“So here’s the plan,” Nuri said. “You’re gonna go over there. You’re gonna talk to that guy. And you’re not gonna take no for an answer-- and stop fucking with your hair.”

Shay wanted to cry-- but she dropped her hands and laced her nervous fingers together.

Nuri whipped out a black business card, sticking it between Shay’s fingers and thumbs.

“Gimme a call later and tell me how it went. Oh, and I’ll be watching to make sure you don’t pussy out. Otherwise, I’mma kick you in the face. Or maybe I’ll kick your guy in the face-- I dunno.”

Shay was frustrated. She was anxious. But... she managed to give Nuri an honest (and hopeful) smile.

Nuri was the type of person to say what she meant-- and... she meant well. And though Shay wasn’t exactly scared of her, she didn’t want to take an obligatory kick to the face. (Also, she did not want to see what’d happen if Nuri tried to kick Tyvan.)

But... what was she supposed to do? Shay understood that she couldn't take ‘no’ for an answer-- but what was the question supposed to be?

“--and what will you be doing?”

“Eh. Don’t worry about me,” Nuri shrugged. “I’ll find something to sink my teeth into. Now go~!”

Shay stood up, still hesitant. She took two steps out of her potted-plant cover... and she took a deep breath.

Then she felt Nuri’s shoe on her butt, pushing her forward.

Tyvan looked over from where he was sitting.

He waved.

Crap. She was discovered.

Shay shot a parting glare back at Nuri: a combination of ‘Why would you do that?’ and ‘wHaT do I do NoWwwhHh?’

She slowly crept over to where Tyvan was, and... and--

He stood up.

“Shay, It’s lovely to see you.”

Shay giggled nervously. Tyvan was smiling-- and with his teeth! That was always so weird to see. All of her favorite times with Tyvan involved food of some kind. It was like food lowered his defenses... made him more honest?

Tyvan offered his hand. (Oh, he wasn’t wearing his gloves?)

Shay offered hers.

And Tyvan...

--he...

He kissed the back of her hand.

Shay froze. She might have died? Maybe? Heart stopped. No, wait. Heart going too fast.

She demanded her heart calm down! She needed her heart to live! And she wanted to liiiivve!!

“You must sample these garlic potato sticks,” Tyvan said... proVocaTiveLy~

Shay sat her butt rIght down, prepared for anything and everything Tyvan could possibly offer.

“My body is ready,” she said.

Tyvan had ordered a lot of food. Shay was expecting typical mall food-- altogether junk. But they were at West-Meadow, after all. Their food court had some really high-end eateries.

Brazilian-style grilled meat with garlic fries and something that looked like a salsa, (but it wasn’t spicy?) Italian-- tomato slices with mint and mozzarella, and a pair of meatballs bigger than her fists put together. A bunch of Japanese finger-foods... a sushi roll, shrimp and veggie tempura, and rice wrapped in tofu skins?

Shay tried a little bit of everything. She didn’t think she ate too much... but she definitely ate too fast. The mix of delicious foods washed down with the super-sugary (and creamy?) Brazilian lemonade made her stomach start working overtime.

She almost started a conversation. But... she was very well aware that every time she opened her mouth, something stupid came out. She still had nightmares of asking Tyvan if he fell from heaven-- uGGhhh... or asking him for peRmiSsioN to touch his eyes.

So... Shay just sat and appreciated his company... and the tasty food he ordered.

“I heard you were working in the field today,” he said. “Has your business concluded?”

“Y... yeah,” Shay said, looking away nervously. “I got a lead, I guess.”

Nuri had already ran off, but that was fine. It sounded like a bad idea to introduce those two to each other-- for whatever reason.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“I trust your judgement,” Tyvan said with a slight smile. “Even if your lead proves spurious-- not that it would for certain, the process of de-duction is just as important as induction.”

“Wh-what about you?” Shay asked, “We’re pretty far from home.”

“I took care of something nearby,” Tyvan replied mySteRiously. “Thus, I decided to have a light meal before calling Briar Rose to pick me up.”

Shay’s eyes widened. It was a chance! She had a chance-- a chance to hang out with Tyvan one-on-one! --like a date! A one-on-one date!

“Me!” she said.

She wanted to say a lot more than that, but that’s the oNLy thing that came out of her mouth!

“You... also need a means to return home?” Tyvan asked, “I suppose you took public transportation to arrive here.”

“Yes!” Shay replied.

“Would you like to accompany me until then?”

Shay balled up her fists and nodded vIgoRouSLy.

