Accepting You

Chapter 15 - Dinner Date

After Lily dropped Liz off at the studio, she returned home. To occupy her time, she scoured her closet for something to wear. Even if Liz told her what she was currently wearing would be fine, she couldn't help it.

She knew Liz asked her out as a friend but the bubbly and anxious feelings in her stomach prevented her from sitting still. Every outfit she pulled out didn't seem to satisfy her. One was too casual and another was too formal and the cycle repeated itself. Lily has always leaned more on the tom-boy style, only dressing up in dresses or skirts for shows or events.

Finally, she settled with a dark pair of jeans and a grey sweater just for the sake of choosing an outfit and threw it on her bed. Otherwise her room would be come a bigger mess than it already was with several piles of clothes tossed to the side.

Lily unlocked her phone again, for the100th time that afternoon, and saw it's already nearing 6:00pm and still hasn't gotten a text or call from Liz. She was starting to get nervous, on top of all the other feelings she was having, and wondered if Liz got hung up at work or if there was some other reason.

She decides to text Liz a quick message. 'Still good for dinner?'

Laying in bed, she stares at the message waiting for a reply. 5 minutes pass. Then 10. And then 15.

Lily heaves a sigh. "Should I just change and get ready?" she asks herself aloud. She didn't want to get ready if the plans fell through but also wanted to be ready if she needed to leave at the last second.

As she debates between her choice, the door bell rings throughout the apartment.

'Who could that be?' Lily thinks to herself. It couldn't be Liz – she would have texted her surely.

Lily makes her way through the apartment to the front door and peaks through the peephole. To her surprise, it's Liz. She opens the door.

"Liz," Lily greets with an open mouth, "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't decide on a restaurant and remembered a conversation we had back in London," Liz says, slightly out of breath. She holds up several plastic bags and tells her, "I'm going to cook for you."

"Wha – " Lily starts but Liz lets herself in. She kicks off her shoes and waddles to the kitchen to set the heavy bags down. Lily is quick to follow her, taking a few bags to lessen Liz's burden. "You should have told me. I would have gone out and bought groceries."

"I thought of it last minute," Liz says, dismissing Lily with a wave of her hand and shifting from one foot to another. "And my phone died so I couldn't text you. I'm sorry about that."

"Do you have a iphone? I have a charger," Lily offers. She is disappointed that she didn't change earlier, now stuck in the clothes she wore earlier today. Her efforts have gone to waste.

"Oh yep," Liz says and hands Lily her phone. At this point, she's bouncing up and down, holding in her bladder. "Sorry – where's your restroom?"

"Down the hall," Lily answers, pointing in the direction of the bathroom.

"I'll be right back," Liz says and shuffles to the restroom to relieve herself. Once she does, she looks in the mirror, finally able to gather herself.

The thought of cooking dinner for Lily came at the very last second as she was driving home to get ready. She just barely had time to put on a nicer outfit and touch up her make up before she had to rush out to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients she had in mind. And just her luck when she thought to text Lily her plans, she found that her phone had died.

"Oh god, I look like a mess," Liz grumbles to herself as she looks in the mirror. Her hair is frazzled in all directions and she is sweating from rushing back and forth. She hoped she didn't keep Lily waiting too long and the dinner would make up for it.