“When are you actually going to go out?” Luna huffed.

Jake exchanged a look with Ryan. The boy shifted uncomfortably, and Jake felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle. Having someone else bring it up was not how he had wanted to broach the idea of a date.

While Jake would have loved to spend time with Ryan off campus, he was wary. He knew that Ryan didn’t like crowds, so that meant that most traditional first date spots would be more stressful than enjoyable for him. Sure, he had a few ideas for activities, but he didn’t know if they were date worthy.

But now Luna was giving them her annoyed glare.

“Um, Saturday?” Jake ventured, giving Ryan a hopeful glance.

Ryan blushed and turned his eyes downward. He nodded, a shy smile on his lips.

Jake grinned. Saturday. “I’ll pick you up at two.”

* * *

At two o’clock Saturday afternoon, Jake met Ryan in front of his apartment building. He looked nervous, and almost immediately Jake’s phone buzzed with a text.

‘I’ve never been on a date before. Sorry.’

Jake smiled down at him. “Don’t apologize.” He gave Ryan a quick kiss. “Just have fun.”

Ryan nodded and took Jake’s hand when he offered it. Together, they started walking in the direction of the school.

“Are you okay with taking the bus?” Jake asked when they reached the corner and were waiting for the light to change. Traffic would be lighter because it was the weekend, but he wanted to make sure it wouldn’t still be too much for Ryan.

‘It’s fine.’

“Great.” Jake led the way to the bus station. He felt a little thrill run through him when they passed the place he had met Ryan for the first time. He couldn’t resist pointing it out to the boy.

‘You’re a sentimental sap.’ The message was accompanied by a happy blushing emoji.

They got on the bus and found two empty seats. Jake gave Ryan the seat next to the window to minimize the possible crush of strangers. Then he spent the whole ride pointing out interesting things that they passed. By the time they reached their stop, Ryan’s shoulders wouldn’t stop shaking with laughter.

Jake grinned as they walked the short distance to the restaurant.

Ryan paused out front.

‘The Works?’

“Uh, yeah. Luna said you liked it here.” He looked around, second guessing his choice. “Should we go somewhere else?” The only other restaurants around were fast food places. MacDonald’s would not be a good date restaurant, would it?

Ryan grabbed his hand. He was shaking his head fiercely, a wide grin on his face. He started pulling Jake toward the door.

When they were seated and had placed drink orders, Ryan pulled out his phone. He glanced nervously between the screen and Jake while he typed.

‘I love it here. I was just surprised because it’s not a traditional first date sort of place.’

The text was immediately followed by another. ‘Sorry. I’ll probably be on my phone a lot.’

Jake laughed at the second text. “No worries. What would you have considered a traditional first date?”

‘I watched Lady and the Tramp a lot as a kid.’

“Spaghetti in a back alley, got it. That will be date number two.”

Ryan covered his mouth as his whole body started to shake. Jake wondered how he would react if he told him how cute he thought the silent laughter was. He might feel uncomfortable about it in a public place, so Jake decided to wait until they were alone to share that bit of information.

Their drinks came and they placed their food orders. Jake breathed a sigh of relief when the server had no problem waiting for Ryan to type out his order. Once she had left, curiosity got the better of him and he asked what Ryan had ordered.

‘Peanut butter, pear, and brie.’

Jake chuckled at how similar it was to Luna’s usual order. He wondered if it was part of their genetics.

And then he wondered if Ryan would let him steal a bite.