BXBX NOVEL Chapter 78 - My First Date (2)
"Oh my my! Don\'t be shy, look at your boyfriend. He is so shy, yet he still wants to hold your hand!"
I wanted to confirm stuff, afraid that Mason might get upset because people got the wrong idea. I remembered that he never liked to get paired with a girl in his previous life.
"We\'re not—"
"It\'s okay. She\'s just nervous…" Mason said with a thin, shy smile.
I gawked at his response, but the old lady continued her chatter with Mason instead. So I didn\'t have a proper time to respond to his claim.
"Ahahaha! It\'s okay! There are shy girls like that!" The old lady said. She turned around and checked on her own display cake, "Since you two look so sweet together, how about that sweet mellow pumpkin cake?"
The old lady pointed at an orange cute with cute maple leaves decoration. Of course, everything was edible.
My eyes marvelled instantly. I never had a decorated cake as my birthday cake in my life. Well, in fact, I never ate any cake other than the one made by Mom.
And yes, it was terrible, but I still ate it on my birthday to appreciate her.
But then, I checked the price tag under the display, and my excitement died down in less than a second.
Because that pumpkin cake cost whopping 60 bucks, and it wasn\'t even a big one, it was a medium one!
What kind of rip off was this!?
"W—We don\'t need that one—" I rejected the offer immediately. I only had friggin… 20 bucks in my pocket, and I already used a little for bus fare.
"I\'ll take that one," Mason said lightly.
"But—"
"No, it\'s okay. I told you that I\'ll treat you today, right?"
The old lady was delighted. She told us to sit wherever we liked while preparing the cake.
Mason and I sat on a side right beside the glass pane showing the street outside. It was still a peaceful morning today. I checked my watch, 9.30 A.M.
Mason stared at me with his deep but beautiful ocean eyes, and I couldn\'t help but get shy. Because it was so rare for someone to stare at me without any ill or perverted intention.
"A—About the cake, I\'ll pay you half on Monday, okay?" I said. I still felt guilty because he bought me a 60 dollars cake.
"It\'s nothing. I\'ve saved enough money to treat you today," Mason rejected my initiative. He seemed to be very firm about treating me, although what I did to him was just washing his jacket.
The old lady came with the pumpkin cake that had been sliced into four and redecorated to make it even more beautiful, alongside two hot drinks.
"This is two hot pumpkin lattes. These ones are a treat from me because it\'s quite cold outside. I feel pity for this young man. He has been standing in front of the store for two and a half hours!" The old lady chattered.
"Two and a half hours!?" I gawked in response.
"N—No, it\'s not like that—" Mason tried to cover it up, but the old lady was too chatty for her own good.
"When I cleaned the store at seven, this young man has been standing there, and he waited until you came, girl. I bet he is a lot more nervous than you, that\'s why he came earlier! Hahahaha! Young love is so beautiful~."
The old lady left us in an even more awkward mood than before. Mason lowered his gaze, but I could see that his ears were red.
I didn\'t expect Mason Hall. The lukewarm-perfunctory Mason Hall actually got embarrassed.
"A—Anyway, let\'s just eat this. You\'ve been dying to taste it, right?" Mason said.
He picked one and put it in front of me.
I stared at the pumpkin cake, and I wouldn\'t lie that I really wanted to dig in. But I held myself and told Mason, "You should eat it first."
"Huh, Why?"
"Because you\'re the one who bought it, it feels ethical for you to eat first… I guess…"
Mason frowned, but he complied and used the small spoon to eat a bit.
"It\'s sweet, a little sour and mellow. You should try it," Mason said.
Thus, I dug the spoon into the cake and ate a big chunk. The moment that pumpkin landed on my taste bud, I was mind blown by the taste.
It was sweet, a bit sour, and I could even taste a bit of salt in it, just enough to neutralize the sweetness. It was so soft and creamy as well.
My body reacted instantly, like a little kid that was overly excited. I wanted to kick my legs and flail around out of happiness. But I held it off as best as I could because this was out in public, and Mason was sitting in front of me.
"Do you like it?" Mason asked.
Like? I LOVE IT!!!
"Mhm, it tastes nice," I replied.
This was one of my childhood dreams, so… when prompted with a question like that, I had no self-control over my expression.
Mason giggled and said, "I\'ve wanted to take you here for a while."
"A while?"
I wondered what he meant as \'a a while\' since we just knew each other in my current life. Besides, he must\'ve been too busy to remember about a random girl like me.
Mason paused for a moment, then replied, "Yeah, a while. I—I mean, from that time when you washed my jacket, haha…."
"Ah, I see…." I nodded awkwardly.
What was I thinking anyway? People\'s definition of \'a while\' could vary from one another.
We ate two slices each and then stared at the empty street outside. The situation was surprisingly harmonious. We didn\'t talk to each other because we enjoyed the time, not because we felt awkward…. At least that was what I feel right now.
After a while, Mason put down his pumpkin latte and asked, "Em, are you happy right now?"
**
*Please read Author Note, thank you*