Chapter 19: The First Date (Finally!)

My heart was racing at the speed of light inside of my chest. Today was the day my dream would finally come true. Len and I were going on a date! Our first date! I almost couldn't even believe it. Everything I've ever wanted… now I have it.

I looked at myself grinning brightly in the mirror. I wore the same outfit I had worn a while back when Len and I were hanging out at Ai no Cafe. I even wore the ponytail again since it's Len's favorite hairstyle!

I walked downstairs where Len was waiting for me, and—would it be exaggerating to say I saw his eyes light up the instant he saw me? I think I did.

"U-um. H-hey…" he said, blushing and turning his head away slightly.

Honestly, he's absolutely adorable when he gets shy or embarrassed. He's so innocent and sweet. The sweetness must come from all those bananas he eats! Haha.

"You ready?" I said, looking up and smiling at his shy face.

He looked at me and smiled. "Y-yeah!"

We were about to leave when we were promptly cut off by a voice.

"Hold it right there," the stern tone of my brother called after us.

Good lord. What on Earth did he want? He was probably going to lecture Len on etiquette or chivalry or how he should treat me or something dumb like that. Len doesn't need to know that! He already does it without being reminded or told. Quite frankly, Len-kun is one of the most polite and considerate people I've met!

As Teiru droned on lecturing Len, I began drifting off into wonder. Would Len and I get to hold hands? Would he kiss me? Can I kiss him first? Can I just pinch his adorable little cheeks? Nah. That'd be awkward. Oh! Can I ask him to marry me?! Would he ask me to marry him?!

Okay, well, the likelihood of the last one happening is very low, but I can dream!

"Hey, Tei!"

"Um, Tei…?"

"Tei are you ready?"

I was quickly jolted from my thoughts. I was so deep in thought I didn't even know Len was trying to talk to me! Ehehehe. Whoops.

I blushed embarrassedly.

"Uh, yeah!" I said.

Len extended his hand out to me and I blushed a little, taking his outstretched hand and squealing internally as we walked out to his car. Everything just felt so surreal. Like, I was going on real date with Len. This wasn't one of my imaginary scenarios I play in my head of the two of us going on a date. We were actually going on a real date. Wow.

We pulled into the parking lot of Ai no Cafe, and Len quickly got out of the car to open my door like the chivalrous guy he is. I took his outstretched hand and we walked into the cafe.

We sat down in a booth near the window and opened up our menus.

"So, what sounds good to you, Len-kun?" I asked. "I'm a little conflicted on what I want. I'm definitely getting a hot chocolate, but I don't know what I want to eat. It all looks too good!"

"I don't know either. There's a distinct lack of bananas on this menu…" Len said, sounding a little disappointed.

I giggled a bit. Len's love for eating bananas was charming because it's to a silly extent. But, you know, good on him for eating bananas. I dunno how he does it. They're disgusting to me! (Oh, but I'd never actually say that to him.)

"I'd say we could share a banana split but I think the contrast between the hot cocoa and the cold ice cream might be a bit much…"

"That, and there's probably no ice cream," Len added.

I looked at him, confused. I see no reason for a cafe that mainly specializes in desserts to be out of ice cream. I doubt the ice cream is popular enough for them to actually run out of it.

"Why would they be out of ice cream…?"

Len sighed. "I forgot you're new, so you're not familiar with the amount of shenanigans around here. My friend, Kaito, is obsessed with ice cream and eats too much of it for his own good. He typically buys up all the ice cream in town and, I wish I was kidding when I say this but, he literally causes ice cream shortages sometimes. It's annoying because no one else gets ice cream!" He half-explained, half-whined.

I laughed hysterically. I never would have thought that one man could cause a huge ice cream shortage in such a big city. If I didn't know Len so well, I would have thought he was joking. Joking or not, though, that's one of the most hilarious things I've ever heard. But I have to ask, if he causes such an ice cream shortage, then why would they let him work at an ice cream shop? Logic.

"Hoo. That has got to be the funniest thing I've ever heard!" I said, finally catching my breath after laughing so much.

"Yeah. It's funny until it actually happens to you," he said, crossing his arms and pouting.

Len-kun is a bit childish sometimes, but honestly? I don't mind! It's charming, and it's just one of his many quirks. Just like my tendency to become easily lovestruck is a quirk of mine. But, that doesn't mean my love for Len-kun is fleeting; I really love him, more than any boy I've ever met before.

"So," I said, attempting to steer the conversation back in the proper direction. "What do you think you want? I think I'll be getting the fettuccine."

"I think I'll get that, too! Sounds tasty!" He said.

We flagged down the waiter and placed our orders. Just like last time, we ordered the same things at the same time! I guess that's a testament to how close we'd become.

After we finished at Ai no Cafe, we went to the park, perfectly timing it so it would be sunset by time we got there.

I began blushing profusely as Len took my hand, kissed it, and held it.

Oh, my gosh! He's holding my hand, and he kissed it, too! Can this be any better? I gushed to myself.

The park looked beautiful around this time of evening and felt just as romantic as I'd always thought it would. But, honestly, what made it special was getting to spend time with Len-kun; just the two of us. He seemed very happy and was smiling pleasantly, and I couldn't help but to do the same!

"So, is this exactly how you always dreamed it would be?" Len asked, eyes full of hope.

Something gave me the feeling that he was going through a lot of work to make sure everything was perfect. Now, that was something that I greatly appreciated.

"Even better than I dreamed," I said, smiling sweetly at my blond prince.

Len just beamed at the compliment and something told me I just made his day. He looked at me, placing his hand on my shoulder and leaning inwards toward my face.

Oh. My. Gosh. Is he about to…?

Before I could even finish my thought, I was cut off as I felt Len's soft lips on mine. Like, wow. Okay. Um… this was like the best thing ever. And, it's not just that he kissed me, but the way he did it. It was so soft and gentle, but also really sweet… I just… ah… I'd love to relive that again and again.

He pulled away and we both looked away, blushing shyly.

"Len-kun," I said softly.

"Yeah?"

"Please give me a tender kiss again!"

I looked up at him and smiled.

"Hey. I love you!"

He smiled his trademark goofy smile, blushing. Then he leaned in once again for a kiss, placing his hand on my shoulder.

I just held him close to me, enjoying the moment in all its sweetness. It just made me feel so warm and fuzzy. This moment perfectly captured everything I love about romance.

"I love you, too," he said, smiling at me with kind eyes.

A/N: Wow. This was the last chapter. Thank you so much for reading! I'm a little sad that this is the last chapter I'll upload for this fic, but hopefully I'll upload the sequel soon! Hopefully next week, so keep watch! In the meantime, I have a couple other TeiLen fics, so feel free to read them while you wait for the sequel!