"Welcome to my humble abode," Luke says while gesturing to Cobie to come inside as if he's a professional butler.
Cobie grins at him, feeling relieved when she sees Luke's outfit. His blue dress shirt and a pair of white pants match her teal silk blouse and black jeans. She changed into four different dresses this morning, three of them were from Rose's collection before she settled on the one she's wearing now. The last thing she needs is being overdressed or underdressed on their first date.
Once inside, she sweeps her eyes over Luke's condominium. Just like a typical men's place, the masculine atmosphere welcomes her right away. The walls are painted white and dark blue, and so is his furniture except for his cat tree house which catches her eyes right away. The condo is not huge, but big enough for a single man who barely spends his day inside. Deep down, she wonders if he lived here with his ex back in the days.
"Don't worry," Luke adds as he closes the front door. "I didn't invite you to lure you to my bed. It's legit our first date."
Cobie chuckles as she walks to the living room and drops her bag on his navy couch. "I'm not worried. I'm just a bit concerned."
"Oh?"
"How big is your cat?" She stares at the cat playhouse in the corner of the room and frowns. The posts lean and bend weirdly, and the cubby house is practically ruined. "Are you sure you bought her the right size?"
Luke drops his head in defeat. "That is a major disaster. It's not too small for her but the quality sucks. It's a rip-off, and I'm never buying online again." He flinched at his cat tower. "I swear the color was soft pink on their website."
Cobie plops down on the sofa and crosses her legs. "Soft pink, huh? Fuschia is not that bad, to be honest."
"What is fuschia?"
"It's a vivid purple mix with a reddish shade. That color." She points at the cat tower.
"That is a strong pink. A stupid pink." Luke shrugs and saunters to his fridge. "My cat is such a grumpy old lady, and she hates that color, and it didn't survive her wrath."
Cobie laughs and looks around. "Where is she?"
"Outside. She's an introverted cat. She always leaves when I have company. What do you want to drink? Coke?"
"Just water, please."
"I'm going to start making lunch now," he says when he brings over a glass of cold water. "You can watch a series if you like. The food will be ready in thirty minutes, and we will eat on my balcony."
"Don't you need my help?"
"No. Why? It's just nachos. The easiest food to make on the planet. Or," Luke says, biting his lower lip. "You can keep me company while I'm making us food, but not too much distraction or I would ruin our lunch."
Cobie giggles and gets up after chugging down her water. "Deal."
She bounces to the kitchen where Luke is now burying his face in the fridge, picking the ingredients he needs for the meal. She leans over the small kitchen island which is also a breakfast table, her elbows on the countertops while her eyes roam over her surroundings.
Luke's kitchen is not spacious yet it's not crammed with too much stuff since he doesn't overly invest in cooking appliances. Between the stoves and the sink, only a coffee machine occupies the spot, and jars of coffee, cream, and sugar are arranged on the hanging rack on the wall next to it. The built-in fridge is on one side of the kitchen counter, while the combi microwave oven is on the other side. She's impressed with how neat the sink is, with no trace of slacking in cleaning up as most male bachelors do.
"I pay someone to clean up once a week, in case you wonder," Luke says as if he can read her mind. He bends down to grab a cutting board and a knife, before setting a pan on his electric stove. "But I always make my own food when I don't eat out."
Cobie's fingers play with the glass in her hand. "When did you learn cooking?"
Luke starts chopping the onion. "When I still lived with my ex. I mean, we took a turn to do chores, including cooking. As university students, we were too broke to hire a cook or eat out all the time." He glances at her. "Who is the cook in your family?"
"We also took a turn, but Mom did the most part." Cobie frowns when her mom's face flashes to her mind. It's been only a week, and she misses her miserably.
Luke stops cutting the onion and reverts his eyes to her, his eyes softening. "She'll be doing just fine. She's a tough cookie, and you know that."
"I know." Cobie nods, running her finger along the glass rim. "So, did you guys live here? Your ex and you."
"Uh, no." He looks surprised by the sudden change of topic, but she's grateful that he follows through. He probably knows that the topic of her mom is still too painful to bring up. "I bought this condo and moved in here after we broke up. Wasn't in the right mind, though. I would have bought something bigger than a single-bedroom apartment like this."
"Well, it's not bad." She turns her head to look at the view through the balcony glass door. "And a nice city view. I bet it's beautiful at night with all those city lights."
Luke smiles and starts to stir-fry the minced beef and the rest of the ingredients. In the next seconds, the savory aroma permeates the air. "We will get to see it on our second date."
