Sophie looked out in boredom from behind the counter of the ice cream shop. Although it was a little early for people to want ice cream, Mr. Mills insisted that the shop be ready, and Sophie was eager for money.
And that was how Sophie ended up working Friday, Saturday, and now Sunday for Mr. Mills, with hardly any foot traffic, since the weekend happened to be a little cooler than usual. Not good for ice cream shops.
Sophie sighed, beginning to clean the counters for the 3rd time that day. Something to do at least.
The bell above the brightly painted door rang cheerful, drawing Sophie's attention upwards. At the sight of this certain customer, Sophie's cheeks warmed.
"So, how long have you been hiding here? Good spot, by the way. It took me 5 minutes longer than usual to find you."
"I told you, I'm not playing hide and seek with you." Sophie replied, exasperated.
"The why is it that whenever I look for you, you're conveniently hiding somewhere, and you never answer your phone?"
"My life isn't predictable, and I'm not supposed to look at my phone at work." Sophie continued to clean the counter.
"Mm-hhm. Exactly what someone who was pretending not to play hide and go seek would say."
"KEEFE SENCEN! ARE YOU GOING TO BUY ICE CREAM OR NOT?!!"
Keefe grinned, booping Sophie on the nose. She recoiled.
"Okay, as the senior employee here, I cast you out of the shop. Out!" Sophie pointed towards the door.
"By any chance, are there any other employees here?" Keefe mused.
"Maybe." No, no there weren't. Sophie was the only employee, since Mr. Mill could count on her and her relaxed schedule to pick up a few hours. Not sure that was legal but...
The bell rang again. Sophie looked up for the second time and, like the first time, the customer brought pink to her cheeks.
"So bossy, and I thought Biana was bad." Fitz walked up to the counter.
"Hi Fitz."
"Hi Sophie."
"What? No hello for Keefe?" Keefe chimed.
"When are you off today?" Fitz asked, ignoring Keefe.
"In fifteen minutes. Today was so boring."Sophie responded. Keefe began to mimic Fitz, who was leaning against the counter.
"Okay." Fitz looked a slight bit nervous. "I wanted to know if you wanted to go out...on a date?"
Sophie reddened. Keefe's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, mouth hanging open. His reaction was how Sophie would imagine him looking if Fitz had showed up with a dead human-in a canvas bag.
"Sure. Um, when?" Sophie stuttered out.
"How about I pick you up around 5:45? It'll be casual." Fitz said, looking both eager and shy simultaneously.
"Okay."
"Okay. I'll see you then." Fitz began to walk out, stopped, and came back to the counter. He put a 5 dollar bill in the tips jar, winked, and left.
Keefe mimed gagging.
Sophie's emotions were swirling. She had been asked out by Fitz! She hadn't had to make the first move (which never would have happened in the first place).
She had nearly forgot Keefe was there, realizing his presence only when he was almost out the door.
"Hey, Keefe! Wait a moment." Sophie called, feeling bad that he'd been there for that whole...thing.
He glanced back, blue eyes filling back up with light. Sophie quickly scooped some ice cream into a cone.
"On the house." Sophie offered, smiling. Keefe reached out to take it, electricity zapping Sophie where their hands met.
"Thanks Sophie."
It was only after he left that she recognized that he'd called her by her name, only hours that she realized how that made her feel.
* * *
Fitz picked her up at 5:45.
Sophie hurried out to meet him, smoothing out the buttery yellow skirt she'd decided to wear minutes earlier, after much deliberation. Fitz grinned at her, opening the passenger door for her before rounding the car himself.
"You look pretty, as always." Fitz commented easily. Sophie blushed.
"Thanks. For the compliment and for taking me out. Where are we going?"
"A place I think you'll like." Fitz said cryptically. Sophie beamed. They drove in silence some time, both nervously smiling at one another.
Fitz stopped 15 minutes later at a quaint little restaurant, its sides covered in ivy and white lattice. Sophie guessed it to be an Italian restaurant.
As soon as she walked inside, her hunch was affirmed. They were seated at a small table covered in a white tablecloth, bread sticks placed like a bouquet in the center.
Sophie and Fitz sat down opposite each other. Fitz smiled, leaning back with a posture of relaxation.
"It feels so weird to be doing this." Sophie commented, looking almost anywhere except Fitz. He reached out a hand.
"I'm sure it'll feel natural soon enough. Is this your first date?"
"Yes." Sophie replied, feeling suddenly childish. Fitz had probably been on more than she could count with both hands.
"Mine too." Fitz shared, causing Sophie's eyes to snap back to his face. He smiled sheepishly.
"Everyone assumes I've dated before, but I think they're just assuming I'm like Alvar."
"So Alvar dated a lot?" Sophie probed.
"Well, not really, but yes at the same time. It's more that he gained that kind of reputation from the things he did. Like once or twice, he took two girls out to Prom. And they were fine with it. That kind of thing. Not so much that he dated all the time."
"Oh." Alvar seemed like quite the character.
"But let's not talk about my weird brother." Fitz redirected. "Tell me something I don't know about you."
"Hmm." Sophie pondered as their food came out.
"I have this stuffed animal I've had since I was little, an elephant named Ella."
Fitz raised his eyebrows. "Huh, I never would have guessed. Something you don't know about me is I want to be an ambassador someday. I think it would be cool to see all kinds of different places and people, you know?"
Sophie nodded, "Yeah, that sounds pretty cool."
The night went on with Fitz and Sophie exchanging stories back and forth, gradually making Sophie feel more comfortable. By the time they were back in the car, it seemed a less stressful.
Fitz pulled up to Sophie's house, walking around to open the door for her. Sophie smiled her thanks as they walked up together. They stopped at her door.
"Well, that was really fun. Thanks Fitz for the great time."
Fitz looked into her eyes, grinning. "No, thank you."
"Alright, yeah. I'll see you tomorrow?" Sophie asked, before awkward silence could descend.
"Yeah, see you at school." Fitz replied, waving as Sophie slowly closed the door.
Sophie clicked the door shut, simultaneously heaving a sigh of relief.
She'd finished her first date without any major embarrassment.
What a score.
YOU ARE READING
The Love Equation (#2 How I Fell in Love Trilogy)
Fanfiction"I guess I like Foster better than you," he remarked. "In some ways, I'm sure you do."Fitz muttered lowly. Sophie blushed, eyeing them both. What was wrong with them? * * * Even on the first day, Sophie c...
