’ I was ready to rip my hair out.
‘No,’ she said and lifted her hands up in front of her. To defend herself? To defend me? Who knew. ‘Charlie is sweet and really cute. I’m…surprised is all. I thought…’
‘What?’ I nearly grabbed her shoulders and gave her a shake.
‘Nothing.’ She shook her head. ‘It’s great. He’s great. You’re great.’
‘If you say great one more time…’
She took a step back. ‘Breathe. You look amazing, if it’s any consolation.’
‘Thank you. I’m having a little bit of a crisis.’ I looked down at the green knitted dress. It was the seventh outfit I’d tried on.
‘You should wear the brownish-red lipstick. It makes your eyes pop.’ She pushed some clothes toward the edge of my bed then sat.
I reapplied the second lipstick I’d tried on and turned to face her. ‘This one?’
‘Perfect.’
‘Are you sure?’ I lifted a hand to fidget with my hair,
‘Yes. Stop worrying.’
The doorbell rang and I grabbed my phone. ‘He’s early.’
‘I’ll get it,’ Scarlet said and rushed to the door.
I flattened the front of my dress, where the slit had gotten all twisted. The sound of laughter came from the entryway, followed by a voice I’d recognise in my sleep.
A voice that didn’t belong to Charlie.
‘Titan?’ I walked out of my bedroom.
There he stood. All tall and windswept in his leather jacket and dark jeans. His frame crowded the doorway and his gaze raked down my body before it settled on my eyes. ‘Hi.’
‘What are you doing here?’ I swallowed. My throat had gone dry all of a sudden.
‘I didn’t think there’d be a problem with me visiting my sister.’ He quirked a brow at me.
I mentally facepalmed myself. Of course he wasn’t here to see me. My heart rate needed to slow down.
‘Titan’s been promising to take me out for weeks, but I think his age has gotten to him, and now his idea of a fun time is ordering in. He’s been too busy for me lately.’ Scarlet rolled her eyes playfully.
My gaze met his, and I was thankful Scarlet couldn’t read minds. Judging by the look on Titan’s face, we’d had the same thought of our time spent together. The late nights out. The way he’d made me come against the wall on my left. Or the way we’d spent the night dancing under the UV lights and almost kissed.
I wiped my clammy hands down the front of my dress. His presence before Charlie arrived was not on my list, and it threw me off.
Titan stepped inside, walked towards me, and stopped short. ‘You have plans tonight?’
‘She has a date with Charlie,’ Scarlet replied as she shut the door.
Titan’s jaw clenched. ‘Oh.’
I wanted to ask why that was the response from both of them, but Scarlet intervened.
‘Maybe we should go out tonight. Let me grab my jacket.’
She left us alone, and we stood with nothing but silence between us.
‘I—’
‘Are you—’
We paused.
‘Go ahead.’ He gestured with his hand.
‘I wanted to call you about tonight.’
He ran his free hand through his dark blonde hair. ‘You don’t have to tell me about every date you go on.’
I stumbled over my thoughts for a moment. His response was blunt and cold and his tone was a lot firmer than I was used to.
‘I wasn’t asking for permission. I…never mind.’ It was pointless. I’d read into his reactions at dinner and even before then. It was best if I left things the way they were.
A knock on the open door made me jump.
Charlie stood outside, braving the chill in a tan coat, with a bouquet of light pink roses in hand.
I sidestepped Titan and walked towards him.
‘Lina…’ He leaned forward to hug me. ‘You look beautiful.’
‘Thank you.’ The blood rushed to my cheeks as I took the bouquet from his outstretched hands. ‘Let me get my coat and bag.’
I gestured for him to follow me inside.
‘Titan, didn’t know I’d be seeing you here,’ Charlie said. They hugged one another while I set the flowers down on the side table.
‘Neither did I. He’s here to pick Scarlet up,’ I explained as if I’d been caught cheating. Charlie and I weren’t dating.
Well, neither were Titan and I.
‘I won’t be home too late,’ Scarlet said to me.
‘You’re with your brother, enjoy.’
Titan looked like he had something to say, but thought better of it. He nodded at Charlie then me before he stomped out.
‘Coat and bag,’ I reminded Charlie.
‘Take your time.’ He offered me a small smile.
