“You ready to talk?” she said, beating her fist against the table in a jokingly dramatic manor.
“Is this an interrogation now?” I asked. “I need to know if I need my lawyer.”
“You might,” she threatened. “Unless you’re ready to spill the beans?”
“Oh I’m ready,” I said, allowing my same smile to engross my face again. “It’s about Jacob…”
“I assumed.” She rolled her eyes playfully at me.
“Are you going to let me spill the beans or are you going to interrupt?” I said, my giddy mood turning into a motivation to play with Caroline a little more.
“You’re ridiculous,” she replied. “I’m starting to think this was all a ploy.”
“Oh, it’s very real. But be patient, I’ve gotta start from the beginning.” I cleared my throat as Caroline watched me speak with inquiring eyes.
“Anyway,” I continued, “Jacob said he wanted to take me on a picnic, totally his idea. He brought everything. The picnic basket, the blanket, the food- all of it. He got us all set up in William's Park.”
“Wait, William's Park? There was a Legazues there,” Caroline said. Her eyes went wide. “Did you get one?”
“I did, but that's not the important part of my story.” I couldn't stop the grin spreading over my face. “We had to leave after it showed up since the park was packed, but, then we went back to his place.”
I grinned way too wide and Caroline's eyes went wide as she figured out the rest of my story. All of Caroline’s anticipation finally made its way to the surface and blossomed into an eruption of delighted whoops. It was the moment I’d been waiting for.
I looked around to see if her outburst had caused the surrounding tables to stare. Luckily, no one was looking at us.
“Way. To. Go,” she said slowly and emphatically. “So how was he?”
“He was wonderful,” I said. “He’s excellent. Amazing. Spectacular.”
“His eyes still the best part?” she joked.
“He has many best parts,” I said. “Basically the last forty-eight hours have been incredible. A dinner date, a half-picnic date and then going back to his place. I'm living in a happy dream right now.”
“What was his place like?” Caroline played with her straw, drinking in her coffee and all my details.
“He lives at The Boulevard, so it was really fancy,” I said. “He’s still moving in, so it was mostly just boxes.”
“That's nice.” She grinned at me and got straight to the topic she wanted to discuss. “So, when do I get to meet him?” she asked, her signature smile curling at the edge of her mouth.
“Soon,” I said. “I'm still getting to know him myself.”
“Oh come on,” she said, setting her coffee down. “I'm sure you've met some of his friends.”
“I haven’t, actually.” It wasn't until I said it that I even realized that I hadn't even heard him mention any of his friends. It was probably just due to him having just moved here.
“Then I can get the ball rolling,” she said, her smile turning into an enthusiastic grin of delight. “We'll have a barbecue. Or better yet, a party.”
“Slow down.” I held my hand up like it was a stop sign. Not that it would slow her down any. “I’m not about to bombard him and freak him out.”
“With your freak of a friend?” She raised her eyebrows at me.
“Not my freak friend, my best friend,” I said, waving her off. “But I just kind of want to take things slow and let them play out. I think I might’ve really found something good here and I don't want to scare him off. He's not big on crowds, so a party probably wouldn't be his thing.”
“I guess that’s fine.” Caroline let out a dramatic sigh. “But, I claim dibs on meeting him next.”
“Deal.” I grinned at her. “I'm just so excited about him. I think I can see a future with him, but I might just be fooling myself.”
“Can you see him opening presents on Christmas?” Caroline asked, her face unreadable. I wasn't sure where she was going with this question.