“It’s okay, I like it here! I used to hang out at arcades and play with my brother or with some friends. Sometimes I’d blow up money on those claw machines just to get the stuffed toy I wanted.” I mentioned all too eagerly.
“So video game or would you like me to avenge you from those claw machines who took your money?” he offered and I decided on the latter because it was more fun.
After what seemed to be a few hundred bucks devoured by these machines and several curses uttered by this very annoyed and frustrated guy, I asked Sean to just give up that stuffed toy I wanted. With the amount we are spending, we could already get one at a toy store. Winning a small item, one that you could use as a keychain, is good enough. Besides it’s getting late and we don’t want to miss the last train to my stop.
“How far are you from here, I’d like to join you to make sure you get home safe, if it’s okay?” Sean asked, expectant.
“I’m just two stops away from here. And yes, it’s okay you can take me home.” agreeing to his offer. Besides I still want to spend time with him anyway.
“Oh…. that’s just near.” Is that disappointment I am sensing from him?
“Do you live nearby?” I wanted to change the mood of the impending separation.
“Yeah, I live near Pete’s apartment. That’s not too far from here too.”
We started walking towards the train station while we continued our conversation.
We got off my stop and told him that we have to walk for a good 5 minutes until we reach my apartment. He offered his left hand for me to hold while we walked and I took it. Walking silently, I processed how our date went and I knew this first date would be remarkable. Nothing too fancy but was just perfect for me. It was what I hoped how the day would go, less pretense and just being ourselves. I don’t really like grand gestures, I know they are needed too but most of the time it loses its charm for me, I like the ones that are connected to the small details we’ve shared. That means we listened to each other’s stories and picked up what we like and not.
This was such a relief and here we are, walking slowly while holding hands.
“Penny for your deep thoughts?” he prompted. I looked at him and smiled at how this guy can be sweet without even trying.
“Just thinking of how this day went. You know, making mental notes of what happened so that I will remember.”
“I wish this day would last longer.” He sighed. “I wanted to give you flowers but decided against it because I knew we’d be watching a movie and I did not want you to be bothered carrying those flowers. Now I regretted not getting you some.” he said nonchalantly.
“Do you like flowers?” he continued.
“Yes I do. But it’s okay that you did not get me any today. You were right that it could be bothersome. You made the right choice otherwise I’d be walking around the complex with a bouquet of flowers on my arm and people will be looking at us.” I expressed assuring him that it was alright.
We reached my apartment door and both of us were hesitant to part ways.
“I should get going if I want to catch the last train.”
“Okay, be careful on your way home. Thank you for tonight, I had fun. Really.”
“I’d get the movie dvd or when it’s uploaded on streaming sites we can watch it properly.” We both laughed at what he said remembering what had happened inside the cinema and that we did not really understand the movie entirely.
I know I have to take my own step to cross a line so I bravely walked towards him and decided to give him a hug goodbye. This startled him but welcomed it nonetheless. There are so many leaps made in the past 10 days. I hope we don’t fall into a dark abyss though.
“You should get going, you’ll miss the last train.”
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“Yeah, I should. Thank you for tonight, this day has been extraordinary for me. I’ll call you as soon as I get home.” and went on his way.