I rushed into my room and took the opportunity to check my reflection in the full-length mirror. It was as good as it was going to get.
I joined Charlie in the entryway as he looked at a framed photo on the side table. It was one from Savi and Ted’s official marriage at the courthouse.
‘Trust Teddy to surprise us all,’ Charlie said.
I looked down at the frame; Savi and Ted, wrapped up in each other’s arms, while Titan, Ted’s mother, Savi’s parents, Dadi and myself stood around them.
‘It was an adventure.’ I laughed. An understatement if ever there were one. Savi and Ted’s story couldn’t be summed up in one word.
‘Shall we? We have enough time for you to tell me all about it.’ Charlie offered his arm to me.
I curled my arm around his and we walked while I told him about the last eleven months.
‘I’m really glad you said yes,’ Charlie whispered.
The movie—a romcom with fake dating—had begun and I had popcorn in my cheeks like a chipmunk.
‘Mmm?’ I managed around a swallow. ‘To the movie? I love romcoms.’
I could see his faint smile in the light of the screen. ‘To go out with me.’
I turned to look at the popcorn holder on my lap, but didn’t try to hide the smile on my face. ‘Thanks for asking.’
We spent the first half of the movie turning to one another when we both laughed at the same things and the second half was spent with my hand in his as he’d intertwined our fingers, then asked me if it was okay.
It was like being a teenager again.
The movie ended with the characters admitting their actual feelings for each other, because it was always real. I loved this trope. Where everyone but the two main characters knew they’d end up together.
When the movie ended, and we paused in the lobby, his gaze scanned my face. ‘I don’t want to say goodnight yet.’
‘Me neither.’ I had a nice time and Charlie was considerate and kind.
‘Would you like to get something warm? To drink?’
I tilted my head to the side. ‘Hot chocolate?’
‘Yes, please. I love the sound of that.’ He beamed back at me, and we walked out of the building.
An icy wind swept right into us, and even with thermal layers, I still shivered.
‘Come here,’ he said and lifted his arm so I could move closer to his side. He wrapped it around my shoulders. ‘Better?’
‘Toasty,’ I said and nestled against him.
‘You said you were planning the reception and the pre-wedding events? How’s that going?’ Charlie asked, as he picked up our conversation where it’d left off when the movie began.
‘It’s more stressful than usual. The stakes feel higher with this, like the joining of both families is out there for everyone to see.’
‘Do you feel like it’s too much?’ He turned his head toward me.
I peeked up at him before looking down at my feet again. ‘No, it’s not something I can’t do. Or something I don’t feel confident doing, I want it to feel right. I want people to see what I see when I look at them.’
‘That soul-mate kind of love?’
I didn’t have to look up to know he was smiling. I nodded. ‘Exactly. They’ve overcome so much, and even though this wedding is mostly for their parents, it feels right to have it reflect who they are. As individuals and as a couple.’
‘Your face lights up when you talk about events,’ he stated.
‘Sorry. Too much?’
‘Not at all. I like that you love what you do.’ He pulled me closer.
It was the first time I was on a date with a guy who seemed interested in what I did.
Other than all those times I’d practised with Titan. That didn’t count.
‘Tell me about SLY. I don’t know much about cyber-security.’
‘It’s not that interesting.’ He let out a light laugh. ‘Leo is the one who enjoys the actual IT side of things—he’s the co-founder—and I really like the business and admin side of things.’
‘I’ve never met another person who loved admin.’
He grinned. ‘Next date? I can show you all the files and subfolders.’
I bit my bottom lip to stifle my smile. ‘Sure.’
We walked toward the lit-up cafe a few streets away from the cinema. Charlie had an air about him, warm and soft, and it set me at ease.
Maybe it was because he’d gotten the approval from so many, but I needed to remember this was one date.
‘Oh, I didn’t realise everyone would have the same idea as us,’ Charlie said.
We’d stepped into the cafe where the loud din of conversation washed over us. The place was packed and there was barely room to get to the counter.
My heart sped up at the sheer volume of people in this tiny space. I reached down to touch the beads on my ring, when my hand brushed Charlie’s.
He looked down at my hand, then between me and the counter. ‘Want to try another place?’
I nodded eagerly.
