Entry #14: January 11, 2030...
1126 Words
Bowling is a ridiculous first date.
That’s my official stance.
The shoes alone should disqualify it as a viable romantic setting.
And yet—
Maya makes it work.
She shows up in a cropped hoodie and ripped jeans, hair tied back just enough to show off the tattoos on her neck and collarbone.
In person, she’s even better.
Raven hair. Big, doe-eyed stare. Sharp smile that looks like it knows exactly what it’s doing.
“Tag?” she says.
“Maya.”
She grins.
“Glad you’re real.”
“Debatable.”
She laughs immediately.
Good sign.
She’s competitive.
Not aggressively.
Playfully.
Trash talk that never quite crosses the line into annoying.
“You’re going down,” she says, lining up her shot.
“I work with my hands for a living,” I say. “This feels like cheating.”
“You make coffee.”
“Precision craft.”
She rolls her eyes and releases the ball.
Strike.
Of course.
She turns back to me, smug.
“Say something about precision now.”
I like you.
The night moves easily.
Conversation doesn’t stall.
No awkward pauses.
No weird energy.
Just—
Flow.
She tells me about her apprenticeship.
About how she wants to open her own shop someday.
About the plushies.
“Don’t judge me,” she says.
“I’m absolutely judging you.”
“They’re comforting.”
“They’re watching me.”
She laughs again.
It’s easy.
Too easy.
At some point we exchange numbers.
Practical.
Efficient.
Like we both already know this isn’t going to be a one-time thing.
At some point I stop checking my phone.
Which is new.
I don’t think about Cass.
I don’t think about work.
I don’t even think about—
Okay.
That’s a lie.
I think about Auré once.
Maybe twice.
But it fades.
Maya pulls me back into the moment every time.
By the time we leave, it’s late.
The air outside is cold enough to bite.
We stand by her car for a second.
Neither of us moving.
“That was fun,” she says.
“It was.”
She steps a little closer.
There’s no hesitation.
No overthinking.
Just intention.
“Good,” she says softly.
Then she kisses me.
And it’s—
Different.
Not fireworks.
Not reckless.
But warm.
Confident.
She knows what she’s doing.
Her hand slides lightly along my waist, pulling me in just enough.
I kiss her back.
Easier than I expected.
We fall into it quickly.
A steady rhythm.
Comfortable.
Then a little less comfortable.
A little more charged.
Her fingers curl into my jacket.
I pull her closer.
She makes a soft sound against my mouth that goes straight through me.
Okay.
Yeah.
This works.
We break apart just long enough to breathe.
Then she kisses me again.
Longer this time.
Deeper.
The kind of kiss that lingers even after it ends.
Eventually—
We stop.
Reluctantly.
“Okay,” she says, slightly breathless. “If we keep going, I’m not going home.”
I smile.
“Noted.”
She laughs softly.
“Text me when you get back?”
“Yeah.”
She lingers for half a second.
Then gets in her car.
And drives off.
On the walk home, I feel…
Good.
Light.
Satisfied.
Which is new.
If Auré can move on from New Year’s Eve that quickly—
Then I have every right to do the same.
The next morning at Shang Java—
I’m glowing.
There’s no other word for it.
JB notices immediately.
“You look suspiciously happy,” he says.
“I had a good night.”
“That’s illegal.”
Melanie glances over.
“Did you finally go on one of your TapDat adventures?”
“Maybe.”
JB groans.
“I knew it.”
Auré notices too.
Later, when we’re both in the kitchen.
“You didn’t come home last night,” she says.
Observant.
“Went out,” I say.
“With who?”
There’s something in her tone.
Curiosity.
Something else.
Interesting.
“A date,” I say.
She raises an eyebrow.
“Oh?”
“Tattoo apprentice,” I add. “Smoking hot.”
That gets her attention.
“Show me.”
I pull up Maya’s profile and hand her my phone.
She studies it for a second.
Then nods.
“She is hot.”
Matter-of-fact.
No hesitation.
Which I respect.
“Right?” I say.
Auré hands the phone back.
A small smile.
“Seems like you had fun.”
“I did.”
That part is true.
Completely.
But as she turns back to her tea—
I catch myself thinking something I don’t say out loud.
No one will ever be hotter than you.
Not even close.
I take a sip of my coffee.
Calm.
Collected.
Normal.
Everything is working exactly the way it should.
Probably.
It lasts about three seconds.
Then—
My phone buzzes.
Maya.
Of course.
Maya:
“So I’ve been thinking…”
I lean against the counter, watching Auré out of the corner of my eye as I type.
“Dangerous start.”
The reply comes fast.
“I don’t really feel like waiting a week to see you again.”
I smile.
Of course she doesn’t.
“Bold.”
Three dots.
Then—
“Come over tonight.”
There it is.
Direct.
No hesitation.
No pretense.
Simple.
Across the room, Auré’s phone buzzes too.
She checks it.
And smiles.
Not big.
Not obvious.
But there.
That small, private smile people get when they’re reading something they like.
I don’t need to ask who it is.
I already know.
Two conversations.
Two directions.
Two very different versions of the night ahead.
Maya—
Simple.
Immediate.
Easy.
Auré—
Complicated.
Familiar.
Unfinished.
I type back.
“Send me your address.”
Decision made.
Clean.
Efficient.
Auré sets her mug down and looks at me.
“You busy tonight?”
Casual.
Too casual.
“It depends,” I say. “Why?”
She shrugs.
“Just wondering.”
It matters.
“Yeah,” I say.
“I’ve got plans.”
A beat.
Then—
“Oh. With Maya?”
There it is again.
That tone.
Curious.
And something just under it.
Something tighter.
“Yeah.”
She nods.
“Good.”
Simple.
Supportive.
Normal.
But this time—
I notice something I didn’t before.
Her fingers tighten slightly around the edge of the counter.
Just for a second.
Then they relax.
Interesting.
I take another sip of my coffee.
Watch her for a moment longer.
Then look back down at my phone.
Maya’s typing again.
Fast.
Eager.
This should feel easy.
And it does.
Mostly.
But for the first time—
It doesn’t feel balanced.
And that might actually be a problem.
- Writer
