A Book Nerd's Guide to Falling in Love

Chapter 24: It was not a Date

Don't shut down. Don't shut down. I kept telling my brain as I walked down Main Street on my way to Littleton Diner to meet Finn. It wasn't a date. I knew that. But I felt like it was, or it should be.

It was just a thank-you brunch. I was thanking him for helping me with the infographics, which I asked my mother to print more of and got a 'That will be the last batch, Alice Watson. I can't afford to print anymore', and he was thanking me for my help with his paper. That was it.

But my heart was so silly that it kept denying it and insisted to my brain that it was a date.

I approached the diner's front entrance and paused at the double glass doors. Finn would already be inside. He texted me about five minutes ago. He'd asked if he could pick me up from my house since we lived on the same block, and I said I was coming from somewhere else. I lied. I waited five minutes before leaving to ensure he'd already gone ahead.

I took a deep breath and pushed in through the door.

"Watson!" Finn called as soon as I got inside, as if he'd already seen me before I entered. He sat in a booth big enough for four people.

I walked up to him. "Hey, Finn." I sat down from across the table, feeling his eyes on me. The make-up I put on was too much, wasn't it? Was my lipstick too red? Did I look like I was trying too hard? Maybe I should have asked my mother to help me with this. But then I wouldn't hear the end of it. She'd want to know who I was going on a date with.

Stop it, Elsy! It's not a date.

"Did you order yet?" I asked, taking him in, and noticed he was wearing the sweater I got him for his birthday--the black hoodie with an I ❤️ the Internet printed on its front. Snap!

"No, I was waiting for you," he said, pulling the menus off the table and handing me one. "So, what do you want?" he asked as he flipped his menu open.

I did the same, trying not to stare at the glaring mockery of a sweater in front of me. Why did Finn wear that sweater today? "I like pancakes," I said.

"Blueberry?" he asked.

I nodded. "How did you know?"

He smiled, and his dimple showed. "I guessed." He called for the waiter, and we ordered our food. When the waiter left, an awkward silence fell on our table as if an angel passed by and turned us into behaved children.

I was the one who spoke first because the hoodie was making me want to say something. "I'm sorry about the sweater."

"What do you mean? It fits perfectly, like you know my size." He gestured at himself.

I blushed. I guessed his size, but I didn't think it would fit him perfectly. But when I looked, it fit him well in a non-baggy but not-so-tight way. "I got you that sweater to mock you," I admitted.

"Why?"

"Because you said you didn't read and were more of an internet person." I did air quotes as I said the word internet.

He scrunched his nose. So darn cute. "You think people who hearts the internet are stupid?"

"No, I didn't say that." I raised my hands in defense. "That's not what I meant."

"Then just people who don't read are stupid," he said.

"No, I--"

Finn burst into a laugh. "Relax. I was just kidding. You're cute when you look flustered."

That made me flustered even more, and I knew I didn't need any cosmetics to turn my cheeks red like an apple. "But I really am sorry."

"Apology not accepted because there was no offense," he said.