Olivia’s alarm woke me up. Morning kiss. Breakfast. Small talk. A slow morning that was like a breath of fresh air after the craziness of the last few days. To my surprise, Yin showed up to say hi and to drive Olivia to the school. Considering the lack of reaction from my girlfriend, this was something she expected.

I wasn’t really against it, since driving her myself every day messed up my routine, as well as not being feasible in the long term. My honeymoon-phase-affected brain told me I wanted to do so, but my experience and rationale argued as to not raise unrealistic expectations.

I kissed Olivia goodbye, nodded to Yin, closed the door behind the two, and went to get ready for my run.

***

I got ready for my date, essentially donning the same outfit from Monday, except changing the accessories to a more show-off counterparts.

Hm, since I am officially a young master, I should ask either grandmother or grandma for an introduction to a high-class atelier. Maybe I should drop a hint about Pierre’s possible existence as well? I still missed the shoes made by him, and he deserved a boost in high status clientele.

***

As I reached my car, a familiar looking, even if I couldn’t put my finger on why exactly, picture entered my vision. A young-looking woman, wearing a lot of makeup and a very peculiar outfit, was busy setting up something. On further examination, she was angling her phone, as a camera, on a tripod.

“Hey.” I called out, and the busy girl shuddered in surprise and turned around to face me.

Now that I had a better vantage point to evaluate her appearance. The result, lacking out of ten, finally made me remember her from last Friday.

“Yes?” I heard a cautious reply. At least she wasn’t rude this time.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I am about to go, and your setup is in the way.” I explained and unlocked the car. “Please, leave.”

“Um, would you mind if I do a short video first?” I heard an unexpected question.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” I shook my head. “From the angle you had chosen, the name plates will get into the video, and, considering the limited nature of the car itself, it’s a bad choice to use as a tool to get some clout.”

The girl’s eyes went wide from the surprise at my advice, but, after thinking my words over for a bit, realization seeped into her gaze as well. A moment later, the expression on her, fairly cute, face changed into one of slyness.

“What if I said that this is my partner’s car?” Her tone had a good mix of spoiled cuteness inside, making it obvious that this girl had a firm grasp on her own attractiveness and was used to taking advantage of it.

“Already taken.” I smiled and got into the car.

***

I arrived fifteen minutes earlier than the decided time for our date, mostly to see if Claire would arrive on time. Deciding to make myself visible and stretch my legs a bit, I left the car.

The weather was nice. The spring sun shone its warmth on the blue skies, making my mood a bit better. Calm wind was chasing after the rare clouds.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Since there was some time to kill, I decided to deal with the task my petty self had been postponing since Sunday. I was looking through my call history, trying to find and unblock Nicole’s number. I was still avoiding thinking about her, not quite sure as to why it was so hard for me.

Bella, of course, was right about my future knowledge interfering with my assessment of the situation, but how could I ignore what she did? No matter what, if the situation repeated itself, there was a high chance that this, once so important to me, woman would bail out and leave me alone to deal with it.

Granted, the situation itself was entirely of my own making, and everything was my fault, but… On the other hand, Bella mostly left me to my own devices back then as well, all the way until I reached out to her for help. What if instead of her, on that day, I dragged myself to Nicole’s place?

This was the exact line of thinking that made me force myself and throw her out of my mind in the first place. Useless ifs and buts. You can’t undo things that already happened…

Olivia’s… loving expression from Monday night flashed before my mind’s eye.

Huh. The situation changed, so, was there a reason for me to still hold on to a twenty-five-year-old grudge, that, now that I think, essentially happened in my dream?

I found the number.

Yes, Bella was completely right to tell me off for my rash decision. Nicole Roah wasn’t someone I would want to be my enemy. Still, even if I could make myself follow the newfound reason and logic, could I really ignore my bias? I already failed to do so with Yin.

Anyway, before my mood plummeted from all this useless overthinking, I forced myself to stop. There were two more weeks to think it through. Talking this over once more with my wise advisor wouldn't hurt, either.

“Oh, you are already here.” I heard Claire's voice nearby. “If you were already waiting, you should’ve sent a message.”

This time, Counter Girl actually dressed up for the occasion. Nothing extraordinary, a pale yellow sundress long enough to reach below her knees, and a denim jacket draped over her shoulders. My date still opted to wear the pair of white sneakers, yet it worked well for her.

“Um, how do I look?” Asked Claire after noticing my gaze. Not that I was trying to be subtle about that.

“Like a girl I would like to go on a date with,” I gave her my true thoughts.

The girl in front of me smiled after hearing my poorly disguised compliment, and even blushed a bit. Come on, Counter Girl, you can’t be this innocent. Hm, on the closer look, she actually wore light makeup as well, and, as my gaze shifted from her body to her face, I noticed a bit of expectation in her eyes.

Deciding to interpret this signal in a certain way, I moved closer to her, and, after noting how her lips parted in clear invitation, kissed this sly cutie.

“You look great, Claire,” I said after breaking the kiss. A real one. “And I really appreciate the fact you put all that effort in for my sake.”

“Um, thanks. I, um, really looked forward to our… date.” The last part of her phrase made me strain my ears to hear.

She blushed even harder, while her smile widened a bit. I guess she really did. Her signals were a lot less mixed now, that’s for sure.

“Shall we go, then? Or would you like another kiss?” I once again teased her.

“Um, are you going to ask this every time?” Claire responded with a question of her own.

“Well, it’s a part of my nefarious plans.” I decided to grace her with an explanation. “You see, since you wanted me to follow your every signal, I decided to push your thoughts to the ones that are more favorable to me.”

My frank words, once again, caught her off guard. Which was also a part of my plans, of course.

“Why are you telling me this, then?” With a serious look on her pretty face, Counter Girl decided to ask another question.

“Because I want you to be aware of it, Claire.” I smiled. “And I want to see how far you will let me go, without flimsy excuses to push the blame onto.”

She stared into my eyes for a moment, then shook her head and sighed in defeat.

“Then, um,” Claire muttered. “Let’s go…”

“Sure.” I moved to open a door for her, my reasoning from our previous date still standing strong.

“But… um, you know,” she drawled. “I, um, would like another one. And, um, a bit longer this time.”

I obliged.