Chapter 6 - Saturday?

Friday somehow felt longer than the rest of the week.

Emma spent the morning in the bakery, shaping dough while Mrs. Alvarez hummed along to an old song playing on the radio. By noon, she was in architecture studio, trying to finish a model that refused to cooperate.

Twice she glued the same piece in the wrong place.

"You're distracted," Lily said, watching her pry the piece off for the second time.

"I am not."

"You just glued the roof upside down."

Emma looked down.

"...I did."

Lily folded her arms.

"Okay, what did he say?"

Emma sighed.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"He hasn't messaged yet."

Lily smiled.

"So you've been waiting."

Emma opened her mouth to deny it, then closed it again.

She had.

Not obsessively.

Just... occasionally checking her phone whenever it buzzed.

That was normal.

Probably.

By the time class ended, there was still nothing.

Emma slipped her phone into her bag and headed to work.

The bakery was quieter than usual that evening. A light drizzle kept most customers away, leaving Emma enough time to wipe the display cases and rearrange the shelves.

Mrs. Alvarez noticed the silence.

"Slow night."

Emma nodded.

"I don't mind."

"You say that now."

Mrs. Alvarez smiled as she pulled another tray from the oven.

"Give it an hour."

She was right.

Within thirty minutes, people began trickling in, escaping the rain with damp umbrellas and cold hands. The warm smell of fresh bread filled the bakery, and the quiet evening became comfortably busy.

Emma had just finished serving the last customer when her phone vibrated inside her apron pocket.

She waited until the bakery emptied before checking it.

Daniel: Long day?

A smile spread across her face before she could stop it.

Emma: How did you know?

His reply came a minute later.

Daniel: Lucky guess.

It's Friday.

Emma laughed softly.

Emma: You're getting good at guessing.

Daniel: Or maybe I'm just getting to know you.

She stared at the message for a moment longer than she meant to.

It was such a simple sentence.

Yet it lingered.

-

Emma reached home just after nine.

Rain still tapped gently against the windows as she changed into comfortable clothes and heated a bowl of soup for dinner.

She carried it to the small table by the window, phone resting beside her.

It buzzed again.

Daniel: Can I ask you something?

She frowned.

Emma: Of course.

There was a longer pause this time.

Long enough that she wondered if he'd changed his mind.

Then—

Daniel: Have you ever wondered if we'd get along in real life?

Emma's spoon stopped halfway to her mouth.

She read the question again.

Then once more.

Her heart began beating just a little faster.

She set the spoon down.

What was the right answer?

If she said yes...

Would that sound strange?

If she said no...

It wouldn't even be true.

She typed slowly.

Emma: I think about it sometimes.

The reply came almost immediately.

Daniel: Me too.

Emma bit the inside of her cheek, smiling without realizing it.

Neither of them sent another message for nearly a minute.

Finally—

Daniel: Would you like to find out?

She blinked.

Find out.

He meant...

Meet.

Emma leaned back in her chair.

The apartment suddenly felt very quiet.

She looked around as though someone else might help her answer.

There was only the basil plant on the windowsill and the soft sound of rain outside.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.

She could still say no.

She barely knew him.

Meeting someone from a dating app wasn't something she'd ever imagined herself doing.

Yet Daniel didn't feel like a stranger anymore.

Not completely.

He was the person who reminded her to eat dinner.

Who wished her luck before studio.

Who somehow knew exactly when she needed someone to make her laugh.

She took a slow breath.

Emma: Okay.

Almost instantly—

Daniel: Really?

She smiled.

Emma: Really.

Three dots appeared.

Disappeared.

Then appeared again.

Daniel: How about tomorrow afternoon?

There's a café near Riverside Park.

I've heard it's quiet.

Emma knew the place.

She had walked past it dozens of times on her way to campus but had never gone inside.

Emma: I know it.

Daniel: Two o'clock?

Her heart fluttered.

Emma: Okay.

She locked her phone and set it on the table.

For a moment, she simply sat there.

Tomorrow.

She was going to meet him tomorrow.

A man she'd never seen.

A man whose voice she had never heard.

A man who somehow already felt familiar.

She stood and walked to the small wardrobe beside her bed.

There wasn't much inside.

A few sweaters.

Several pairs of jeans.

Two dresses she almost never wore.

She pulled out a light blue blouse and held it against herself.

Too formal.

Back it went.

A cream-colored cardigan.

Maybe.

Then a simple white blouse.

She smiled.

Mrs. Alvarez always said white looked nice on her.

Emma laid the blouse neatly across the chair before turning off the bedroom light.

As she climbed into bed, her eyes drifted toward the chair one last time.

Tomorrow suddenly felt much closer than it had a few minutes ago.