We drove quietly downtown with some music playing from his iPod. I wasn't paying attention to the songs but I enjoyed the atmosphere. His car smelled of leather and some spice that I found calming. Knowing myself, I would never gather the courage to ask.

"We are here," Haruto said, backing up to park the car.

We walked in silence down the street that was well lit, couples held hands as they strolled towards the nearby park, others hugged and shared light kisses and then there was me, finally panicking. The door to Cafe Talk swung open and I followed Haruto in.

"Good evening," Donna said. 

"Hi," Haruto replied. "May we have a table for two please."

"Absolutely," she replied. "Right this way."

The scent of freshly baked pastries, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate filled the air.

"I'll set these down for you and I'll be right back," Donna said. "Oh, we also have our couples special today."

"Oh, we're—" Haruto started.

"Thank you, we'll look at it," I interjected, smiling sweetly back at her. I sat with my back to the window and opened the flowery menu.

"Is there anything you'd like so far?" Haruto asked, placing his menu back on the table.

"We could have their special today since it includes cake and tea," I replied, looking up from my menu. "Number fourteen sounds nice, what do you think?"

I slid my menu to the center and pointed it out to him. He leaned in, his hair beautifully falling into his face.

"Yeah, let's have that," Haruto replied. "I love caramel and fudge."

"Me too," I said, closing the menu.

"Are you ready to place an order?" Donna asked.

"Yeah, we'll have your number fourteen please," Haruto replied. 

"Any preference of the teas?"

"Green tea would be nice," I replied.

"Okay, it won't take long."

"You said you write?" Haruto asked, maintaining eye contact.

"Yes," I replied. "I find writing the easiest way to express my thoughts. It's easier to speak your mind when no one speaks back."

"When I draw, I feel that each stroke has a meaning," Haruto said.

"By any chance, do you have any comics? Like online?" I interjected.

"Yeah, I do," he replied. "I can send you the links later on if you'd like."

"That would be nice," I said, smiling. 

"Here you are," Donna said, placing an incredible amount of cake, two forks, and green teas before us.

"Thank you," we both said.

"Itadakimasu," I said, before digging in.

"You don't have to say that here you know," Haruto said, chuckling. 

"I feel weird when I don't say that before every meal," I replied. "Sort of a habit now."

We kept chatting as we gorged down the delicious fudge and caramel cake. I was in a bubble, in an elated mood. For about a minute, I burst out laughing as I listened to Haruto narrate an incident he had a week ago when he took Neko to the vet. I could barely breathe as I wiped tears from my eyes.

"I'm sorry, I think I need to breathe for a while," I said, trying to catch my breath. "I haven't laughed so hard in a while." I excused myself and went to the ladies as Donna passed by our table. 

On my way back, I lingered by the service section and watched Haruto chat with Donna as he paid. My heart was racing from the sugar I had taken, or so I tried to convince myself.

"I love your matching shirts," I heard Donna say as I approached. "You make a beautiful couple."

"Oh, thanks," Haruto replied.

"Ready to head out?" I asked standing beside him.

"Yeah," he said, getting up from his seat. "Shall we?"

When he stood up, I realized that it was the first time we were standing so close to each other. He had the perfect height, the perfect body, and the perfect smile.

For a brief moment, I allowed myself to dream. Just for a second. I was close to slipping my hand in his before I caught myself.

"Yeah, it's getting late."