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Bob might be having the greatest first date of his life.
Linda is incredible. He isn’t sure he’s ever clicked with someone so easily. Linda doesn’t beat around the bush or drop too-subtle hints like his past dates—she’s absurdly blunt. It puts Bob at ease, makes him feel like he can be himself instead of putting up his usual first-date front. It kind of feels like she’s doing the same. Typically, he’s exhausted after an outing, eager to be home and away from people; now, though, as he drives Linda home, he kind of doesn’t want the night to end.
She’s in the middle of a story about work, and keeps interrupting herself to give him directions to her apartment. Normally this would be impossible for Bob to follow—he’s been told he’s a little slow—but he’s hanging on Linda’s every word, so following along is easy.
“And then I said to the guy—left right up here, yeah—’hey, if that’s what you wanted, you shoulda ordered the salad!’” Linda cracks up at her own joke, then points out her building. “Here we aaaaaare,” she sing-songs as he pulls up in front.
“Home sweet home,” he jokes, lamely, but it makes her give him a radiant smile. It’s enough to bolster his confidence, to make him say, “Hey, um, Linda, tonight was… really nice.” He is very painfully aware of how awkward he is, but Linda is still looking at him, so he’s compelled to keep talking. “And I… hope that I can see you. Again. Sometime. If you w–”
“Did you want to come up?”
“Huh?” Bob looks at her, certain he’s misheard. Linda is smiling, all innocence, her head cocked curiously. “You want me to…”
“Come check out my place. If you want, I mean.” She blinks… weirdly. Like maybe she’s trying to flutter her eyelashes and not quite nailing it. It’s actually working for him. “No pressure.”
“Right. Uh, right.” No pressure. That’s fine. Bob is just going to go up to Linda’s apartment, and look around a little, and oh my god he feels his eyes flicker down to look at her mouth. Stop . He immediately forces himself to make eye contact again and finds a new glimmer in Linda’s eye, her smile just the tiniest bit wider. Crap , she definitely noticed. He’s about to stammer out something probably not very smooth when Linda, agonizingly slow, winks.
He feels himself go bright red. “Oh my god,” he breathes. “Yeah, uh, yep. Okay. Sounds good.”
He stammers out more nonsense as she leads him, by the hand, from the parking lot up the stairs to her second-floor apartment. She only lets go for long enough to unlock the door; the second they’re inside, before Bob can finish tripping over himself to say something stupid about how lovely her home is, she grabs him by the shoulders and hauls him into a kiss.
Bob isn’t ready for how intense it is. Linda is all over him, pressing practically her entire body into him. It takes him a stupidly long time to react, but by the time he’s getting into the swing of things—wrapping his arms around her waist, leaning into her—she’s pulling back again, her hand on his chest stopping him from going for another one. He notices that she’s breathing heavier and feels a bizarre rush of pride. “Sorry,” she says, with a little laugh. “I’ve been wanting to do that all night.”
Linda must be starting a counter for how many times she can make him blush tonight. “Yeah?” he asks hesitantly.
She ducks her head, shifts her weight from foot to foot. “It’s… been awhile. It’s nice to be going out with someone you like.”
Bob feels floaty. Someone you like . That’s him! “Yeah,” he says dumbly. “Yeah, I get what you mean. Same here.”
Linda laughs a little. “I doubt it,” she says, and Bob feels a little like he’s missing a joke.
“No, seriously,” he protests, “I can’t remember how long it’s been since I dated someone.” Which isn’t saying much, since his memory for dates is pretty horrible, and it’s probably been within the past year, but still. “I definitely can’t remember how long it’s been since I’ve been with someone I really liked.”
Linda just beams up at him, and she’s so breathtakingly gorgeous that he can feel his heart start beating faster. “Yeah,” she says airily. “Let’s make out.”
The way she says it is so matter-of-fact that he can’t help laughing. “What–” He shakes his head, realizing that his cheeks hurt from smiling. Has he ever smiled this much for this long? “Seriously?”
Linda huffs. “Well, what did you think I invited you up here for, tea and crackers?”
Bob frowns a little. “...I’m pretty sure it’s tea and crumpets. Or cheese and–”
“Whatever!” She waves him off. “The point is, you’re up here for kissing purposes, and you’re doing a little non-kissy blabbing.” She stops, and he can see on her face when A Thought occurs to her. It’s stupidly endearing. “I mean, you don’t mind that, right? I did jump you the second you got in the door.” She looks sheepish. “I could’ve given you the tour first, huh?”
He shakes his head quickly. “No, no, I, uh… I like it.” He clears his throat awkwardly. “A lot. I guess I’m just surprised?” Linda tilts her head curiously, and Bob hurries to elaborate. “I’m not really used to, uh, being jumped? For kissing purposes? Not a complaint, just. Observing.” He swallows. “I can’t believe you want to kiss me , is all.”
Linda smiles at that, and it’s different from her other expressions. Just as sincere, but smaller, almost secretive. Bob realizes that she’s shy, and immediately after that he realizes that she’s really, really cute. “Is it that hard to believe?” she asks. “You’re a handsome guy.”
“Well, you’re… beautiful.” The words are coming out of him before he can think about them. Linda’s eyes crinkle, and his heart just about stops. “And, um–”
She puts up a hand to stop him. “Bobby,” she says solemnly. “I need to kiss you right now, or I’m gonna explode. Okay?”
Bob isn’t sure if it’s possible to for his face to be any more red. “Yep,” he squeaks out, and Linda saves him from sounding more ridiculous by pulling him in for another kiss.
About a hundred kisses later, Bob is lying in her bed. Linda is passed out against him, and it’s only when she starts snoring that he realizes he’s spending the night.
His chest fills with a warm, fuzzy feeling. He likes her. Really likes her. God, he really likes her , and now that she’s not talking to him there’s room in his head for anxiety to creep in, and he worries, and as he feels himself start to spiral he finds himself speaking. “Hey, Linda?”
Silence, for a second, then she shifts against him. “Mmph. What, Bobby?”
He presses his lips together, embarrassed, but at this point, he’s already woken her up. “This… wasn’t a one night stand, right?”
Linda grumbles a little. Before Bob can spiral any harder, she says, “It wasn’t a one night stand.” She pats his chest and burrows her face up against his shoulder. “Go to sleep.”
“Oh,” he says quietly. He believes her, and it makes it feel like the sun is trapped in his chest. “Okay,” he whispers, and then he pulls her a little bit closer, and as she starts to snore again, he goes to sleep.