Closing Time

15.

I shrugged. "I don't care. I like to listen."

He paused with the cup halfway to his lips. "You really haven't changed that much, have you?"

"Is that bad?"

"No. Not really... but I remember so many times when we were together that you used to say the same thing."

Together... "Well, you know— old habits and whatever."

He laughed loudly and threw his head back as his green eyes twinkled. "And whatever. Alright, I give in. I'll tell you anything."

I felt my body relax as he started to talk, and I got more into the flow of the conversation. The sun got higher in the sky. It brought out the golden highlights in his curly hair, I could see a scattering of freckles, barely visible. I don't know when it happened but sometime in the middle of all the talking and catching up, our fingers had joined. They were only loosely interlaced... but it still felt nice.

We laughed and chatted easily as we switched between reminiscing and finding out more about each other. At one point I even spotted Antonio watching me from inside the cafe. He had a smile on his face, arms crossed in front of him as he watched me. I waved to him, and he waved back.

I hadn't even realized how much time had passed. He'd long finished his third cup of coffee, and I was on my second croissant. We probably would've ended up there for another an hour or two if my phone hadn't buzzed with my usual alarm to leave for work.

"Oh." I accidentally cut Trace off in the middle of a sentence. "I have to go to work."

He sighed softly. "Some of the worst words I've heard in a while."

I laughed softly at that and reached for my phone to stop the buzzing. "We had to leave at some point. We've been at the table for a while now." I raised my hand to call for the bill.

"Not long enough." His finger traced the rim of his cup, before it moved toward his pocket.

I raised an eyebrow. "I did say I'll be paying for our date."

He paused in his action, slight embarrassment in his green eyes. "Yeah, but... let me ju-"

"No. I pay, or no second date."

"Now, that's a dangerous threat." He laughed easily, and raised both his hands. "Fine, I give in. You pay today."

"Damn right I do." I replied softly as the waitress came over. I paid by card before I slowly stood up. My legs revelled in the feeling of finally being stretched out.

"How are you heading there?" Trace asked as he pushed the chair back.

"A cab." My eyes were already on my phone, typing in the address of the restaurant. "And you?"

"I have a car. I can drop you off."

"No need. I'm heading in the opposite direction. It'll just make your already long trip back longer."

"I don't mind. I don't want this date to end."

Cheesy, but it did make me stop looking for a cab. Looking up, I nodded once. And tried to hide my smile as I agreed to go with him.

Trace smiled at that as well before he started to walk. I fell into step beside him as he continued from earlier. Slight surprise crossed through me as I felt his hand slide into mine. It was a tentative touch, as if he was unsure how I would respond to it. His long slender fingers loosely meshed with mine as he talked, his eyes moved along the parked cars in search of his.

I nodded blankly at his words. My head also moved to look as I realised I'd turned red. Small gestures... I was a sucker for them as much as I tried to hide it.