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"No, actually. I have a date tonight." I moved past him, trying to get to the kitchen.
His eyebrows shot up, and he followed after me. "A date?" His voice was slightly choked, and I let myself smirk, knowing he couldn't see.
And because I was a terrible person, I nodded. "We didn't have plans tonight, did we?" I asked, knowing it would strike a nerve.
He was silent in response but followed me into the kitchen. Quickly, I pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge and saw him just staring at me from the corner of my eye.
"Enjoy your night! If I don't leave now, I'll be late."
Still, he remained silent and let me walk to the door without any other words.
"I figured there was no better way to start a first date than with a little dessert, right?" Zach said as soon as I walked over to the table he had been sitting at in the bakery. He had texted me and told me to come inside when I got there, and as soon as I walked in, he stood up from his seat. I was thankful that he started this off as though we'd known each other forever. There were no awkward forced hugs or weird hellos. Just straight to the dessert.
Giggling, I took the seat he pulled out for me. This bakery was so precious and cute with the pink bistro tables and bubbly atmosphere. My sister did such a good job on it, and I would always be so proud of her.
"I can't say I've ever had a date start with dessert. But I think this is genius," I responded as he pushed the little plate with three macarons toward me.
"I wasn't sure if you liked French macarons, but then I realized that if you didn't like them, we probably wouldn't work out anyway." He grinned, his white teeth standing out against his tan skin. I laughed again at him, enjoying this already.
"Then this date will go extremely well, because these are the best macarons ever." I picked up a pink one, hoping it was strawberry, and took a bite.
"I'm fairly certain they infuse them with an addictive substance because I can't go a single week without coming here to pick up twenty-four macarons for the week." He picked up one from his little plate and shoved the whole thing in his mouth.
After enjoying dessert, Zach bought more macarons for us to take for a second dessert post-dinner. It was adorable and charming all at once, and I was glad to be with him. Then we walked to a nearby restaurant.
"You look amazing, Belle. I should have started with that, but I chickened out and talked about dessert instead," Zach commented as we waited for our food.
Leaning forward, I rested my forearms on the table. "Thank you! I wasn't sure how to dress, but I think I chose right."
"Oh, you definitely chose right. Now, we have to enter the question and answer part of the date. So I hope you’re ready to get completely grilled," he told me, laughing at his own corny joke. And that started our back-and-forth questions. Zach gave me plenty of time to answer his questions and didn’t interrupt me when I was talking, which checked a huge box for me. We didn’t get through a ton of questions because each one opened entirely new conversations that we strayed to before eventually circling back to a new question.
It was a perfect first date. By the time he walked me back to the bakery, I knew that I wanted to see him again. He was perfect for me, really. He checked all of the boxes and was a perfect gentleman the entire night. We shared the last six macarons that Zach had saved as we walked. He told me about his favorite things to do on the island and insinuated that he wanted to do them with me, which made my stomach flutter.
"Thank you for a wonderful night," I told him as he opened the door to my car for me. I slid into the seat and watched him grin down at me.
"I just can’t believe I found a fellow macaron lover. Hopefully, I can convince you to go out with me again soon?" He looked hopeful and was so charming.
"That depends. Will there be macarons on this second date as well?" I teased, though I knew I would go regardless of what desserts there were.
"Of course, milady. As many as you would like," he responded, and we both laughed.
"Text me?" I said as I pulled my seatbelt on. He leaned onto the frame of my car, towering over me.
"Will do. Drive safe, okay?"
I nodded, still grinning like a madwoman as he shut me in my car. I drove home, listening to my favorite female pop star and singing at the top of my lungs. I was genuinely so happy and content after that date, and not a thing aside from this song was on my mind. Until I pulled into the driveway, and reality slapped me in the face.
All the house lights were on, but that didn’t necessarily mean that he was awake because I was always the one to turn them off at night. Since it was only ten, I figured that Landon hadn’t gone to bed yet, meaning I would most likely walk past him when I tried to slip into my room. Opening the front door, my suspicions were confirmed when I saw Landon sitting on the couch. He stood as soon as I walked over the threshold.
"Hey," he started and rubbed his hands on the jeans he was still wearing. "Glad you made it home safe. I’m assuming he wasn’t a creep who tried to lock you in the basement?"
I laughed but cut it short. "No, he wasn’t a creep."
"Good. So…" he rocked on his heels for a second as he drew out the word. "How was it?"
"It was good," I said awkwardly, walking to the kitchen for another bottle of water. Thankfully, Landon didn’t follow me, so I took the water and made a beeline for my bedroom, avoiding any further conversation with my roommate and best friend.
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