Page 29 of Siren's Heart

What if the pottery idea is way off, and Asher fucked it up for me? What am I going to do then?

No, Luca, calm down. It's going to be fine. She likes crafting and even said herself that she likes creating with her hands. She’s going to love it. Everything is going to be okay.

Taking a deep breath, I finally let my fingers dance over the keyboard and type out my message to her.

Luca: Hi, it's Luca.

I accidentally hit send and almost throw my phone away. Fuck. Quick like the wind, I continue to type.

Luca: I had a wonderful evening. About that date we talked about. Are you free on Tuesday evening?

I cringe after I send it. Why the hell am I writing like that? It sounds way too informal.

I take a sharp breath when, almost immediately, the three points indicating she's writing plop up.

Did she stay up to wait for my message? Maybe she’s just as nervous as I am.

My heart is beating in my chest like a horse on a gallop as I watch the three dots while she types. They dance, then they’re gone, then they appear again. That woman is going to give me a fucking heart attack.

Millie: I really enjoyed myself, too. I'm free on Tuesday!

If possible, my heart picks up another beat. She enjoyed yourself too. I'm so glad. It makes me giddy as a child on Christmas morning, getting the exact thing they asked for.

And I reckon if there was ever a rejection coming, she would have given it to me now. There is no way she would continue to lead me on otherwise. She doesn’t seem like that kind of person at all.

A whole bunch of weight is suddenly off my shoulders.

Luca: Great. I'll pick you up at six. We'll go for dinner, and I'll have a surprise planned. Wear something comfortable.

She answers me with a GIF of a saluting dog.

Millie: Can't wait!!

Ooof, that's two exclamation points. I let my phone sink down and grin like an idiot, happiness simmering inside me. I want to open the window and scream my happiness from the rooftops, but honestly, that would be embarrassing.

So instead, I grab my phone again and send her a sticker of an impatient cat wiggling its butt.

That's cute, right? Trying to distract myself from thinking about it too much, I pull up my sister's contact info and finally call her back as promised.

Millie

"Millie?" Naroa waves her hand in front of my face. "Where's that pretty head of yours at?"

"Sorry," I say sheepishly and put away my phone, shaking my head at myself. I've been staring at it all day, jumping with each notification, thinking it’s a message from Luca. Fair to say, my mind was somewhere entirely else or rather, on someone else.

It's finally Tuesday.

I've been a nervous wreck ever since Luca first messaged me. We’ve continued to message, small meaningless chats, wishing each other a good morning and good night.

It’s unreal how much time I spent checking my phone every few minutes, heart beating in my throat, just in case a new message from him came in, and I might or might not have counted down the damn hours to our date. There is only one left; I'm just putting that out there.

Right now, we're in Kayla's apartment. Naroa wanted to meet up and talk about something with us. What was it again? Ah, right–

"So, the new album," she reiterates, satisfied that I’m finally paying attention to her. She keeps her eyes on me, like I'm a disobedient dog about to eat something I shouldn't, and to my dismay, it works. My attention is on her. "I know you're busy with the halftime show, but I'd like you to start thinking about it. Come up with some lyrics, songs, whatever, so we have something to work with after the match is over."

"Oh, I'm sure there will be more than enough material," Kayla points out, shooting me a wide, toothy grin. Naroa follows her eyes, rubbing them with an annoyed sigh when she notices.

"I could give that right back at you, miss girlfriend," I tease her.

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