17 Leti
Leti
Nathaniel chooses a Thai restaurant for our first date. We’re seated in a corner by the window. There’s an energetic quality to Nathaniel that helps fill those awkward, silent gaps and bring me out of my shell.
“Tell me what you do for fun,” Nathaniel says once we’ve put in our food orders. “You probably know by my profile that I love to hike.”
Julian’s impersonation immediately comes to mind, and I have to bite down a laugh. To recover, I glance down at his brown hiking boot peeking out from beneath the table. “Really? I hadn’t noticed.”
He lets out a laugh. “You work in a library, right? That probably means you love to read. Tell me about your favorite books.”
“I mostly read graphic novels and listen to the occasional audiobook. It’s a lot of fantasy and sapphic romance,” I say. “But I’m also a streamer, so I spend most of my free time playing video games.”
“Oh yeah? Me too,” he says, eyes lighting up. “Which ones are your favorite?”
“The most recent to take over my life is Stardew Valley.” I go on to tell him all about how the game works, finishing by the time our food arrives.
Whoa, were the cooks extra quick today or did I rant for way longer than I meant to?
Wrap it up, Leti. “But I play other games too. Tears of the Kingdom was my last obsession before this game. What about you?”
“Super Mario Bros., but I don’t spend too much time playing. I’m more of a casual gamer,” he says, digging into his pad thai.
We lapse into our first silence as we eat, but it’s not uncomfortable.
I hardly notice at first because of how hungry I am, focused only on digesting the curry on my plate.
But once I do, the silence is all I can hear.
I rack my brain for something to say but come up blank.
What did Julian and I talk about during our practice date?
I lift my glass to take a sip, but it slips from my hand and knocks against the edge of the table.
I let out a loud “Oh!” and Nathaniel rises from his seat.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine!” Thankfully I manage to keep the glass upright so that other than a few small puddles of tea on the tablecloth, there’s not much spillage. I smooth out my skirt beneath the table, dotting at the stains with a napkin. I should’ve known better than to wear white on a first date.
“I’ll be right back.”
The restaurant is fuller than when we first arrived. Almost every table is filled as my eyes scan the space for the restroom. I spot the sign pointing the way just as I notice a familiar wavy-haired head bent over a hardcover novel.
It can’t be…
His face is completely obscured by the book in his hand, but I’d recognize the set of his shoulders and the tattoo on his middle finger anywhere.
Plus, I’ve seen him wear that same salmon and white striped button-down to work.
Before I approach his table, I turn back to make sure Nathaniel isn’t looking.
He’s bent over his plate, shoveling down his pad thai in an impolite way he wasn’t when I was sitting across from him.
The sight makes me grin, right before I turn my back and approach Julian.
When I snatch the hardcover from his hands, he lets out a yelp of surprise.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I lean down until we’re eye level, trying to keep my voice down and failing miserably.
My voice comes out as a hiss that causes several heads to turn our direction.
I didn’t think twice when he texted last night to ask where Nathaniel and I were going.
It shouldn’t be nearly as surprising as it is that he decided to spy on my date.
This is the same man who broke into my dating apps, after all.
“I wanted to make sure you were doing okay.” His expression is so earnest, I nearly back down.
Here he is again, barreling past every boundary no considerate person would cross.
But one look at his puppy dog eyes, and here I am letting him.
Again. “You were doing great until that little drink slipup, but you can still come back from that. And if not, I’m here for a rescue if you need one. ”
“I don’t need a rescue,” I hiss out quickly, blood boiling all over again.
I let him get away with breaking into my dating accounts, but I won’t let him off the hook this time.
Plus, it’s bad enough that Nathaniel had to witness one of my random bouts of clumsiness.
The last thing I need is Julian sitting two feet away from us, judging my every move. “You need to leave. Now.”
It’s then that a waiter chooses this moment to deposit Julian’s order of pad see ew on the table and refill his water glass.
Julian glances down at his plate and his stomach makes a low growl in response.
Hands folded in prayer, he looks up at me with those big brown eyes, equal parts pleading and pitiful.
“Fine. Stay and eat.” I heave a long-suffering sigh. “If you were planning to spy on my date, the least you could’ve done was ask for permission. But that’s not really your style, is it?” I cross my arms over my chest, glaring at him until he starts to squirm in his seat.
“If I had, would you have said yes?”
“Of course not!”
More heads turn back to us. I hold out a hand as if in surrender, and they return to their tables.
Instead of continuing this ludicrous conversation, I indulge in the pettiest side of myself by removing the straw from his glass and flinging it into his lap.
I mouth, Permanent record at him before stalking to the bathroom.
When I come out, I purposefully ignore his table and focus on Nathaniel.
The rest of the evening goes smoothly. I find myself laughing at Nathaniel’s corny jokes and smiling to myself when he turns away.
Every once in a while, I catch sight of Julian’s table from the corner of my eye.
His book rests at the edge of the table, his gaze squared directly on us—or rather, on me.
I’ve already found him out, so I guess he figures he has no reason to hide anymore.
That unreadable expression of his doesn’t waver once.
Nathaniel turns his head to see what I’m staring at, but I stop him by laying a hand on his arm, letting it slip down.
He turns his hand over in mine and squeezes my fingers lightly, curling his lips in a smile that dazzles me.
I’m more conscious than ever of Julian’s eyes on us, but when I turn my head, he’s not looking at us.
He’s staring straight ahead at the table in front of him, jaw clenched.
Weird, but I don’t let myself dwell on it.
At the end of the night, Nathaniel walks me up to my door like the gentleman he is.
“I’m not going to kiss you,” he says.
My stomach flips, suddenly aware that kissing was a possibility right as he takes it off the table. Do I want to kiss him? I suppose it’s a moot point now.
“But I would like a second date, if you’re willing to grant me one.”
“Of course.” I smile as a well of relief fills me. He’s the kind of person I’ve been waiting for. Kind, polite, fun. The perfect first date after a long string of awfulness. I should be disappointed that he doesn’t want to kiss me, shouldn’t I? So why am I relieved instead? “Text me.”
“I will.” I watch his back as he climbs down the stairs, and I unlock the front door once he’s out of sight.