Tyvan was an angel! --a pErfEct angel, full of compassion and understanding!

Oh, she nodded so hard she made herself dizzy. She had to be careful.

After their meal and all the trash got thrown away, Tyvan looked to her with his typical almost-smile. Without food directly in front of him, he was back to his usual self.

Oh, but he offered to carry her bags. He was such a gentleman. Shay refused, though. She didn’t want him to know that she bought those clothes to wear for him... not that he’d know that-- but he MiGht!!

Tyvan put his arm on her lower back, gently pushing her forward. Her legs moved in the way that he willed it-- in the forward direction. Yes, everything was fine!

She looked up at Tyvan. He was fine too! He was fine, really. He tilted his head up a little as he popped a mint in his mouth. Then, he offered the little tin box her way.

Yes, mints. Mints were good.

She took the box, opened it up, and poured its contents into her mouth.

“Ah, don’t eat all of them,” he warned. “You’ll get a bellyache.”

What? What was she supposed to do, then? She’d already--

Oh, no.

One or more tiny mints got caught in Shay’s throat. She struggled to breathe-- and she could a little? A very minty, gargly, choking breath. She was gonna be okay?!

But then, Tyvan was behind her, wrapping his arms around her belly.

--but she could NOT appreciate that at that moment in time!!

He squeezed.

Oh no.

She understood why he was doing it. She understood that he understood she was choking. But she knew that he didn’t know that-- that--

Ugh...

----------------------------------------

Ten minutes later, Shay was in the food court restroom, crying in front of the mirror.

She had puked all over the shopping center floor.

All the mints. All that Brazilian lemonade. All the... little tasty things that Tyvan had selected with love and care.

She even got a little on Tyvan’s sleeve. She ran away into the restroom as soon as she recovered enough to think.

--not that she thought highly of her ability to think. Something was wrong with her brain whenever she was in Tyvan’s presence.

Bleigh...

Shay couldn’t stay in the restroom forever, though.

She spent another few minutes rinsing out her mouth... She calmed herself down and wiped her tears away... She did her best, fixing her makeup.

Then... she took a deeeeeep breath... and went out to find Tyvan. She’d ruined everything so far, but she still needed to--

Ah. There was a whole flock of thirsty girls surrounding him.

--”Come on. Just one photo! The booth’s like right there!”

--”We’ll take you shopping! I’ll pay! For everything!! Pleeease?”

--”Are you hungry? Oh, can you eat? Can I feed you?”

Oh, no. Ohhh, no, no, no~

“My apologies,” Tyvan said, gesturing to the shopping bags in his hand. “I have a prior engagement.”

“Hi! That’s me!!” Shay said, marching over with confidence and purpose. “Tyvan, let’s go! Sorry! SorRy!!!!”

(She made sure to say everything she needed to say before she got close enough for anyone to smell her breath.)

The girls didn’t scatter right away, but they didn’t follow after Shay got hold of Tyvan’s arm and dragged him out.

Vultures-- all of them!

She looked up to Tyvan and put on her best scolding face. “You have to be more careful! That was a dangerous situation.”

Tyvan quickly glanced up. Huh? Shay looked up too-- but she didn’t notice anything special.

After a moment, he looked back to her. “It seems you’ve rescued me. You have my gratitude for the timely extraction.”

Shay took her shopping bags back and sighed. She was supposed to have a memorable first date with Tyvan... and it was memorable, but... yeah. Yeah.

“Did you call Raia?” she asked.

She wanted to go home. She wasn’t looking forward to updating Nuri on what happened. Would she get mad? Would she laugh at her? Would they stop being friends after Nuri found out just how pathetic she was?

“I surmise we still have a bell or so before Briar Rose arrives,” Tyvan said. “That’s accounting for the usual, after-work traffic.”

Shay sighed again. That was fine. She did want to spend more time with Tyvan-- but it just seemed so awkward after what happened.

Oh, at the very least, it looked like Tyvan’s sleeve didn’t get stained.

But as she stared down at his arm, the blinking lights across the walkway caught her eye.

“Is that... a casino?” Tyvan asked, “Why are there young children?”

Shay giggled. Did he really not know?

“It’s a video game arcade. My dad used to take me all the time when I was little.”

Tyvan quickly glanced down at her, then back up to meet her gaze, “When you were... younger, you mean?”

Shay rolled her eyes, taking his arm to lead him toward the scent of cheap pizza mix of electronic buzzes and noisy dings.

“Come on! Let’s try it out.”

“Oh. I do enjoy games.”