My anxiety turned into frustration, and the time was ticking slower than a goddamn snail.
"How is it still 7:30? And where the hell is he?"
Before I could whine any further, my eyes—scanning every inch of the area—finally locked onto something familiar. Those eyes. Those warm, honey-coloured eyes that instantly made me lose all composure. I ducked behind a pillar instinctively.
Okay Jane, get your act together before you turn red.
I took a deep breath and stepped forward with a smile.
"Hi, I'm Daniel."
Of course I knew his name. He knew mine too, thanks to Insta. But hearing him say it? I kind of wanted to pull a little trick.
"Hi, I'm Jane."
Coward. Fool. Stupid Jane.
Why can't I flirt with him? He's just a guy. A very pretty, makes-my-brain-stop-working kind of guy, but still just a guy. I do have some flirting skills, okay? Don't boo me just yet. But somehow, around him, those skills run and hide in fear.
Uh oh. Zoning out again, Jane.
I looked at him. My hands awkwardly clasped behind my back, making me look like I was trying to cosplay "nervous wreck #101."
"That was an awkward eye contact moment yesterday. You ran like I was a serial killer or something."
I gulped. I did make a fool of myself.
"Eye contact gets scary sometimes, you know? They say you can't look into the eyes of someone you like."
"Isn't it a little too soon for a confession?"
That's when my brain decided to reboot.
I needed to save this. Creative beast, activate. Come on. Come on—YES!
"Who said I'm confessing? It's not a crime to have an eye candy, is it? You just happened to catch my eye... and I liked what I saw."
I leaned in slightly, totally forgetting my hands were still awkwardly tucked behind me.
"Oh really." He chuckled, shaking his head. "How long have you been waiting though?"
An hour. A whole god damn hour.
I wanted to scream.
"Long enough to know someone's not punctual." I crossed my arms with a small, dramatic squint.
"Girls are usually late, so I thought I'd be early regardless—"
"Excuses." I cut him off before he could finish.
"Okay okay, let me make it up to you. Let's grab something to eat? My treat."
I huffed. "Be a little creative. That's not making up for me standing in this heat."
Yeah, I snapped. Food is a basic human right, not an apology.
"Creative, huh? You're the creative one here—not really my thing."
Wait, how does he know?
"I sure am creative." I straightened up proudly. "Oh! That reminds me—there's a dance competition on campus soon. Duo entry is mandatory, for some reason."
"Uh-huh. They really did solo dancers dirty."
"I know, right?"
I stared at him. Come on, Jane. Man up. Oh wait, still not a man. Never mind. Guts—get in here.
"And since you being on Bumble clearly means you're single, and I'm single... how about we partner up?"
Boom. Shot shot.
"How long have you been stalking me to know I'm on Bumble?"
FUCK.
WHY, JANE. WHY.
Girl, you really jumped into the fire wearing gasoline perfume. Help.