Bab 7: sweet bitter
I wait in the cramped cafe slowly tapping my feet as time ticks by.
It's almost 4, the time that we agreed to meet. Just as I'm about to check my watch for the time again, the dusty door swings open again, the rusty little bell on it ringing cheerily, and in steps Lacie.
She's wearing a sky blue sundress today along with a white cap that has clearly not done a good job at keeping her hair down in the windy weather. Her cheeks are flushed from the sun and some strands of her chestnut hair stick to them, making her fairer than ever. A halo of light enters the cafe with her. I blink and the ray of light disappears along with the closing door.
Shes early. A warm feeling rises in my chest and I lift my hand to wave at her. She sees me and walks over.
As she draws closer I realize that she's walking forward with a smile plastered on her face, but her body language gives away axactly hesitant she feels. I frown, why does she look so nervous? Her smile fades and I quickly switch over to a smile and stretch out my hand.
She shakes it.
Her hands are warm and fit perfectly within my own. I hold on for a second longer than I need to before letting go.
I then suddenly realize that I've just shaken hands with Lacie as if she was a client I was meeting. Not someone I'm going on a date with. I immediately open my mouth to fix the situation.
"Oh I'm sorry about that, I'm used to shaking hands with clients." I say.
She stares at me blankly. Clearly not understanding why I'm apologizing.
I try to explain, "I didn't mean to treat you like a client. I wanted to give you a better greeting than just a hand shake on our first date, but it looks like I've been a disappointment."
Lacie's face dawns with comprehension and a light brush spreads against her cheeks. She draws in a breath and draws her delicate shoulder blades together. "Well." She pauses looking at me hesitantly before drawing up her courage. "You could always start over again."
I stare at her for a second before grinning.
"Yeah I could."
She waits expectantly.
I sigh, "but I can't."
I look cautiously at her reaction. To be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing but for some god forsaken reason I asked Jonathan for advice and he told me to throw at as many flirtatious words out as possible.
I don't even know why I asked him, or why I'm about to listen to his advice. Especially since I have gone on dates before, and they went relatively well (ignoring the fact that none of them resulted in a relationship).
Lacie doesn't seem to be reacting negatively, so I go in tentatively for the big reveal, "Because I can't think of one. The only thing I can think about is how beautiful you are."
I choke on the last lines, cringing as they come out of out of me and my words stumble over one another.
Lacie stares at me with wide eyes before she starts laughing. Her eyes crease into crescent moons, and I stare at her, enchanted by how beautiful her laugh is. She covers her mouth as she continues to laugh, and I feel a twinge of regret that my view of her perfect smile has been blocked.
She continues laughing for a while before finally putting her hand down, "Would you like to try a third time, or will you just settle for the first greeting?"
My neck burns from embarrassment and my cheek twitches as I spit out a quick, "Keep the first one."
She smiles at me and grabs the menu in front of her. As she scours over what's on their menu, look down at mine as well.
I'd already skimmed the thing more than three times while waiting for her. But I'm still not sure what I should get. I look up at her and decide that I'll order whatever she orders on the off chance that it'll cover up the terrible impression I must have just left on her.
She looks up and makes eye contact with me, smiling, "Do you know what you want to get?"
I almost blurt out yes, but I swallow down the lie. "No, not really."
She nods her head and narrows her eyes as me as she observes me, "Do you like black coffee?"
"No. It's disgusting."
She smiles at me, "Good answer. So you have a sweet tooth?"
I nod.
"Alright then," she reaches out an arm to point at something on my menu. I bend down to take a look at what fate she's chosen for me, "Mocha latte with an extra shot" I read out.
I raise my brow at Lacie, "You think I need more than just the normal amount of caffeine in my system right now?"
I feign a shake with my hand and say, "Look, my hands are already trembling enough as is."
Lacie laughs a tinkling laugh and my mouth widens into a large smile. I wonder if there's anything more I can do or say to make her laugh even more, but something tells me that less is better in this case.
A mocha latte? I've actually had one of these before. A few years ago the group had met at a fancy coffee place and Sophia had recommended me the latte. The mix of cocoa and coffee had led to a very bitter experience, and I can't help but feel a bit foreboding as I put in my order for this mocha latte. She can't have asked me to order this to mess with me right?
As I wait for my order, Lacie and I strike up a conversation about how hot it is outside. She walked her from her dorms as she didn't have the luxury of being able to own a car at twenty. We get along quite well, and the conversation never dies down, but I can sense tension between us.
It's the tension of two newly fledged adults nervously testing out the waters as they meet up for their first date. I made it very clear that this was a date, and she also made it clear that she intended on taking the date seriously. But now that we're face to face, it seems as if neither of us is ready to mention anything other than light topics in case we say something we can't take back.
I'll bring it up eventually. But not yet. I want to enjoy some more small talk with her before I bring anything up.
Our orders arrive and I look curiously at hers. It's a pastel green, she catches me looking at it and says, "It's matcha!"
My face must reveal that I have no idea what matcha is because she grins and asks disbelievingly, "You don't know what matcha is?"
"No. Am I supposed to?" I say smiling back at her.
"Yes! Everyone has at least heard of it!" She pushes it towards me, "Try it!"
I take it surprised, try it? Should I just drink from the cup? I look up at her cautiously but she smiles at me so I take a sip of the drink. Its way too hot and scalds my tongue. I barely taste anything but it leaves a creamy and pleasant aftertaste in my mouth.
I hand it back to her, "It's good!"
She puts both of her hands on the cup and goes to take a sip, she spits it back out, "Oh that is hot! How did you not burn yourself?"
I shrug nonchalantly, "I guess I can just handle hotter foods than you." My tongue twinges in pain at the stupid lie.
I pull my mocha latte closer to me. After learning my lesson with the matcha, I carefully blow on it before trying it. It's creamy and chocolatey. Completely different from the last mocha latte I had. I take another sip, the coffee rolling over my taste buds. I look up at Lacie's face and swallow. It's sweet.
Lacie and I sip our drinks in silence for a while. The silence stretches out and I'm about to ask her how she's liking her drink when she breaks it first.
"I've been meaning to tell you." She looks away from me and mumbles, "Thank you for taking me home that night, and I'm sorry about how I acted."
Oh that? "It was nothing."
"I'm really really sorry."
"No it's okay!" I say truthfully.
I really didn't mind. To be honest, I'm glad that everything went the way it did or we wouldn't be sitting here now. She looks up at me, searching my face.
"Really?"
"Yes." I say firmly.
"Okay."
I look at her and feel like teasing her for saying she wanted to marry me. But I can tell from her expression that it'd be too much. I save the idea for next time, if there is a next time, and choose to go with a calmer approach.
"I'm also sorry that Sophia's game went the way it did. I really don't know why someone would pull something like that."
Lacie stays silent for a moment before nodding, "Yes. It is weird."
I sense something in her tone, but I'm not sure what it is so I continue on, "But I'm glad it did because I got to ask you out."
"What, my drunk ass begging you to marry me is something you're happy happened?"
"Yes."
"Liar."
"I'm not lying."
She huffs, "You're weird."
I smile, "Okay, I'm weird.
She opens her mouth to say something but is interrupted by a phone. I feel something vibrating in my pocket and look down to see that its my phone. I throw an apologetic look at her before looking at who's calling me. It's my dad.
"Do you mind?" I say, gesturing at the phone.
"Oh no, go ahead." She says.
I thank her and pick it up.
"Hey dad."
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone