Date or Not-Date?

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"How do I recognize him?"

"You know it's that hottie who wrote it. You definitely would recognize him. Or, he'd recognize you. Whichever comes first."

"Why does he want to meet?"

"Why would any guy want to meet?" She paused before screaming. "IT'S A DATE!"

"No, it's not."

"It is."

"It's not."

"It is."

"Not a date."

"Date."

"Not date!"

"Date!"

"Not Date!"

"Not Date!"

"DATE!"

"Aha! Even you believe it's a date. You said it yourself."

"Ugh! It's not! You tricked me!"

She snapped. "And you're tricking your heart."

I adjusted my dress in front of the mirror while Nicole sipped on her orange drink. I did not know what to think. My heart was soaring in the sky with its newfound excitement whilst my brain was arguing with my heart to not think too ahead of myself. A love story that would fall right into my lap would definitely be only seen in television shows and books. Things like these didn't happen in real life. However, in the tug of war between my heart and my head - guess who won?

"Fine, it's a date-" I could see Nicole slowly getting up from the sofa to jump up and down. "-but only if the words roll out of his lips."

As slowly as she excitedly got up to jump, she sank back to her seat at the same speed. Her happiness of two seconds was deflated by me.

She muttered under her breath. "You're worse than Charlie."

I retorted. "Technically, I am Charlie, now. I should be acting the part."

"Yeah, yeah. Now GET GOING!"

---

I stood in front of the cafe.

Andre's Cafe.

I took a deep breath and strolled inside. The atmosphere was warm and cozy. The lighting was dimmed yellow to keep the warmth. There were a few happy couples, scattered throught=out the cafe and enjoying each other's company while others just enjoyed the taste of their coffees and also the weather outside. I scanned the place for an empty seat and a few seconds later, I found myself sitting beside the window - people watching.

Now and then, I glanced towards the door to check if he was here yet. Every time, I heard the bell chime, my head would snap towards the door but then sink in disappointment. I stared at the window, lost in my own world- replaying to everything that happened in the last few months of being Charlie. To be frank, I kind of liked the new me. I could share my opinions, I could tell someone if they were being rude, I could understand how people generally functioned and what their priorities were.

"Hey, I'm surprised you showed up."

The deep voice pulled me out of my reverie and my green eyes reflecting his brown ones. He smiled, sliding into the seat in front of me. I quickly recognized him as the one who served us our food last day.

I smiled. "I do not stand people up."

He laughed. "Well, I like that. Not everyone would actually come here just because it was written in a piece of paper. By the way, the name's Dominique. Jeremiah Dominique."

I had lived here enough to not mess up my name anymore. I smiled.

"Charlie. Charlie Robinson."

His dark-blond hair was swept to the right. He was wearing a white, oversized hoodie, had a bag swung on his shoulders that was partially open to reveal his sketchbook. He kept under the table and propped his elbows on the table.

"So do you wanna head out or are you comfortable here?"

"I would love to head out."

"Cool."

He swung his backpack over his shoulder and we walked out of the cafe. The road was still the same as I saw before I headed into the cafe. It was noisy and cars were standing still in the traffic jam. We kept our heads low as we walked towards a nearby park. The signboard said, 'MILLAN PARK'. There weren't many kids around. Just a few of them were there along with their parents. A couple was sitting on a nearby bench, giggling and enjoying themselves. I had no idea why my attention was captured by only happy couples around.

Was it weird that I thought this was some sort of a sign?

Perhaps.

He inquired, adjusting his backpack, "How long have you been here in the neighborhood?"

"Quite some time."

"But I saw you everyday working at the restaurant." He quietly muttered under his breath which he didn't realize was audible to me.

"Wait- you always saw me working at the restaurant?"

"Yeah," He stared at the ground, admitting sheepishly. "Not exactly working, but I would follow you discreetly a few times."

I gasped. "Why would you do that? That is so creepy!"

"For this," He took out his sketchbook, opened it to a random page, and showed me. My eyes widened in surprise to see a sketch of Charlie, smiling. I was awed when I saw how accurately how drew her. The crinkles by her eyes when she laughed, her dimples that formed on her cheeks, the sparkling eyes - everything about the sketch was amazing.

"Wow," I said. "This is beautiful."

