The Unplanned Date
1193 Words
When the meeting adjourned, Melanie couldn't get out of the building fast enough. Her social battery was entirely drained, and her stomach was roaring for a truce.
Ten minutes later, she was sitting in her absolute favorite hidden-gem restaurant down the street. The heavy weight of the morning dissolved the moment the waiter placed her order on the table: a steaming plate of hot white rice, a generous portion of rich, golden buttermilk squid, fresh broccoli, and a tall, condensation-rimmed glass of iced lemon juice.
Melanie let out a blissful sigh. She opened her laptop to clear some minor edits, humming happily to herself. She dialed her sister on her phone, setting it on speaker, giggling and chatting animatedly as she stabbed a perfectly fried piece of squid. It was absolute, uninterrupted peace.
Until the chair directly across from her was sharply pulled back.
Melanie froze, her fork halfway to her mouth.
Liams.Her chronically grumpy neighbor—a man she had currently logged under the nickname 'The Mighty Himself'—seldomly dropped himself into the seat opposite her. He looked as brooding as ever, his dark hair slightly messy, completely invading her sanctuary.
Melanie blinked, lowering her fork. "What are you doing here?"
"Eating," Liams replied. His tone was incredibly annoying, laced with a casual smirk that made Melanie's left eye twitch. "What else do people do in a restaurant?"
Melanie took a slow, deep breath, consciously lowering her voice to keep her blood pressure from skyrocketing in public. "Yes, Mister, I know you want to eat. But why are you sitting right in front of me at the exact same table? There are plenty of empty tables around."
Liams nonchalantly shrugged his broad shoulders, leaning back in the chair. "Nah. I don't feel like eating alone."
What he conveniently left out was the fact that he had been standing across the street five minutes ago, completely intending to grab a quick coffee, when he had spotted her through the restaurant's glass window. She had been smiling, laughing at her phone, looking adorably radiant and entirely at peace with the world. For reasons Liams refused to analyze, he had found himself crossing the street, driven by an irresistible, mischievous urge to disrupt her quiet lunch.
Liams signaled the waiter and ordered his food, completely ignoring the absolute death stare Melanie was burning into his forehead.
Before Melanie could formulate a suitably biting retort, a sharp, nasal voice shattered the atmosphere.
"What a surprise.We meet again, Miss Hayden."
Melanie’s shoulders tensed. She looked up to see Linda Fernandez standing by their table, her arm tightly looped through Josh’s. Josh looked like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole. Linda’s judging eyes immediately scanned the table, landing squarely on Liams.
Melanie could practically see the calculations running in Linda’s mind. Liams was, unfortunately for Linda's ego, a spectacular specimen of a man—tall, sharply structured, and radiating an effortless, dangerous charm. Linda’s eyes flashed with elitist disbelief; there was clearly no way a "chubby, ordinary" girl like Melanie could land someone who looked like that.
"Ah, I see you're having lunch with your... perhaps, just a friend, right?" Linda said, her voice dripping with condescension as she pointedly extended her hand toward Liams, entirely ignoring Melanie.
Melanie opened her mouth, her professional instinct kicking in. "Oh, no, he's not my friend, he's just my—"
Thwack.
A sharp, painful kick connected with Melanie’s shin under the table. She gasped, cutting herself off, shooting a furious look at Liams.
But Liams wasn't looking at her. He was leaning forward, his eyes locked onto Linda with a cool, unbothered intensity that made the air feel heavy. He didn't take Linda's extended hand. Instead, he casually draped an arm over the back of Melanie's chair, effectively claiming her space.
"Just her boyfriend," Liams interrupted, his voice smooth, deep, and utterly convincing. He turned his head to look at Melanie, a dangerously sweet smirk playing on his lips. "I'm Liams,her boyfriend. Right, babe?"
Melanie’s brain completely short-circuited. Her jaw slackened. The entire universe slowed down. All her vocabulary vanished, leaving her to stammer out a pathetic sequence of noises: "Huh? Ah... yeah... eh..."
Linda’s fake smile faltered, her perfectly manicured hand dropping back to her side. She cleared her throat, her eyes darting between Liam’s possessive stance and Melanie’s flushed face.
"Oh. Is that so?" Linda forced a tight, brittle laugh. "Good for Miss Hayden. Nice catch. Well, we'll leave you two lovebirds alone while me and my hubby go on our way."
Linda tightly gripped Josh’s arm, practically dragging him away toward the exit. Josh looked like a pathetic, defeated puppy being yanked on a short leash, though he couldn't resist stealing one final, lingering, utterly shattered look back at Melanie over his shoulder.
The second the restaurant doors swung shut behind them, the spell broke.
Melanie snatched her cloth napkin off her lap and chucked it directly into Liam's face.
"Why on earth did you say that?!" she hissed, her face burning red.
Liams caught the napkin against his nose, pulling it off his face with an annoyed grunt. "I was helping you, you ungrateful woman."
Melanie crossed her arms, glaring at him like she wanted to chop him into pieces and serve him with her broccoli. "Well, I didn’t need your help! I had it completely under control!"
"Right. Sure you did," Liams said, his tone dripping with his trademark sarcasm. But then, his expression softened just a fraction, a rare flash of genuine honesty breaking through his grumpy exterior. "Look, I could see that woman's judging eyes from a mile away. She purposely walked over here to mock you, and honestly, I absolutely hate bullies. So, you're welcome."
Melanie opened her mouth to argue, but the words died in her throat. She looked at him, realizing that beneath his irritating, arrogant neighbor persona, he had actually stood up for her.
Liams rolled his eyes, sighing as his own food arrived. "Oh, come on, don't pout. Your face is going to turn into a permanent prune. Tell you what—I'll pay for the food, okay? All of it. Now just enjoy your lunch and smile."
The magical, sacred words—I'll pay—echoed through Melanie’s ears.
Instantly, the heavy storm clouds cleared from her face. The anger vanished, replaced by an dazzling, blinding grin. Her eyes literally shone with joy.
"Really? Wow! Thank you, Liams!" Melanie beamed from ear to ear, entirely transformed. She picked up her fork, giving him a sheepish, dimpled grin. "And... sorry for throwing the napkin at your face, hehe."
Without a care in the world, she immediately dug back into her plate, happily munching on a huge piece of buttermilk squid, humming a cheerful tune.
Liams just sat there, his fork hovering in the air, staring at her in absolute, unadulterated bewilderment. He slowly shook his head in utter disbelief, a faint, involuntary tug pulling at the corner of his own lips.
This woman, Liams thought, completely resigned to his fate, is entirely unpredictable. And dangerously, ridiculously easy to please with free food.
- Writer
