He shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter much. The berries are just there to cut through the richness.”
“Is there a grocery store within walking distance or should we drive?”
“I’ll drive us there. It’s been threatening rain all day, and I’d hate to get stuck in it. Let me grab my keys and wallet,” he says, leaving the living room. About a minute passes, then he’s back wearing a sweatshirt which he stuffs his things into the front pouch of. He opens the front door for me. “After you.”
It takes us about five minutes to drive to the nearest grocery store, and when we get inside, we don’t bother with a cart. In the produce section, the raspberries and blueberries look the best out of all the berries, so we grab both. We’ve got plenty of time and nowhere to be, so we browse the aisles for a while. This whole interaction feels like an everyday occurrence, like we’re a couple that has been together forever and we’re just out doing the grocery shopping for our household. We’re walking close together, shoulders brushing at times, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
We’ve barely even started this date, and already I’m having a better time than I did on any of my dates with Wesley. Well, except for the one that ended up with Justin and me in the same bed. Since things are going so well, I decide to take a chance at being forward and direct him toward the toiletries aisle.
“What are we doing down this aisle?” he asks.
“I know you just bought me a toothbrush recently, but that one’s at home. If I’m staying at your place tonight, I’m going to need another one.” I wait for his reaction, wondering if I’m asking for too much too soon.
“You’re right. And you can keep it at my house so we don’t have to keep buying you one all the time,” he says without missing a beat. His accompanying smile lets me know that he’s most definitely on board with me staying the night. And just to seal the deal, he leans down and presses a kiss to my lips.
I don’t know what led me to be so forward, but it just felt right to let him know upfront what I want tonight. I didn’t know it when I was getting ready for our date, but the moment I saw Justin, that pull between us was so strong, I knew I had to stay with him.
We’re finally on our first real date, just the two of us, and I want it to last as long as possible. I don’t have anywhere to be tomorrow, and it seems like he doesn’t either, so this is a chance for us to spend some much-needed time together.
When we get back to his house, we place everything from the store on the kitchen table. I take my toothbrush back to the bathroom while Justin puts the berries away in the fridge. I join him in the kitchen where I offer to help with dinner.
“If you want to help out, you can get a pot from the cupboard and start the water for the pasta,” he says, pointing toward the cupboard where the pot is. “Then when you’re done with that, you can help me with the prep for the sauce.”
I grab the biggest pot, fill it with water, then place it on the stove with the burner on high. “What else would you like me to do?” By now, Justin has taken the chicken breast out of the fridge and has a cutting board and knife ready to chop it up.
“There’s some garlic on the counter that needs to be chopped. There’s a small cutting board down there,” he says, pointing to another cupboard. “And you can use that knife over there.” He points to a magnetic strip that’s holding various kinds of knives.
I select the knife I’m most comfortable with using and get to work chopping the garlic while Justin cuts up the chicken. “You’re going to have to tell me what to do with all this garlic.”
“Just leave it on the cutting board. Once I’m done cutting the chicken, I’ll start sautéing it.”
After Justin finishes with the chicken, I help him out with the rest of the meal by grabbing ingredients when necessary, draining the pasta, and cleaning up as we go. The two of us working together feels like it’s been choreographed. We’re so in sync with one another that there’s no awkwardness, no bumping into each other, or getting in each other’s way. The meal comes together quickly, and we sit together at his kitchen table with two plates of bow-tie pasta with chicken and pesto in front of us.
“Thanks for dinner,” I say, then take my first bite. The chicken, along with the sun-dried tomatoes and pesto sauce is a heavenly combination. “That’s really good.”
“You like it?”
“Very much so,” I say, then take a sip of the wine that Justin has paired with our meal. “What made you decide to make this for our date?”
“It’s something I’ve made a bunch of times for myself, so I knew I wouldn’t screw it up. And it’s quick. I didn’t want to spend all evening in the kitchen.”
“Will you tell me more about yourself?” I say without preamble. I feel like I know about Justin now, but I don’t know much about him in the past. It’s not super important to know, and won’t change the way I feel about him, but I’m genuinely curious about his upbringing.
“Sure,” he says with a smile. “What do you want to know?”
“For starters, I don’t even know how old you are.”
“I’m thirty-one. I’ll be thirty-two in July.”
“What’s your middle name?”
“What’s yours?”
“Mine’s Marie, after my maternal grandma. Marie was her first name. Fern was given my paternal grandma’s first name as her middle name.”
“My middle name is Patrick, after my paternal grandpa. He died before I was born.”
“Where did you grow up?”
