Heart Sparks: Tiny Stories of Love | ✓

1 • This or That?

"Palace or skyscraper?" Andrew asked, absentmindedly. He sipped his iced coffee, taking the last bite of his bagel sandwich.

"Skyscraper," I said and he looked up at me.

"You'd rather be a business owner than royalty?"

"Any day."

He scoffed at me. I tried to think of a question that might throw him off.

"Feud or scandal?" I asked, finally.

"See now that's a challenge," he said as I pulled my phone out to check the time. He nodded at me approvingly, wagging his finger.

I rested my phone on my lap. The wallpaper of my nephew glowed back at me, a wide smile with a missing front tooth.

"Scandal. Final answer," he said. "What about you?"

"Feud," I decided.

"Why?"

"I have a better chance of making an individual complacent than the mob on social media. Containment is my philosophy."

Andrew rolled his eyes.

"I have to get back to work," I started. "We have this big presentation today—"

"Don't worry about it," he stopped me. "Same place tomorrow?"

"Same place," I agreed.

We tried to choose a new place downtown for each lunch break but given my schedule this past week, the cafe was the easiest place to meet. It was around the corner from my office building, close, but not close enough to run into a colleague or client.

"Andrew," I started and his blue eyes focused on me.

My breath caught for a moment but I couldn't back down now. I promised myself I would ask.

"Do you want to get dinner over the weekend?" I asked, the words tumbling out.

If he said yes, it would be our first date. Our first not-lunch meeting since he approached my table for two a few months ago in a crowded Thai restaurant.

He had asked politely, introduced himself, and had broken the ice with a simple game.

"Are you sure?" he countered, eyebrow raised.

"I'm sure," I gave him a timid smile.

"You're not going to ditch me at the last minute for a client?" he leaned in, his forearms resting on the table.

"That was one time," I leaned my head to the side.

He didn't look convinced. Even though I had only missed one lunch, my breaks were getting shorter. My boss had hinted that I was due for a promotion and I didn't want to give upper management any reason to doubt their decision.

"Okay," he said, contemplating. "Weekday lunch games or weekend dinner conversation?"

"They're not mutually exclusive," I tried.

"They could be, depending on how dinner goes."

I had taken a leap of faith asking him in the first place but I had gotten his hint. He didn't want to risk it.

I nodded and turned, slightly disappointed. I would be content with our lunches. They were my favourite part of the day, no matter how short.

"Ellie," he coaxed, "one more."

I breathed and faced him again.

"A formal dinner date or a night with my friends?" He tapped his empty coffee cup on the table.

I bit my bottom lip but the corners of my mouth started to curve.

"Friends," I replied, picking up my purse.

He smiled.