She laughs. "Our first date has barely started, and now we're planning our second date?"
"I'm just optimistic like that."
Feeling the butterflies swarming in her belly, Cobie follows his every move while he resumes preparing for the nachos. If she finds him hot when he takes control during the client meetings, watching him cook gives her a different sense of admiration. Luke isn't just a leader, he's a nurturer too. Has he always been this sweet to any woman he dated?
"I told you no distraction," he says, chuckling. "I have a pair of eyes in the back of my head. I know you're staring at me."
"I'm not staring at you."
"Are you thinking about how hot your boss is?"
Cobie rolls her eyes. "Confident much."
Luke turns around, glass baking dishes filled with nachos in his hands. "I told you I found you cute since the day you joined us. What about you? Did you find me bangable from day one?" When she groans at his choice of words, he adds, "What? It's your word, not mine."
"It's just a figure of speech, Luke. I mean, well, women are in awe of you. There is something about you that makes people attracted to you effortlessly." Cobie bites her lower lip, frowning at her own words. "Okay. Bangable is the word, I guess."
Luke breaks into laughter. "So, did you have this naughty thought about banging your boss on his desk while I was interviewing you?"
She smirks. "I don't kiss and tell."
He squints his eyes at her as walks to his oven. "I will figure it out myself. You'll see."
"I'm not stopping you."
After setting the timer, he peeks through the oven glass door and then rubs his hands together. "Ten minutes and our food will be ready. Can you grab a bowl of salad from the fridge and bring it over to the balcony? I'll bring the rest."
"Sure." Cobie strides to his fridge and does as asked.
Luke's balcony is cozy. It's roughly three meters broad and four meters long with see-through glass railings along the edge of the terrace. A table with four seats is arranged in the middle of it, a white vase with a pair of red roses and a red candle sitting proudly on the table. Judging from the non-existent plants or flowers in his condo, he must have prepared the special flowers for their date.
The man appears with two plates and cutlery in hand before disappearing into the house again. A minute later, he comes back with two glasses and a bottle of champagne. Cobie leans on the railings while watching him lighting the candle and pouring the cold champagne into the glasses.
Luke brings the glasses to her. "Let's make a toast."
"For what?"
"For us. Our first date. A new beginning." Luke extends his glass slightly and waits until Cobie meets him halfway.
"For us, our first date, and many dates to come," Cobie says before tapping her glass gently against his glass and taking a few gulps.
Luke grins his dimpled smile. "Even better. I like that."
"I..." Cobie pauses a bit, weighing if she should tell Luke about what has been bothering her lately. Before she can think it through, her tongue decides for her. "I have something else that concerns me, though."
"What is that?"
"I'm a bit intimidated by your past relationship, especially your latest one with Jasmine." When Luke raises his eyebrow, she quickly adds, "Georgie told me her name, but for a totally different reason. But I can't help thinking that with what we're doing now, I don't know if I can offer intimacy that soon, you know."
"Don't you think I'd known it before I decided to pursue this?"
Cobie shrugs. "I guess, but I want to make sure that we both know where we stand. I like you, Luke. A lot. But sex is also a part of my past that I need to work on. I'm not saying I'm traumatized; it's just I want to be very sure when we go there."
"Hey," Luke says gently, taking the champagne glass from her hand and placing their glasses back on the table. When he scoots back to her, he brushes his fingers over her bangs. "I've said this before and I will say it again. I will wait until you're ready. I've been waiting for years and I'm dumb if I stop now."
She chuckles, followed by him grinning at her. "I still can't believe you found me attractive from day one and didn't do anything about it."
Luke squints his eyes playfully. "I'm a man with outstanding self-control, well, except that night when I kissed you, but I still believe that being attracted isn't enough to start anything."
"If you never read my accidental email, would you make a move?"
"Maybe. Maybe not."
"Because I never showed interest?"
"I guess so. I mean, I'm not a hormonal high schooler who is following his urges and hitting every cute girl. At least, I'm past the phase."
"I'm glad or I would run for my life."
He laughs as he pulls her to him by the waist, pressing her closer, chest to chest. "I'm also nothing like those men in movies who are acting possessive or controlling whereas girls nowadays find the traits sexy for some reason. I don't treat my woman like that because I do believe that even if we are in a relationship, we both have our free will and we need to respect that." Luke leans closer, brushing his lips on hers. "And I'm just a man who looks for a compatible life partner, and I'm glad I found you."
Cobie closes her eyes when Luke kisses her gently. "I'm glad I sent you the email," she mumbles on her lips.