Once his card was given back, Tae slipped it into his pocket with one hand and raised the other as he looked at a table towards the end of the bar. One guy in the group sitting there, the one who’d been watching them earlier, returned the gesture. Bell glanced over at them and noticed the guy grinning widely, then looked back at Tae. “So you did ditch your friends to come talk to me.”

“Yup,” Tae answered casually. “But they were fine with it.”

Bell looked to the group again and waved, offering them a cheeky grin before taking Tae’s hand in their own and leading him to the door. Once they were outside, she let go and he settled in at her side to follow along as she walked down the sidewalk. “You didn’t make a bet with any of them or something, did you?”

Tae gave one laugh at that. “No. I wanted to talk to you.”

“You wanted to score with me,” Bell corrected.

"And talk to you," Tae countered. “Are you not having a good time talking to me?”

“No, I am,” Bell assured him. “I actually… liked that you were upfront with me.”

“Yeah I find that people tend to prefer that,” Tae said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “And it keeps us all from wasting our time.”

Bell chuckled under their breath. Based on the rumors they’d heard, that was a very fitting comment for him. “If I had said I wasn’t interested, would you have left?”

Tae pouted slightly as he considered the question, then shook his head. “No, I think I would’ve kept talking to you.”

“You’re lying,” Bell accused, but their tone remained casual, even a little playful.

“I mean it,” Tae insisted. “You were sad. Seemed like you could use some nice company anyway.”

That softened Bell’s smile and they glanced away sheepishly again. “Well… thank you. I am feeling better, to be honest.” Even if he did have an ulterior motive, something about his tone and demeanor did seem genuine. He had the impression of a guy who just enjoyed the company of others.

“Happy to,” Tae replied. A moment of silence stretched between them before he asked, “So what do you do anyway, Bell?”

She looked back at him. “What do you do? Not everyday I have a young guy like you pay my whole tab and his own.”

“Young guy like me?” Tae repeated with a slight laugh. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-one,” Bell lied. That was usually what other people guessed when they looked at her. “You?”

“Twenty-four,” Tae answered. “I’m in college, but I uh, come from money I guess you could say.”

Bell whistled. “Rich college boy huh?”

It was Tae’s turn to look a little sheepish. “I prefer not to think of myself that way.”

“Sorry,” Bell said, slipping her hands into her pockets as well. “What do you study?”

“Law,” he replied. “You?”

“History.” Bell shrugged. “With a minor in international relations.”

“Wow, don’t hear that one everyday,” Tae commented. “What are you planning to do with that degree?”

The beach was finally in sight and the two stepped off the paved sidewalk into the sand, heading towards where the water met the shore. “Well I want to work with ancient artifacts,” Bell explained. “But I’ll probably end up appraising antiques because that’s easier to get a job in.”

“So specific,” Tae commented with a slight laugh. “Was that your dream growing up?”

Bell giggled. “Sort of. I mostly just wanted to work with old stuff. Like an archaeologist.”

“Bet you were a big Indiana Jones fan as a kid,” Tae said.

With another soft giggle, Bell pulled their hands from their pockets and offered one to him. Tae hesitated a moment before pulling his hand from his own pocket and accepting theirs, stepping a little closer as he walked beside them. “I did like those movies, yeah, but I think Tomb Raider and Uncharted were my real inspiration.” And a few ancient stories from home that she wasn’t going to bother bringing up, to say nothing about the history her family had lived through back in Korea. The video games were always easier to talk about.

They continued to chat in this manner as they drew closer to the water, eventually shifting their trajectory so they were following parallel to it just far enough to avoid the waves. Tae kept hold of Bell’s hand. Eventually, Bell took a chance and shifted to lace their fingers together, keeping their grip loose in case he wanted to pull away. He didn’t, though. She tightened her grip slightly.

As they reached the darker end of the beach, away from the main walk down the road that connected to it, Bell sighed and looked up at him. They felt… lighter now, the heaviness in their heart lifted enough for the moment that it was bearable. This guy really was fun and easy to talk to. He was also clearly not looking for anything serious. Perhaps it really wouldn’t be such a bad idea to follow him home and become another name on his list.

Bell came to a stop and Tae did as well, looking at them curiously. He didn’t speak, though, but seemed expectant. Bell kept facing him, but glanced away as they turned a little shy. They reached up to twirl a lock of ginger hair around their finger, then released it. It bounced and maintained the curl for a moment before going back to its usual waviness. “Um, Tae?”

“What’s up?” Tae asked, still watching them.

There was one thing they needed to do before they decided if they would give in to what he wanted— what they both wanted, if they were being honest with themself. So, still holding his hand, Bell looked at him and reached up with their other hand to slip it into the back of his hair and coax him down until their lips met. Tae wasted no time, pulling them closer by their interlocked hands before letting theirs go and resting his on their hips. He returned the kiss as softly as it was given, and as Bell leaned back, he followed to pull them into another. Bell let their free arm slip around his neck, relaxing into the second kiss. He wasn’t overly eager, though he did nip playfully at their lip before leaning back enough that their eyes met again. A lazy smile slowly crossed his face.

Damn, he really was cute, and a good kisser. You can glean a lot about someone from their lips. A selfish person’s kiss didn’t feel the same, for instance; too focused on what they wanted out of it and not enough on both parties enjoying the experience. Selfish people only take. Tae’s kiss wasn’t selfish. He kept it playful, but still soft, catering to them as much as himself. He seemed like the type who cared about giving as good as he got.

Bell had long ago learned that if the first kiss didn’t feel right, there was no point going further, even if they weren’t serious about anything. If just a simple kiss couldn’t generate even a little bit of a spark, the rest wasn’t going to be good. Tae had met the criteria. He could be fun— and easy to let go of after.

Overcome by a shyness they often felt in first moments like this, Bell glanced away again and pulled their hand from his hair to twirl a lock of their own once more, other arm slipping from around his neck so that hand could rest on his chest. “So… how far away is your place?”

Tae chuckled under his breath and leaned in like he might steal another kiss, but instead said, “Not far at all once we go back for my car.”

“Do you… live alone?” Bell asked, meeting his gaze.

“Yeah,” he replied, smile shifting more into a grin and widening a fraction. “And my walls aren’t thin, if you’re worried about that too.”

That brought a soft blush to Bell’s cheeks and they glanced away again, smile going a little lopsided. “I guess we should start the walk back then, huh?”

“Guess we should,” Tae agreed, already starting to walk backwards, taking both Bell’s hands in his to make them follow him.

His efforts were rewarded with a soft giggle and Bell quickly caught up to him, taking her place by his side and lacing their fingers together again as they walked. “Do me one little favor, Tae?”

Tae looked at them, tilting his head slightly. “What is it?”

“Don’t brag to your friends about this tomorrow.”

That got a laugh out of him, but he nodded. “I won’t, promise.”

Bell gave his hand a squeeze. He returned it.