"Coral's going on a date! Coral's going on a date! Coral's going on a date! Coral's go-"

"Joy, it is not a date. How many times do I have to explain this to you?" I cut off her singing in frustration.

"You're going out to dinner alone with an attractive boy who is about the same age as you. How can you call it anything other than a date?" Kayla chimes in with her thoughts on the topic of my plans for the evening.

"We are just friends. He asked me to dinner so that we can get to know each other better and become friends instead of only co-workers." I respond in an attempt to convince them it is only dinner between friends.

"Would you be more than friends with him if he wanted?" Kayla interrogates.

"That doesn't matter because he will never feel that way about me." I answer with a blush on my face.

"Of course it matters. You don't know how he feels about you. Just a little while ago you were convinced that he hated you."

"That's because he did hate me!"

"Yes, but the point I am trying to make is he changed his mind." She reminds me as she tries to convince me.

"Exactly, he has already changed his mind once. I highly doubt it will happen again." I say in response to her incessant arguments.

"Either way, you are going out to dinner and you need to look nice. So why don't we just go pick out an outfit." Kayla finally gives up the argument.

"Why does it matter? He sees me everyday at work."

"Yes, but this isn't everyday at work. This is a special occasion because the two of you are having dinner together."

After twenty minutes of Kayla searching for the perfect outfit, her words not mine, I was ready to just go in my lab uniform because nothing she found was good enough for tonight. I still don't think it is that big of a deal, but apparently everyone else seems convinced that it is.

Before I know it, a sharp knock sounds on our door, and Kayla is shooing me towards it while squealing eagerly.

"He's here! He's here!" Joy shrieks excitedly.

"Hush Joy! Let's go upstairs and leave Coral alone for now. I smile at Kayla in silent gratitude.

I open the door to see Hunter standing there nervously as though he didn't expect me to answer the door. He is wearing what Kayla would call a dressy casual outfit, and for once, I am glad I allowed her to select my outfit for the evening.

"Good evening, are you ready to go?" He asks as I just stare at him.

"Sure, where are we going?"

"It's a surprise, so you'll just have to wait and see." He responds with secretive smile.

"Not even a little hint?" I plead as my curiosity gets the best of me.

"Not even that."

We walk together for a little while before coming to a picnic table overlooking a lake.

There were lamp posts set up along the path and near the table, so it wasn't too dark. On there table, there are two plates on opposite sides with a delicious looking meal on them.

"So, what do you think?" Hunter asks from behind me.

Turning to him, I smile and tell him it is absolutely beautiful. I didn't know he had it in him to arrange something like this. Never would I have dreamed the boy who was so rude to me just weeks ago could also prepare for me something so breathtaking.

"Good, I hope you enjoy dinner. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I asked them to prepare a variety of dishes for us tonight." He responds to my complement eagerly.

"So," he starts off once we are both seated. "Since this is about getting too know each other better, why don't we each tell the other something about is they don't already know. I'll go first to start us off. I am an only child."

"Let's see, " I stall as I try to think of one. "My favorite dessert is chocolate cheesecake."

"I'm not a big fan of chocolate. My favorite is lemon meringue pie."

"That's delicious as well, but how can anyone not love chocolate?" I ask, genuinely confused.

"It's too rich for my tastes."

"I love to read. It's one of my favorite things to do during the rare occasions I have free time."

"Really, I took you more for an outdoors person." He seems surprised, although I don't know why. He has to have seen me reading at some point before.

"Not really." I reply. "I don't mind it, but I really don't like hiking."

"Didn't you go on the recent hike with your sister?"

"Yeah, but it's not something I enjoy. Joy loves it and wouldn't stop begging I until I agreed to go with her."

"You must really love her."

"I do, she is my little sister. Even when she is annoying, I still love her. Plus, she is the only family I have left."

"That's got to be stressful sometimes, being the primary caregiver for someone as young as your sister."

"On occasion, it can be, but Joy is a great kid. She is remarkably well behaved and mature for her age."

"I don't have any siblings, so I can't exactly relate,  but I used to spend a lot of time around this young boy who lived near me.  When his mom had to work late, I would watch him for her. He was a great kid, a lot like your sister from what you've told me of her."

"Was?" I question picking up on the past tense.

"The plague got to him." Hunter responded with a tone of finality ending that line of conversation.

Before we can continue getting to know each other, his synced watch beeps twice and a look of regret shadows his face.

"I'm sorry Coral. Something urgent has come up, and I'm afraid we are going to have to cut the evening short."

"That's alright, I understand." I reply even though I am slightly disappointed.

"I hope we can do this again sometime soon."

"Sure, that sounds great."

"Alright, I see you tomorrow at work." He bids me a good night before dashing off to deal with whatever issue had come up.

Sorry that it's been so long since the last update. 
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