His smile widened at my awed expression and turned the pages to show me more portraits of Charlie. He'd been drawing them for a long time- each sketch was different than the previous one. However, there was one similarity between all of them.

Charlie's smile.

"I'm glad you liked it, and I'm sorry I drew all of them without your permission. I was just-"

"'Tis okay, Jeremiah. I liked these drawings."

But I didn't know if Charlie would've liked it. She, perhaps, wouldn't like people who were creepy and made drawings of them discreetly. As for me, I had fans and admirers who would paint me, and then the best paintings would be hung at the palace. I'd seen a lot of paintings and pictures of mine - one of them being me in front of a crowd or I was in my carriage waving all the people.

We talked a lot the entire time we were at the park. He told me that he always wanted to be an artist ever since he was five. He was fond of nature and animals. He wasn't much of an athlete growing up but he could run a good two miles.

It was nice talking to someone who knew nothing about my princess's life, who was only there because they wanted to know me and not the princess me. Every time, Jeremiah talked about his likes- his chocolate brown eyes sparkled.

Soon, the sun was setting and the sky was now a mixture of red, yellow, purple, and blue. The birds were flying away and the once lively atmosphere of the park quieted down into a peaceful silence.

I stood there, staring at the sunset, and a song popped in my head. I remember Nicole begging me to listen to 'Wildest Dreams' by Taylor Swift. Since then I was so addicted to listening to the song, that I started humming the tune. Soon, I heard the scribbling of a pencil. Jeremiah was sketching something in his sketchbook. He glanced back and forth between me and his sketchbook.

"Stand there." He ordered.

I panicked for a split second but then agreed to him, anyway.

---

"Hey, Charlie?"

I turned back, seeing him leaning against the wall. A sad smile on his face.

"Hmm?"

"I had a great time today. Do you...um...wanna go out sometime again? "

I smiled.

"Why not? When do you wanna go out, again?"

"Are you free next week? There's a place I have in mind."

"Umm, yes."

He jumped into his usual position.

"Cool."

He leaned a bit and kissed my cheek before saying, "It's a date, then."

My cheeks heated up by this sudden gesture and I could feel my cheeks reddening- like a tomato. Jeremiah winked, realizing the effect that little kiss had on me, and simply without exchanging any more words, walked out of the apartment, chuckling to himself. I stood there, paralyzed for a few seconds, replaying the recent event that happened. My heart and head went into frenzy mode and I didn't know what else to do.

This had never happened to me.

I wondered if I could fall asleep with this memory.

---

"OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! I CALLED IT!"

"Nicole..."

"I knew he was into you! I've known it all along! The day he talked to Samantha the cashier, I knew he wasn't flirting and there wasn't even the least bit of chemistry between them!"

"Nic..."

"Finally, one of my friends will get a happy ending! I wouldn't have ever pushed Charlie into going to this date but you, my friend, have made me proud. Mommy's proud of you, my daughter!!"

"NICOLE!"

"WHAT?!"

"It wasn't a date."

She retorted. "But you scored one now, that is all that counts."

I gave her an outline of what happened with Jeremiah - except the whole of him kissing my cheek. Nicole was eagerly listening to everything I said and finally, by the end, she jumped up and down, screaming into the phone that she had known everything all along. Whereas, she was the one who told me he was flirting with the cashier.

What an irony!

"When are you coming back home?"

I could hear her gasp through the phone. "That was a harsh topic change, young lady! We need to have a serious talk about this behavior."

"Come on, Nicole! You cannot be serious!"

"I need to hear more about the 'not-date' you guys had! I want the details. How is he like? IS he sweet as sugar? Is he a gentleman? Is he everything a girl would ever want? Is he-"

"Stop, stop," I raised my hands in a gesture of pausing her, although she couldn't see it. "I shall give you the details once you come back."

She frowned. "I won't be able to sleep if I don't get details! Why don't you get it?!"

I wouldn't be able to sleep with the thought of his soft lips against my cheeks.

"Keep it to the imagination, for now, Nicole. I will give you details once you come back."

"Aww, come on! But I get it- I'll wait."

I smiled. "That is like a good girl."

"Nah, I like it bad."

I laughed. "Anyways, good night, Nicole."

"Good night, Liz!"