#ILoveYou #YouLoveHer

#DrumrollFollowedByTheDate

Tia

What is she doing here?

She even has the nerve to smile at me, and say, "Hi, Tia. Bet you weren't expecting me, huh."

"No, I wasn't," I reply through a fixed grin, while glancing at Nate, but he wasn't looking at my direction to notice.

"Sorry," she said half-heatedly, while flashing a smile at Jamie. "Jamie, right? I'm Michelle."

Nate is being a little quiet through all this introductions.

"Get in losers," she said as she popped open the door of the back seat. She's already in the passenger seat.

I frowned.

"I was referencing a movie," she explained. "Anyway, Nate got you flowers..." She pointed at a bouquet in the back seat.

"Thanks," I said to Nate as we got in.

He just smiled.

The ride to the restaurant is a little tense as we all pretended to be friends, having casual conversations, like the about... the weather.

"I cannot stand the heat," she complained. "I swear that is one of the things that I do not miss." To be honest, I don't think she really missed anything. That was why she wasn't anxious to move back home.

"It's summer, Mich," I reminded.

"It's always summer. And sunny and... hot."

Nate cranked the AC in response, and she laughed.

The maitre'd informed us that they don't have a table for four, they'd have to split our group into twos.

Oh... I glanced at Jamie and she nodded.

Michelle smilingly replied to the maitre'd, "That's okay. So it'll be me and her," she pointed to Jamie, "And them."

I smiled at her and she smiled back.

Is this why Nate invited her? So she can get Jamie away? If so, thank you, Nate.

Nathaniel

"I'm sorry I had to invite Jamie," Tia explained. "My mother insisted that I bring a chaperone- I know it's very old fashioned of her, but she means well..."

I smiled, "That's okay. I hope you don't mind that I invited Mich. I figured Jamie could use the company."

"She could," Tia grinned. "How did you get Mich to agree to it?"

"She wants to see her two best friends finally get together-"

"Finally?" Tia asked.

Oh, she still thinks that my liking her is a recent development.

"I've actually liked you for quite some time-"

"I thought you were still hang up on her..."

"She's just a friend, now," I reassured her.

We both glanced at Mich and Jamie's table, they were laughing. I wonder what about.

"So what do people usually talk about during dates?" Tia asked.

I laughed, "I actually have no idea."

"Thank you for the flowers, by the way. They were beautiful."

"You're welcome."

Tia laughed again.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"I imagined this so many times in my head. I even thought about everything that I wanted to say to you. But I can't remember any of them."

"We can just play it by ear," I said. "So how's your day?"

"Well, my mother told me that I had to bring Jamie. And then you brought Michelle. So it's a bit of an emotional roller coaster. What about you? How's your day?"

"Well, you told me that you were bringing Jamie, and I thought we weren't on the same page. So I invited Michelle."

"Oh, I'm sorry if you thought I wanted our first date to be group thing," she said. "For the record, I don't."

"Got it."