A Not So Perfect Date Night

Wesley Evers smoothed his hand down his tie and then checked his watch before reporting. "They're officially late. That's unlike them." He kept checking the restaurant's entrance in anticipation for the imminent arrival of their friends, but there was no sign of them.

Angela Lopez-Evers wiped away a small trace of her lipstick that was on the corner of her husband's mouth and responded with a scoff, "That's exactly like them."

He turned to look at her more fully where he was seated next to her at their table for four and said, "Tim Bradford is one of the most punctual people on the planet. It goes back to his military training or something."

"True..."

"I rest my case."

She shook her head at him fondly. "You're not getting it."

"What? Did he forget to change his clocks after Daylight Savings Time or something?"

"Or something like..." her eyes caught on someone and greeted, "Lucy! There you are!"

Lucy Chen walked over to the table and hugged Angela then Wes. "Sorry, we're late, guys."

"WE'RE not late. YOU made us late," Tim Bradford pointed out.

Usually, that kind of statement would have been delivered by him grumpily, but Angela noticed that there was a softness to Tim's voice and demeanor that could only be attributed to the presence of his girlfriend.

Lucy flashed Tim one of those "seriously?" looks.

"I'm just saying, I don't know why you changed your outfit four times. You looked beautiful in all of them," Tim shrugged.

"You have to say that. You're my boyfriend," Lucy shot back, not truly believing him.

Tim pulled out her chair for her and wondered, "And so because I'm your boyfriend, I don't have to be honest with you?"

She sat down and watched him take his seat next to her. "You have to be honest. I can tell when you're lying."

"No, you can't."

"I can read you like a book, Tim Bradford," she said matter-of-factly.

He threw an arm around the back of her chair and leaned in close as his eyes searched her body. He murmured, "Then, believe me when I say you look really, really beautiful."

Lucy felt her cheeks warm under the heat in his gaze and smiled, inspiring Tim to grin back at her.

Wes tilted his head as he realized the point his wife was trying to make before their dinner companions arrived. Tim had changed. What was once an undeniable truth about him like his general grumpiness that left a constant scowl on his face or his usual punctuality was no longer a Tim trait with Lucy Chen around.

"I really do like your outfit," Angela said more to bring her friends out of their little bubble that seemed to appear around them when they made eye contact for too long. It was true, though. She loved Lucy's two piece dress that was black with pink and white flowers and a small gap between the top and skirt baring a small strip of her midriff.

Lucy finally tore her gaze away from Tim to reply, "Thanks, and thanks for setting up date night. I know how busy you two have been lately."

"Having double the kids somehow means quadruple the work," Wes admitted in a statement of seemingly permanent exhaustion, "but, we love our daughter. She's great." He thanked the waiter who came over to the table and poured wine in each of their glasses.

"She's still in the boring infant phase where she doesn't do much," Angela added and angled her face towards Wes to say, "and don't you dare say she smiled yesterday. She was just passing gas."