Chapter 34: My Date in April
Once Alex and the others are off the ice and out their hockey fits, Hailey and I are amongst the people eager to congratulate them.
I’m still so hopped up on excitement that the instant I see him, I’m running toward him. He sees me in return, and with that happy grin on his face, he opens his arms. I jump up into them, hugging him around his neck as he spins me around.
I’m deaf to anything or anyone else around me, hugging him close as our hearts beat in tandem. Once he stops spinning, I just back up a bit to look at his eyes. Just as I expected, those flecks of gold are gleaming brightly.
I don’t even really realize it when I lean in for a kiss, the taste of his tongue savory against
my own.
We’re so close, we share the same breaths when our kiss finally breaks. His forehead rests
against my own as he puts me down.
“…Haha, I won,” he chuckles.
“Obviousssly, dummy.”
It’s only then that I hear the playful taunting from his teammates. But even though it’s embarrassing, I don’t back away from him. They’ve already seen us kiss, so there’d be no
point anyway.
“Hey, Cynth, we’re gonna have an after party. Wanna stick around?”
…I do like him, but if I spend much more time around so many people, I’m gonna pass out from social exhaustion. Still, I’m not so mean as to have him all to myself on the night of one of his biggest achievements.
“I’m kinda tired, sssorry.”
“Eh, no worries, we can head back.”
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“Oh, no,” 1 shake my head, “Don’t you want to hang out with yourrr team?”
He looks over at them, and I can tell that he does. But he still shrugs.
“th, I can always see them at school, y’know?”
I hap him on his forehead, and he backs away, looking like a kicked puppy.
“You tire the captain of the team. You should go have fun.”
“Ah… I mem, tree…” He glances off to the side. Then, I watch a smile spread on his face as an idea comes to him. “Listen, how about this? We can go have dinner tomorrow. Just you and me, okay?”
kere do you wanna g
bam… How about Mary’s Garden? I heard they make their bread fresh.”
Mary’s Garden Fox’t the cheapest place to go, but it’s a popular date spot. For him to choose
My heart warme delightfully, pounding in my chest.
Tale muse mem he likes me back, Right? Why else would he choose such a nice spot?
“Okay, ‘ll call them tomorrow
W
dean, leave te to me, le won’t take me long to set something up. They’re still open ‘til 10, so D’Il send you the detalle, deayon
He’s even setting the reservation himself! My cheeks almost hurt from how much I’m
Willing
Telemecum má heses my forehead as I hug him close.
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Even though he doesn’t have to, he walks me to my car to make sure I get in safely. We
share one last kiss before I head out. He waves at me with his handsome smile on full
display, a dimple creasing his cheek.
About 30 minutes later, I walk into my house in a daze, on my way to bed. Mom’s already
asleep and I know I’m going to follow her into unconsciousness in a bit.
I flop on my back in the bed and check my phone.
Hailey sent me a few pictures and videos from the party, showing them going wild. She’s hugging and posing with a shyly–smiling Lenard. Alex is in the back, sometimes photobombing with bunny ears and funny expressions.
3
I can’t help letting out a sleepy giggle, leaving her texts to find Alex’s.
“Mary’s Garden 394 Hearthro St, Ste 900, Petersky, MI 49774, 8pm, rez’d under Hewlett”
I hold onto the message bubble and select the ‘love‘ option before thinking of something to send back. It’d probably be relieving for him if he knows I’m back home.
I pick my wolf plush out from some that I have and a heart–shaped creature from a show I
used to like, sitting them beside each other on my bed. Then I take a picture of them and
send it to him.
“congrats again, see u tomorrow”
I giggle after sending the text, too tired to stay awake for much longer. After plugging my phone in, I slip out of my jeans and into my nightclothes. Then, I curl up in my bed, dreaming about tomorrow’s date.
When I wake up the next morning, I’m already thinking about tonight’s date. Tomorrow’s Monday, so we can’t spend too much time hanging out together afterward. Even so it’ll be lovely.
I check my phone to see if he saw my reply.
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#Chapter 34 My Date in April
He’d ‘loved‘ my post in return and sent a kissy emoji back.
Alright. I know it’s early, but I want to get ready.
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Aside from the dress I made, I don’t have too many other fancy or nice–looking clothes. I also don’t want to wear the same thing I did to the movie date, that’d be lame.
So, I get up and immediately start searching my closet for something wearable.
It’s gotten a bit warmer as winter has started turning into spring. So, I don’t need to think as much about fending off the cold. Maybe…I’ll run it by Hailey, but I’ll maybe try wearing one of the skirts I’d made.
I have a two–layered skirt that’s yellow on top and white under to keep it from being see- through. It’s a little ruffled from how I sewed it, but I think it looks good in hindsight. If I pair it up with a long–sleeved shirt, that should work well, right?
I put together an outfit with a red jacket, white socks, black stockings, and my usual Chucks. My hair still looks more decent than before, so I comb through it to make sure it
still feels and looks smooth.
I send a pic to Hailey to check how it looks before working on a small sewing project I’ve started recently. It’s not really for anything in particular, but since the dress, I’ve found I enjoy sewing again.
She sends her approval, so I go about the rest of my day, killing time and relaxing until the
date.
Right around 7pm, I decide to drive over. I might be a bit early, but it’s better to be early than late. I send Alex a text after checking my hair one last time.
“see u there!”
I rush out to my car, humming in nervous excitement.
By the time I arrive, it’s about 7:30, which is quite early, but the restaurant has a few tables open. The immediate inside has artsy vines hanging around the ceiling with flowers
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blooming on it. The entrance archway to the dining area has a tall white picket gate door design around the edges.
They’re kind enough to let me take a seat and mark our table as half–occupied. It looks lovely, with a white polished wood table and a silver candelabra with fake candles in it. Of
course, I don’t order anything yet. It would be rude to eat before he arrives.
So I wait.
…And wait.
After a while, I check my phone.
7:54 PM.
It’s not late yet, so it’s fine.
The waiter asks if I want anything again, and just to make sure it’s not awkward, I order an appetizer. It’s a bit rude of me, but it’s my fault for arriving earlier than planned. The burrata arrives surrounded by sun–dried cherry tomatoes and sitting in a balsamic
reduction.
I dip some of the complimentary bread in the cheese, enjoying the burst of flavor in my
mouth.
About halfway through, I check my phone again.
8:18 PM.
…I open my text messages and look at our conversation.
He never replied with anything to the “see you there” I’d sent.
The nagging feeling at the back of my mind, the prickling I’ve been carefully ignoring, returns. It starts crawling like a dark thing, polluting the happiness I’d been feeling with darkened veins.
“hey alex, u on the way?”
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I wait.
There’s no response.
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When the waiter comes back, there’s a sense of anxiety about them. They refill my water and give me some more bread.
The cheese is still so stretchy and fresh, so I snack and wait.
8:28.
8:36.
8:53.
9:19.
9:24…
By 9:40, I put my phone down, staring at the empty seat across from me.
….It’s finally occurred to me that today’s April 1(st).
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