"Yes, please. That would be great," Juliet replied. "I'll take a sprite, no ice."

Beth took out a small notepad, and a pen from a pocket in the apron she was wearing. She wrote down Juliet's request, then looked at me expectantly.

"Right, um… I'll have a sweet tea, please."

Beth wrote it down. "With lemon or without lemon?"

"Oh… With."

Beth smiled.

"Are you two ready to order yet?"

We both shook our heads at the same time.

"No problem. I'll go ahead and get your drinks for you. You two ladies take your time looking at the menu."

Beth smiled again before walking off.

Juliet sighed deeply, "I still haven't decided!"

I looked over the appetizer section quickly, and chose something for us.

"We should do the spinach, and artichoke dip, with the homemade corn chips," I told her.

"Yeah!" she said eagerly. "That sounds yummy! What is that? Like an appetizer?"

I nodded.

"Cool. That's settled… But what about dinner?"

"What if we…each pick something we both like and share it?"

The words left my lips so smoothly, I was shocked at myself! Where did this boost of confidence come from?! Maybe it was the fact that I felt closer to Juliet knowing that we both shared familial pressures. I wasn't sure, but I liked the feeling.

She nodded eagerly. "Okay! That sounds fun!"

I smiled. We both focused on picking something out, although, telling her about my home life was still on my mind. After Beth came back with our drinks, we continued to look over the menu. I finally decided on something basic: chicken parm. Juliet decided on a fish meal that came with seasoned rice and another side of her choosing.

We flagged Beth down and told her what we wanted. She said she put the order in, so now we just had to wait. I took that chance to speak to Juliet about my own insecurities with my family…

"Juliet?"

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted you to know that… I wanted to tell you… I…" I muttered.

She was watching me closely.

"I told you, Naomi…we don't have to—"

"But I want to! I… I want you to know me as deeply as I want to know you," I told her. "That will only happen if I talk to you, so…" She waited patiently for me to continue. I took a deep breath. "I have always felt like I'm in my cousin's shadow."

Juliet's eyes were full of emotion as she listened to me.

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"For my entire life I saw Calinida as prettier than me, and of course she's always been thinner than me. She was always so popular in our schools growing up and I barely had any friends. I think I had one friend, and she ended up moving away! Even the teachers at school

We fell silent, waiting on our food, and we stayed like that for several moments before she spoke.

"I'm really happy that you said yes."

I gazed at her.

"To this date… I… Since the first time I met you, I wanted this. To be in your life as more than a friend."

I was speechless, and she giggled softly.

"I'm being weird, right?"

I shook my head, "No, not at all."

She looked at me curiously.

"I felt the same way—I mean, I still do. I know I'm awkward, but… Being here with you, like this… I'm really happy too," I admitted. My heart was racing so fast that I thought I was going to pass out.

She grinned from ear to ear and laid her arm across the table, extending her hand out toward me… She…she wanted to hold my hand…? I slowly moved to grab hold of her hand, but before I could reach it, the server came back with our food.

We shared everything! We ate together gingerly, enjoying the meal, but more so enjoying each other's company. Every now and then between taking bites of food, the two of us would exchange glances.

Once we got back to campus, we both decided to end our night at the fountain… Our special spot. We walked hand in hand, chatting about how the food at the restaurant tasted. Her hands were warm and seemed to fit with mine perfectly. I loved being with Juliet.

"Naomi…I… I want you to know that you really do look breathtaking tonight."

My heart melted. "Th-Thank you, Juliet… That was sweet…" I told her. Then I swallowed hard. "But you, you are the star tonight."

We stood in front of each other at the fountain. It was late now, so the water pumps were already turned off by maintenance. But the moon reflected off of the water that was left inside the bottom of the fountain, and it was beautiful.

"I had an amazing time," she said and smiled.

I smiled back. "I did too."

"Please text me when you get to your room so I know you're safe."

"Definitely. You'll do the same?"

She nodded.

"Well…"

"Well…" I repeated and bit my lip.

I focused on her, looking deeply into her diamond colored eyes. I got lost so easily in them, making me feel like my soul had been snatched from my body. She stepped closer to me, leaving inches between us. I found myself wanting to touch her, so I brushed my fingers across her cheek, causing her to blush. But then I let my hand linger on her face, cupping it gently.

I wanted to kiss her. Yet, I couldn't make the first move! My anxiety had me frozen in place, despite my spiking desire.

"Juliet, I—"

But she cut me off with a kiss. Our lips were pressed together, molded perfectly. Her lips were so soft and puffy, I loved it. My heart was beating fast and slow at the same time! I wasn't sure how long our kiss actually lasted, but it felt like forever, and I never wanted it to end.

When we pulled away from each other, we were both flushed. We gazed into each other's eyes briefly before grins spread on both of our faces.

"I'm sorry…I interrupted your sentence…" Juliet said, and then giggled.

I laughed along with her. "It's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. What I was going to say was about kissing you," I admitted.

"Oh…" she replied and smiled coyly. Then she spoke again. "Don't forget to text me, okay?"

I nodded, "Mhm."

And I watched as she walked away. My first date was one of the best nights of my life! It was all I could think about, until I got back to my room. Of course I texted Juliet right away, and she texted me back within seconds. Honestly, I couldn't stop smiling; I was smiling so big my cheeks started to hurt.

Even after getting ready for bed and laying down, my mind was still racing with thoughts of Juliet. Her and I were girlfriends…! I had a girlfriend, and she wasn't any plain Jane! I had the most gorgeous, the most intelligent, and the sweetest girlfriend! I had Juliet, and she was everything.