CHAPTER 56
Gelo asked me on a date! I feel like a normal teenager asked by her long-time crush to go on a date. I never knew what a date feels like. I badly wanted to experience the right person.
A perfect date in my head is when a person waits for you outside your house with his fancy car and a bouquet of roses and chocolates in his hand. That’s romantic, even in books.
But reality struck me. After fixing myself on my spring-themed dress, I got down to face Angelo. He didn’t bring any bouquet of roses, just a stem on his hand and neither he has a car as well. But that’s love. Neither person or date is perfect. The world was just cruel to provide that for us.
I do love Angelo, that’s the only thing that matters for now.
“You’re going on a date?” Mom asked me. She pretends to be the evil stepmother who will do anything so the princess could not go on a date. “You’re not even asking me and telling me everything.”
“I swear I forgot. Ever since I came here, Angelo’s been the person who welcomed with. He’s my friend and now my boyfriend.”
Why do I sound proud of telling that to her? Well, because I am. I am proud to be the girlfriend of the best man in this town.
“Fine, fine. Be sure to tell me everything when you got home. Don’t stay until sunset!”
“We won’t!”
Gelo was already grinning when I got outside. He gave me the rose he was holding earlier. He may have heard everything my mom is bragging about. He knew Mila back then. And every day, it sounds weird that she’s my mom.
“Where are we going?” I asked when he held my hand. His hand was soft. I even want to know the type of lotion he’s using. His perfume smells stronger than the last time. He prepared for this day. “Am I your first date? Because you’re me.”
“Don’t ask me where we’re going. I certainly had dates before. All of those were unserious. I don’t love them. I just like them. But now, it feels surreal that I am holding my favorite woman’s hand. Well, dating is better when you’re with the one that you love.”
“Don’t fool me, my man. Don't pretend that we’re inside a Regency romance book.”
He chuckled. He waved our hands while walking. I don’t have any idea where he’s going to bring me. But maybe going with the flow doesn’t hurt, right?
…
On the way, we talked about the people and things we love repeatedly. I swear I have heard all those things before about him. Is that how close we are back then? We tell each other almost everything.
“We’re here,” Gelo said. He pointed his lips to the castle-like building, splashed with ivory-white paint. We’ve walked for hours and I haven’t seen this building before.
“What is this place? I looked so medieval and aesthetic.”
“A coffee shop.”
“This is a coffee shop?” The coffee shop is the last thing I perceive this place as. It doesn’t look one until I saw different quotes about caffeine.
“Yup,” Gelo said, pulling me inside.
It wasn’t just a simple coffee shop. It’s a haven. A coffee shop and a bookstore. On the right side of the place, there were wooden chairs and stools where some people are either working, chatting, or reading books while they were drinking coffee.
The ambiance of this place is my dream ambiance for the room.
On the left side, there were shelves of books and people looking for their reads. This coffee shop and bookstore place is going to be my next favorite place.
“I didn’t expect you to bring me here. I didn’t know that Dusk and Dawn has this kind of place.”
“Oh, well. This place isn’t part of the town. We passed the arch, right.”
“I forgot.”
“So we’re going to spend our whole day in here. We’re going to read and drink as much caffeine as we need. Everything is my treat.”
“I should’ve brought books. I don’t have anything to read.”
“Well, I didn’t buy a bouquet for a reason. We’re going to pick books we’ll surely going to read.”
This man. He’s something. Books from a bookstore are surely better than a bouquet of roses. I was wrong earlier. This date is far better than perfect.
Before we pick out seats, we wandered around the bookstore first. Angelo didn’t expect that we were going to spend almost an hour picking up our books. Well, I can spend almost a whole day in a huge bookstore.
Angelo picked a post-apocalyptic book about survival and zombies. I’ve seen him watching a zombie television series last time. Maybe he’s into those kinds of books until now.
On the other hand, I picked a cozy high fantasy with a low-stakes book. I’ve read a lot of things about this book on the internet. But ever since we moved to the town, it is not feasible to reach a bookstore.
This is the perfect time to read the book along with a drink that we’re going to order.
Angelo preferred a frappuccino to a normal latte. So he got himself a macchiato while I have a matcha latte.
“This is exciting. I love you so much and thank you!”
“Small thing for my love, Mi Amor Catherine.”
“When did you learn that language?”
“I just read it somewhere. So we’re going to read then?”
“I thought you were not a reader.”
“That’s before you came into this town. Remember when you lend me your books? I read slowly at first, then I found my niche. I even asked my brother Sage to buy me books. And he did! Then suddenly, I can finish a book in one sitting.”
“I’ve always wished for a bookworm boyfriend. I didn’t know it was going to be you.”
“Well, books are my second priority after everyone I love and care for.”
I crossed my brows. “So are we going to chat or start reading now?”
He laughed at me. “Sorry. I’ll shut my mouth for now.”
…
It hurts my butt to sit for hours straight on this wooden chair. So for the next hours, I changed my position. We even walk around the bookstore to buy another book we’re going to take home. I finished my book faster than him because I have a shorter one than him. So while I’m waiting for him to finish his book, I read my other book with a cozy mystery.
I feel safe because of his presence and because we’re not in a town full of werewolves. It feels nostalgic that we’re spending time with normal humans. Humans don’t know anything that the town next to them is filled with werewolves. Humans also crave power and royalty, a thing I want to escape from.
“It’s nice to see my girl in this place,” someone said. A bulky figure sat beside me. His scent is poison.
I closed the book and gazed at him. The alpha. My father. The enemy.
“And who is this boy you’re dating?” he questioned, barking in eyes toward Gelo.