40 | you knew

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THE BAKERY, THOUGH small, had a cozy atmosphere

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THE BAKERY, THOUGH small, had a cozy atmosphere. In the heart of the city, it had the vibes of a small food truck, with fairy lights hung inside it. Next to the door, it had a drive-thru set up, where the window could be pulled down completely. The three story building's charms shone as we made our way up the stairs to the open roof, where a square wooden table laid next to the store.

"How's a semi home date for you?" Andrew grinned, placing his hand in my back. "Do you approve?"

I didn't know if I had the voice to. My hand drifted over the glass which covered the various cakes and desserts on the top row, the rest gone. At the sight of the fresh cream cake topped with strawberries, my mouth watered.

"I'll take your speechlessness as a yes. Especially because you're vocal about your complaints." At this, the corner of my lips tipped up.

"It's not a five star restaurant, but I think it'll do," I joked, at ease. Still in the dress—I switched the shoes, but decided to keep the date attire—I smoothed it out.

"Okay," he declared, clapping his hands. "I'm going to get the groceries."

"I can get them." I offered, for once at odds with the thought of sitting down and doing nothing.

Pulling out a stool near the wall that faced the register, he tapped on it.

"No, you should sit. Since I'm the one cooking for you."

To his right was a folding table, and he laid it down on the ground between us like a counter. I sat with one leg crossed over the other as he rushed to and fro with the groceries. Out of my element, I rolled my shoulders back and glanced around.

If we'd been on track for the disaster date, I'd be glaring at him in front of me, food already figured out. What they served all came down to taste bland anyways, especially since I no longer got hungry when they starting spitting out their skills and talents.

But unexpectedly, Andrew had made that U-turn.

"Here we are," he translated the exact thought I had at the moment, placing the plastic brown bags on the counter and ruffling through them. "One pasta, coming up!"

I could tell he knew his way around, as he gathered pots and pans not required for baking, along with a cutting board. Was this phase two of his plan, and he'd stacked up cooking essentials just in case?

"Do you usually do this for all your dates?"

He shook his head. "Usually we go to a restaurant and call it a day."

"Why am I different then?" I couldn't get why he was doing this all for me. Not that it was a waste of time, but... just because I liked calligraphy didn't mean I'd write Andrew a letter. And if I had been the one planning this date, I doubted I'd be as okay as the change in locations as him.

"Because you didn't want to go to a restaurant," he said, as if it were that simple. "This is what you want, isn't it?"

"And if your other dates refused to go?"

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