JAE

Before I got out of my car, I pulled out my phone to text Harley that I’d parked. As I looked at our previous texts, I hoped she really was fine with me moving our dinner back an hour. Initially, we’d planned to meet at five for an early dinner since I got off early. We were gonna get dessert somewhere, then we’d spend the evening together at my place and probably watch a movie or something. Just thinking about it made my palms sweaty, and I almost dropped my phone as I was sending my text.

I looked at the bouquet of flowers in the passenger’s seat, which was part of the reason I’d been late. Thanks to my procrastinating, I hadn’t bought them this morning like I wanted to, or the question game I needed to pick up from the store. That detour alone cost me freakin’ forty-five minutes, mostly because I had no idea what to get Harley. The florist at the shop suggested that I get colours I’ve seen her in, but I’ve only really seen her in black. Any colours she might’ve worn, I couldn’t remember. 

My phone vibrated in my pocket once I got out of the car, and I went around to the other side to get the flowers. The last thing I wanted was to pick them up and ruin them before Harley could even see them. We hadn’t talked about gifts like flowers, so for all I knew she hated plants. Hopefully she liked these ones, though. I kinda wanted to cross my fingers, but that felt stupid.  

The sun had almost completely set as I jogged across the parking lot towards the entrance of Seoul House. Since I picked the restaurant for our last date, Harley wanted to take the reins on this one. I didn’t know what to expect, but it definitely wasn’t for her to pick one of my favourite spots. I went to Seoul House so often, picking something outside of my regular order felt like a challenge.

I stood under the covered area outside, turned towards the street as I checked my phone. Harley was close by, probably five minutes away since her text said ten minutes five minutes earlier. Long enough for it to be okay if I waited inside, but also not...?

The door swung open, and I moved to the side to let out an older couple. They gave me a smile as they walked away, and I put my free hand in my pocket. Some pop music played inside, and the warm lights from the restaurant started to stand out as it got darker. My thoughts drifted to Harley, our texts, and how much I already liked her after only three, technically four dates. That first-second date was a disaster, so I still wondered if it even counted. 

Every time I started dating again, I was always reminded of the things I hated about it. No matter how great things were or how many dates you went on, you could only really relax once things were official. Until that point, I had to figure out how to balance my desire for someone and my nerves with being in the moment. Sometimes, that was easy. There were days that I didn’t even worry about how many hours it’d been since Harley last texted me, or if that meant anything. On others, I had to put my phone on the other side of the room and silence my watch. 

Just as I was about to check my phone again, I heard snow crunching under the weight of footsteps. I looked up to find Harley grinning at me, and I tried to hide the flowers behind my back. More likely than not, she’d already seen them, but it was worth a shot.

“Hey!” She did a little wave before she stepped up to where I stood. I felt my cheeks heat up as her eyes swept up and down my body, and her eyes lit up. “You look really good.”

The effort I’d put into choosing my outfit, a forest green turtleneck and dark blue jeans, felt all the more worth it once she’d said that. With my coat opened, she had a full view of it. My co-workers all asked why I wasn’t wearing the same button down, tie, and slacks combo I usually had on, but that didn’t matter. I felt good, and now I had some idea of what she liked. Our tastes matching up seemed like a nice plus.

Harley, on the other hand, already looked amazing. I couldn't see what she had on underneath her secured TNA coat, but she was beaming and absolutely beautiful. She’d tied her hair back into a bun, and I could still see a few snowflakes that had yet to melt on either side of her middle part. I looked down and noticed her scarf was maroon, and I tried to remember that for the next time I’d need to make a colour choice.

“Thank you,” I replied, then reached out for a hug. My gloves on the material of her coat made a plastic slipping and sliding sound, but I still held her as tightly as I could for that short amount of time. Damn, she always smelled amazing.

Was that pumpkin spice?

“You look beautiful,” I told her once we let each other go. With my flowers out in the open once again, I held them out to her. “And these are for you.”

Her eyes were wide as she looked at the bouquet, and I hoped that meant she really was surprised. Harley took them, and I waited for her to say something as she opened then closed her mouth over and over.

“I-.” She shook her head, then looked up at me with a big smile on her face. “Thank you. This is really sweet.”

“I’m glad you like them.”

I turned to open the door for her, the warm air inside a welcomed change. “After you. I hope you like the colours, too.”

“I do,” She glanced back. “Purple, pink, and white are a nice mix.”