The First Real Date
570 Words
Chapter 6
There were no cameras.
No ball gowns.
No board members.
Just a corner bookstore on a Thursday afternoon, and rain tapping the windows again.
Lina got there first. She told herself it was because she was early. It wasn’t. It was because she was nervous.
She was wearing jeans. A sweater. No makeup. She looked like herself.
When Adrian walked in, he was wearing the same thing. Jeans. Black hoodie. Hair still messy from the rain. No suit. No last name.
He saw her and stopped.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” she said back.
For a second they just stood there, like they didn’t know what to do with each other without a crisis.
Then Adrian held up a paper bag. “Coffee. And I got you a book.”
“You didn’t have to—”
“I know.”
They found two chairs by the window. The store was quiet. Soft jazz. The smell of paper and coffee.
Lina opened the bag. Inside: black coffee, and a worn copy of _The Starless Sea_.
She looked up at him. “You remembered.”
“You said your sister loved stars,” Adrian said, like it was nothing. “Even when there weren’t any.”
Lina’s chest did something weird.
“Thank you.”
They drank coffee. They didn’t talk about the board. Or the press. Or Richard.
Instead:
“What was she like?” Adrian asked.
Lina traced the rim of her cup. “Elena? Loud. She laughed at everything. Hated galas. Loved bad movies. She’d be making fun of us right now. ‘Two disasters on a date in a bookstore. So original.’”
Adrian smiled. Real this time. “She sounds like she’d like me.”
“She would’ve stolen your hoodie.”
“Fair.”
They talked for two hours. About nothing and everything.
Her favorite book. His worst coding bug. The way the city looked at 3am.
At one point Lina reached across the table and stole a sip of his coffee.
Adrian didn’t comment. Just pushed the cup closer.
Outside, the rain stopped. Sun broke through and hit the wet sidewalk, turning it gold.
“We should go,” Lina said, but didn’t move.
“Yeah.” Adrian didn’t move either.
Finally they stood. Walked out together. The air smelled clean.
At the corner, Adrian stopped.
“I’m not good at this,” he said.
“What?”
“Dating. Normal things. I don’t know the rules.”
Lina looked at him. Really looked. No billionaire. No headlines. Just him.
“Good,” she said. “I hate the rules too.”
He nodded. Then, after a second, he reached out and brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. His fingers lingered.
“Can I see you again?” he asked. Quiet.
Lina’s heart was hammering.
“Only if it’s in jeans,” she said.
Adrian laughed. “Deal.”
He walked her to the subway. Didn’t kiss her. Didn’t try.
Just stood there until her train came.
“Text me when you’re home,” he said.
“Bossy.”
“Worried.”
Lina got on the train. Through the window, she watched him standing on the platform, hands in his pockets, watching her go.
She pulled out her phone.
Lina: Home safe. Breadcrumb found._
Adrian: _Good. Save me one for tomorrow._
She smiled all the way home.
- Writer
