oh, anna [-hs]

dinner

a/n DOUBLE UPDATES! THIS IS THE FIRST CHAPTER IN THE DOUBLE UPDATE!
this chapter... :3

8.

"Quinny!" The front door swings open. I glance up, Cherry following my sight line. Emma stands in the doorway, holding a large bouquet of lilac and baby's breath. "Happy anniversary!"

I stand up, feeling a smile grow on my face. Two years ago today, we moved into this apartment together. I zoom in on her smiling face, and she registers what's in my hand.

"Were you filming Leo while I was at work?" She makes her way to the kitchen, pulling a mason jar out of a cabinet and filling it with water. Cherry focuses on her hands, glossy from the kitchen sink.

"Perhaps. I was telling him about how his moms met." She glides back into the living space, setting the vase ceremoniously down onto our table.

"Well make sure you tell him in French, because he won't understand you otherwise," she teases, knowing her French is much better than mine. I move the camera back up to her face.

"Maybe you should tell him then?"

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and squats down next to the big leather chair where Leo is laying. "Coucou monsieur le chat! comment vas-tu aujourd'hui?" She breathes out the sentence effortlessly. Her hand moves up to scratch his head and he closes his eyes at her touch.

"Tell him how we met," I demand. She chuckles, and thinks for a moment.

"Ah, je ne sais pas. Hmm, nous nous sommes rencontrés à l'école."

"What did you say?" I interrupt.

"I said that you were really grumpy when I first met you," she gives me a teasing glance. I shake my head.

"No, you said something about school."

"Well that's where we met, isn't it?"

I nod. "Alright, tell him more, he wants to know more."

"Elle m'a sauvé la vie," Emma mumbles to the cat, her eyes soften. I slowly sit down so that I'm eye level with her.

"What did that mean?" She looks over at me sweetly and shakes her head.

"If you want to know, you should learn more French." I sigh and end the recording.

"I try, it's just, none of the words sound like they're spelled." I complain. She stands up and moves back to the table. I lean my head against the arm of Leo's chair.

"That's not true, you're just used to the way people spell things in English." My phone begins to buzz, I pull it out and glance down at the contact. H.

When we met a few days ago, I let him put his number into my phone. I assume this is the name he put it under. I answer the call and press the device up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Quinn!" His voice is cheerful, but he sounds a little winded. "How are you today?"

Emma looks over at me, curious as to who is on the other end of the call. I raise my eyebrows at her. "I'm well, how about you? You sound kind of out of breath."

"Oh, I'm on a run right now, hold on I'll stop." The sound from the other end becomes muffled for a moment, and then I hear him again. "I was wondering if I could have dinner with you tonight."

I press my lips together. Dinner? What does dinner mean? All we'd ever eaten together is lunch. Lunch is a thing that you eat with your friend. Dinner is a thing that you eat on a date. I look wildly over at Emma. She subconsciously picks at a stem of lilac, her eyes trained excitedly on me.