Code Blue

Lexi vs. Fireside Picnics

I was nervous and I didn't know why. It was just a date with Max. I'd been on dates with Max before. In fact, at this point, we'd been on so many dates that I'd actually lost count. But it was definitely in the double digits.

The point was that we'd been dating for a long time. Or maybe it wasn't really that long, but just long by my standards because it was the longest relationship I'd ever been in. Which I now realized was extremely sad, considering the circumstances.

Thinking I probably needed to save the analysis of my personal life for a later date, I knocked on the door, smiling widely when it swung open a few seconds later to reveal Max, dressed up a bit more than usual in a black blazer, white button up, and black jeans.

"Hey, beautiful," he said, leaning forward to kiss me quickly on the lips before stepping aside and gesturing for me to enter. "Come on in."

Flashing him a smile, I stepped through the doorway and followed him to the living room to see that all of the furniture had been pushed aside. In the middle of the room in front of the fireplace, which was lit, despite the fact that it wasn't at all cold out, a blanket was laid out on the wooden floor, beside which red rose petals were scattered. On top of the blanket was a wicker picnic basket, a bottle of wine, and two glasses.

"Wow, Max," I breathed out shakily, unable to believe that this had ever happened to anyone in real life. This was definitely romantic comedy material. "This is incredible."

"Well, it's our three-month anniversary, so I thought I'd make it special...," he grinned, his smile faltering when he saw my eyes widen with horror. "What?"

I was truly an awful person. Max was being super sweet and romantic and I'd completely forgotten that it had been three months since our first date. I repeated his words in a shamed whisper. "It's our anniversary."

"You forgot?" He lifted his eyebrows in surprise and I couldn't tell if he was upset.

Wincing apologetically, I sighed. "Maybe a little."

The reason I'd forgotten was probably because I couldn't believe it had been three months already. I'd done what Evan told me to do after the ball: I'd pretended that everything was back to normal. So Max and I dove deep into the throes of a new relationship. We went on dates and studied together and he helped me actually understand advanced microeconomics and we held hands as we walked around campus and sat cuddled up next to each other in booths in the dining hall and sometimes I forgot that it wasn't real.

Or at least, it wasn't supposed to be. But I did have feelings for Max and I knew that there would come a day when he no longer looked at me like I was holding his universe together, so I wanted to cherish what we had while it was good. Which meant that I wasn't really keeping track of the amount of time we were spending together as much as I was just living from day to day.

Amazingly enough, he ended up laughing at my lapse in memory, leaning forward to kiss me again, as though I'd just told him exactly what he wanted to hear. "Come on, let's get you a drink."

We kicked off our shoes and sat with our legs stretched on the blanket, laughing and swapping stories about the craziest things we'd seen on campus as we ate Max's homemade macaroni and cheese out of a large dish and sipped white wine. It all felt very grown up and intimate and occurred to me that I couldn't remember a time before Max that I'd gone on a date where I'd enjoyed myself this much. And I hated that this moment, how I felt right now, couldn't last forever.

"I hope you didn't mind the food," Max said once the dish was scraped clean and we were lying on the couch, our legs intertwined and my head resting on his chest as he absentmindedly played with my hair. "I'm not much of a cook."