Trouble with love

Part 10 Not yet a date

It was the following day, and Nishikata was making his way to the candy shop for his first date with Takagi-san. "Okay, this is no big ... who am I kidding? This is a massive deal, I'm finally dating Takagi-san!" He took a deep breath and reeled himself in. "Easy there, don't get too excited, even though she's your girlfriend, it's only for a week." He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "I need to find a way to make that more than a week ... that's ... not sure how I'm planning on doing that."

He neared the candy store, where she told him to meet her, and built up his courage. The store was soon in sight, and as soon as he spotted Takagi-san, he stopped in his tracks. Her outfit wasn't anything special, just her normal summer clothes and her hair was the same, but Nishikata felt his heart jump like never before. 'Man, did she always look this amazing? Or did something change about her?'

"Nishikata?" She said as she looked up at him.

"Oh." He resumed walking. "Hey, hi, I ... well ..."

She snickered, causing Nishikata to turn away embarrassed. "So, shall we go in?"

Nishikata looked at the place a little confused. 'Actually, something's been bothering me since she called me last night.' "Say, Takagi-san, is this really a good place to have a ... first date?"

"It all depends on how important the place is." She said as she turned away slightly. "Also, it's not a date yet."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Oh, you'll find out."

They walked inside and looked around a little; it was mostly empty, save for the old guy behind the counter, and Nishikata had no idea what he was supposed to do next.

"So, what do you want to get first?" Takagi-san asked.

An idea popped into his head. "Hey Takagi-san, how about a little contest?"

"Oh?" She said with an almost devious smile. "What did you have in mind?"

"Have you ever heard the phrase, two great tastes don't always taste great together? Well, each of us will get a combination of candies, and try them all at once. Whoever can make the best combination wins."

"Interesting." She began looking around. "Okay, I'm up for it."

"Wonderful!" 'This is perfect, sure, I'm not amazing at mixing flavors, but Takagi-san's probably isn't that great either, so this would come down to luck.' A devious smile crept across his face. 'However, I've tried combining some of these before, so I know a few good ones already.'

Nishikata walked right up to a random candy, and pretended to look around. 'If I just go to the candy I have in mind, then Takagi-san will suspect something, and she might call it off.' He continued looking and waited for Takagi-san to have something in hand before going for his first choice. "I'll try this one first." He said, trying to throw Takagi-san off his trail.

"That one?" She asked as she looked at it. "This might be easier than I thought."

"Wha-" Nishikata began grinding his teeth together before taking a deep breath and easing himself. 'No, there's no need to get upset, just continue, and everything should be fine.' He grabbed the other candy he had in mind before walking up to the counter and paying for them. "I think I picked out a fairly good combination." He said before turning back to Takagi.

"So did I." She replied as she also strolled up to the counter.

As soon as they were both done, they sat at the small table with their candy in front of them. 'This is it.' He thought as he opened his candies. "Say Takagi-san, would you mind if we tried mine first?"