Singing praises

Being backed into a corner, Olivia felt like she had no other choice but to agree. Hesitant and with cold sweat covering her entire body Olivia said, with a forced smile on her face, "Okay then...Let's go to the kitchen." As she nervously made her way to the kitchen she tried to encourage herself by thinking of the positive sides.

For this very same reason she told herself that at least her food would be the first handmade dish that Noah would get to eat that hadn't been prepared by a family member. Plus, although she was very reluctant and had hoped that it wouldn't come to this, it didn't mean she hadn't prepared for a worst case scenario. It is just that with the short time she had to prepare, she wasn't sure if her preparation would be enough to fool not only Noah but also Laila, who was now another witness to the entire thing.

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While Noah and Laila were looking forward to the show they were about to see, Steve had finished watching his show and decided that he could take a break now that everything was in place and all the evidence had been erased. He had stared at a screen for long enough and now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen Maria for quite some time now.

Being curious to where she was and what she was up to, Steve got up and started a tour of his own in Noah and Laila's house. He searched the house room by room while calling out her name and for some reason, the last place he looked, was the kitchen. This was the place that Maria happened to be and she had just finished the final touches on her meal when Steve walked in.

When he saw all the dishes on the bar in the kitchen, Maria in her apron and the lit candles, Steve was fully surprised. With his jaw dropped and his eyes widened he stared at everything and let out a soft "Wauw...". When Maria heard this, she turned around and saw Steve looking at her and what she had prepared for him. He seemed flabbergasted, making Maria very pleased as it showed he had no clue what was going on. With a big smile and her arms raised above her head she cheerfully said, "Surprise!"

And boy was he surprised. With a matching look on his face Steve asked, "What is all of this?" Again Maria cheerfully replied, "It's our dinner weirdo." and let out a chuckle before she asked, "What else did you think it is?"

Steve somehow still not understanding what was going on asked, "Well is it my birthday or something and did I forget? Or is it your birthday and was I not aware?"

Again Maria chuckled as she shook her head. She responded by saying, "No, you silly man. You are so quick with other things. How come today you are so clueless.", before she explained what was going on. "Didn't you say you read the letter? I figured since you have done plenty to show me you like me, it was time that I showed some effort to let you know I feel the same. So, I prepared this dinner for us as our first official date. What do you think?"

Hearing this Steve's eyes grew even wider before he dashed over to Maria and hugged her tightly. "I think this is wonderful!" As he released the hug but continued to hold onto Maria's arms Steve gushed about how happy her gesture made him. "I can't believe you did something like this. I was happy enough knowing that I wasn't rejected but this just blows my mind. I can't tell you how happy this makes me."

Maria smiled as she felt her cheeks turn red. Hearing how happy it had made Steve, Maria felt glad she had chosen to surprise him like this instead of letting him plan out their date. It was important that she too showed some effort from time to time and if it was received as well as this time, she would be happy to show her effort time and time again.

As they took their seats at the bar, Maria taking a seat at one side and Steve taking a seat on the other side. Though Steve preferred to sit closer to Maria, the bar wasn't very broad and he didn't want to have to bother Maria during their romantic dinner for two. Sitting next to each other would mean that they would have to constantly hand each other plates and serving dishes as Maria had made enough to fill half of the long bar and neither of them would be able to reach all if they sat side by side. So, Steve decided to give in for today as they would have many more dinners to share where he could take a seat next to her. Besides, the benefit of sitting across from Maria, was that he could stare at her beautiful brown eyes and her charming smile as much as he wanted.