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“Hi,” Belle said when she opened the door.
“Is he okay?”
“Huh?” she asked.
“Your dad,” Chandler said. “I drove by to pick you up and saw your car, but I thought you’d just left it here or something since I was supposed to pick you up at your place. When you didn’t answer, though, I realized I was an idiot and that you were here. Is he okay?”
“He’s fine,” she replied and motioned for Chandler to come in. “Sheryl couldn’t stop by tonight, so I wanted to make sure he had what he needed. Sorry, I’m running a little late. I should’ve texted to let you know I was still here.”
“It’s okay. I was just worried. He’s really okay?”
“Can we sit?” Belle asked.
“Sure. I made a reservation, though. Should I push it?” Chandler asked.
“No, it’ll only take a second.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Chandler replied and sat on the sofa.
Belle followed her and said, “I just want to be honest with you.”
“About?”
“I’m freaking out here, Chandler. I ran around my apartment, making a mess of everything inside it, and had the brilliant idea to go check on my dad at the last minute, even though he’s fine, because I was so nervous about this thing we’re doing tonight. And I lost track of time because when I’m not paying attention, I do that.”
“Lose track of time?”
“You’ve really only seen me managing well because I’ve had a routine. But when I’m extra anxious or nervous, that routine thing goes out the window, and it’s harder for me to be on time or to finish things like that cup of coffee I left on my counter back at home.”
Chandler smiled softly and said, “I see.”
“Yeah. So, if you want to cancel that reservation and just go home, I’d totally understand.”
“What? Why would I do that?”
“Because I’m annoying, and you had to drive to my dad’s house to pick me up because I forgot what time it was.”
“I don’t care about having to drive here,” Chandler replied. “I was just worried about both of you. Belle, I like that you’re nervous about tonight. It means that it matters to you.”
“Of course, it does,” she said. “I’m really worried, though, Chandler.”
“About what?”
“A lot of things. Where are we going? Am I wearing the right thing? Should I’ve planned it myself since I know the town better? What’s going to happen to us skating together if this goes badly? What if it goes well? How long are you staying here? When will you have to go back home?” Belle listed that all off quickly before she finally met Chandler’s eyes. “How much am I going to miss you when you do leave?”
Chandler smiled coyly and said, “I’ll miss you, too, whenever that is. But it’s not tonight, and there’s nothing planned so far, so let’s just enjoy our first official date tonight, okay?”
“It’s hard for me to keep my thoughts organized sometimes.”
“Okay. Well, what if we do something tonight that can help with that?”
“My nerves? My brain going all over the place?”
“Yes,” Chandler said.
“Like what? You look really pretty, by the way. I should have said that when you walked in.”
Chandler chuckled and said, “You look good, too. But you didn’t have to dress up for me. Did you really have to button this all the way up to the top? You look so uncomfortable.” Chandler reached forward and undid the top button on Belle’s shirt.