‘Okay, let’s go.’
When we made it back outside, he wrapped his arm around me again.
‘Are you sure? I don’t mind waiting back there.’ It was a lie I had a hard time concealing.
‘It means I get to spend more time with you.’
I smiled. I was having a great night too.
So, we took the longest route back to my place, and stopped at a smaller cafe along the way. It was one of my favourites. Filled with shelves, and all of them were stuffed with second-hand books. The store was cosy and the decor was all rich wood and soft threadbare rugs.
It was comforting.
Charlie went to the counter to get our drinks while I browsed the spines on the shelves, and looked for the titles I was missing in my historical romance series. I found two of the original illustrated covers of a series I’d been obsessed with since I was fifteen.
‘Here you go, hot chocolate.’ Charlie held out the takeaway cup. ‘I wasn’t sure if you’d like mini marshmallows, but I thought who wouldn’t? So, I got them.’
‘Thank you.’ I took it from him and let out a small laugh. ‘You were right, I love them.’
I’d forgotten my lactase at home and it never occurred to me to ask for a milk alternative. I’d suffer later, but that was future Kalina’s problem.
She was going to hate me.
‘What did you find?’
I lifted the books to show him the covers.
‘I loved that series.’ His cheeks-tinged pink.
I shook my head in disbelief. ‘You read it?’
‘Yes.’
‘I haven’t finished it. I was missing these two.’
‘It’s so good. That one’s my favourite.’ He tapped the light pink cover.
‘I’m excited to get into it.’
We browsed the other shelves and showed each other some of the books we loved and the ones we had yet to read.
‘This is one of my favourite series,’ he said.
I leaned over to look at the book he’d taken off the shelf. ‘Oh, I just read Albert’s book.’
‘That’s my favourite one.’
‘I loved it.’
‘Have you read the others?’ He grabbed two more books from the shelf.
I shook my head. ‘No, I haven’t had a chance to get to the bookstore lately.’
It wasn’t the full truth. I couldn’t read any more books without having dreams of Titan reenacting the scenes.
‘Great.’ He took the books from my hand and added it to the unstable pile in his arms. ‘Let me.’
I shook my head. ‘No Charlie, you can’t.’
He scoffed. ‘Nonsense. It’s actually selfish of me. I want to talk to someone about books three and four.’
‘Then let me get it.’
‘No way. This is my treat.’ He walked towards the counter and wouldn’t take no for an answer, so I conceded.
‘Thank you.’
He added a cute bookmark to the purchase.
‘I love reading updates.’ He held up the brown-paper bag.
‘You’re too much.’ I chuckled.
‘I’ve never met anyone else that loved these books. So, I should actually be thanking you.’
‘Do you want to stay? Or walk?’
He shifted the handles of the bag over his forearm. ‘We can walk.’
I wrapped my arm around his and we chatted about Albert’s book until we reached my front door.
‘I had a great time tonight.’
‘I did too, thank you so much. And for the books.’ I lifted the bag he’d handed to me.
‘I know it’s a lot, and you barely know me, but could I take you out tomorrow night?’
I didn’t hesitate this time. ‘Yeah, I’d like that.’
‘Perfect. Are you okay with surprises?’ He looked down at me eagerly.
Titan’s voice played in my head. If a guy looks like a puppy, it’s probably because the idea or thought means a lot to him. You should run with it.
‘Yeah, surprises are fun.’ I hoped I hid the discomfort in my voice. Surprises were not for me.
Except Titan’s surprises. Those were all good.
‘Great. Then I’ll see you tomorrow.’ He beamed.
‘Thank you. For tonight.’
‘Anytime. This was fun.’
He waited for a beat, then leaned forward ever so slightly.
I took a step towards him and he cupped my face. ‘May I kiss you?’
I nodded.
His lips brushed mine in a whisper of a kiss.
I leaned in, and placed my palm on his chest to steady myself.
He pulled away a few seconds later, a slight curve to his lips before they met my forehead. ‘Goodnight, Lina.’
I offered him a smile in return and a wave goodbye before I climbed the steps. I wasn’t expecting fireworks or a symphony, and the kiss was nice by all accounts.
But that was it. It was nice.
Charlie was nice.
So, there had to be something wrong with me.