𝐷𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐸𝑦𝑒𝑠

35

{Tiara}

I twirl a piece of my hair around my finger as I stare down at my empty plate absentmindedly.

I don't even blink when Leo reappears, sitting back down.

"Sorry it took a while. 2 guys were jerking each other off in the bathroom. Long line."
He wiggles his eyebrows.

It takes a moment for me to understand that he's joking.

"I still can't get over your dark sense of humor."
I raise an eyebrow.

He mirrors me with a sigh.

"I'll get a laugh out of you sooner or later. Miss. High tops."
He assures me, stabbing his fork into his meatball.

"You can keep thinking that if you want to. You'd think that if you could then it would have happened by now? We've seen been on 3 dates, buddy."
I remind him.

He smiles shyly at me.

"I still can't believe it. Sounds even better when you say it."
He sighs.

I smile to myself.

I like hanging out with him, he's so nice.

Plus his eyes are big and brown.

Very adorable.

We eat in comfortable silence for a while.

"When are you going to come around and finally tell me something about you? I ask around, almost nobody even knows who you are."
He says quietly.

I hesitate.

I started going on these little dinner dates with him because I've been in a desperate need for social interaction.

One day we ran into each other again at the Starbucks on Fred street and we just clicked from then.

He's very educated, I like having smart conversations with him.

He's really good at making me feel just as smart.

There's still a uneasy feeling at the bottom of my stomach though.

But for once, I've been ignoring it.

I didn't ignore it when I met Quincy and look at how that turned out. I ruined that.

I'll have to work twice as hard with my future relationship, I want to be a better person.

"What do you mean? I tell you a lot about myself."
I insist, the center of my palms tingling.

He narrows his eyes at me.

I hesitate.

"I have a very...small group of friends. They are the only people I talk to."

He bites his lip.

"You are so strange, you know that? Here you are, as beautiful as the sunset, and you barely talk to people. It would be a real treat for everyone if you were to open up a little more. You're such an amazing woman, Tiara."
He says thoughtfully.

I blush.

"Thanks. I like to keep to myself. The less I get let down, the better. You know?"
I say quietly.