Can I Please Go On a Date?

Time passed almost instantly for Noriko, as if nothing really important happened between last night and after work. But that couldn’t be the case. Though try as she might, the day was quite the blur for her. If she prepared anything, she didn’t remember it. The day was a fog of worry and dread.

She of course didn’t mind seeing Hiroyuki, quite the opposite, naturally. Though even Noriko knew that she couldn’t let her delusion control her during the snack. The all-important question that Maiko posed her last night poked at the back of her. And she didn’t have an answer.

Across the table was Hiroyuki not asking that question, though she sort of felt it at times. Being out with him alone almost sent her back to feeling like a child. She really ignored romance for so long. This situation was a thing of fiction that she read, not experienced. And as much as her reaction was to rely on it, she tried to use the rational part of her to not fall into clichés. She hoped at least.

Hiroyuki picked the place, a small cafe that she had never visited. It was often a place they passed by for lunch. It was just not a lunch spot. Definitely a place to rest, maybe bring a book or manga to read while sipping tea or coffee. There was a soft aroma in the air from coffee and scented herbs. The calming mood tried its best to keep her nerves down, though that only helped so much.

Though to her surprise, he hadn’t said anything yet. She just sort of hoped he would start the conversation. A minute of awkward silence between them wasn’t helping her anxiety. There was a procedure, an order with these things, right? The organizer, the inviter had the responsibility to begin. Wasn’t that how things worked?

But she could see he wasn’t going to. The strong, confident man that Hiroyuki should have been was missing.

He was never there. It was a figment of Noriko’s mind. With luck she would realize that soon.

If it went on any longer they would look like a stalker caught in the act. As she stared down at the tea that she ordered, already delivered. There remained some hesitation in taking a sip considering what she did to him yesterday. Each time that she reached for the cup thinking it might be safe it looked like he was about to say something.

She could only push it off for so long before it was too much for her. Noriko broke the silence. “Thanks…Thank you.”

“Huh?” Hiroyuki almost looked a little scared now that she could see him clearly. “What?”

His confusion wasn’t that surprising. She didn’t know why she said that, but it was the first thing that came out of her mouth. “I guess for the snack?” Noriko couldn’t help but laugh a little at her stumbling. “Sorry, I was just trying to find a way to break the silence.”

“Oh, sorry I asked you and I should’ve been saying something. It was far more difficult than I imagined when Tomio convinced me. He said it would just work out. It really doesn’t though. If there aren’t the words, they don’t just magically appear.”

She smiled. “My poor attempt seemed to work at least.” A questioning look came in reply from him. “You’re able to talk.”

“I guess I am.”

They shared some light laughter at the continued awkwardness. She finally took a sip of tea, which had cooled a little. But it was still warm and soothing combined with the fragrance in the air. The broken wall made her more bold. “Why me? If you don’t mind me asking so bluntly.”

“Because you’re the one that I have feelings for?”

“I mean, what about me do you like? We work together a lot, but we haven’t had a lot of non-work related chats.”

He nodded following her more clearly now. It had been the thing that she didn’t understand. Maiko and her talked about it, but she never gave Noriko an answer as well. And he couldn’t have found her hobbies appealing. It had to be something else.

“That is true. It’s a bunch of little things, if I had to say. You’re kind, helpful, supportive, protective. You work hard, but you’ve always got time for anyone. You always give someone your full effort. Everyone comes to you when they need help.”

She had to think about it. It wasn’t something that she gave much thought to. New hires often came to her because she helped out in parts of orientation and training. “That can’t be true. Others in the office must be as well.”

“Probably, but ask anyone around the floor and you’ll be the first name they think of. If you don’t know how to help, you’ll know who they can go to next. Everyone knows you.”

“Everyone? That’s a little embarrassing. Maybe Maiko is right.”

“Hm?”

“Nothing!” A bit of sweat came from that slip. She thought she mumbled that out. But her mind flipped back to Hiroyuki. ‘He really has been thinking about me. I feel bad that I don’t actually know almost anything about him that isn’t a fiction I’ve written.’

At least she was honest.

“But I’ll admit I don’t know much about you outside of work. What do you do for fun?”

And suddenly Noriko felt completely drowned in her own sweat. Her eyes darted around while her mind fought for an answer. ‘Don’t say stare at naked men. Don’t say fantasize about two men. Don’t say you!’ Noriko's mind was going blank as she fought to repress everything, but it paradoxically left her with nothing. “Staring at code!”

She immediately winced at what her mouth said. It almost felt like it rushed out of her with need. And in a way it wasn’t wrong. Something had to be said, just that was such a terrible answer. The stunned face on Hiroyuki confirmed as much.

Noriko frantically waved her hands around trying to take it back, even though it was already out in the open. “I mean…I enjoy solving puzzles. Yeah, coding is like a puzzle sometimes.” It wasn’t inaccurate. Though that made it seem like she sat at home doing logical problems and sudokos, which couldn’t be further from the truth. They were certainly things that she liked, but she often just slacked off on her couch playing games if she wasn’t on her computer.

“Is that how you got into programming?”

“Kinda? I didn’t really know what I wanted to do in high school. You know when they ask you about your future and what your plans were. I was wasting time with Maiko more often than not. It wasn’t until a teacher mentioned a few things I could do with my aptitude.”

“So it was a teacher.”

“Somewhat. I knew where I could go for college and did some tours on campus to get some understanding. When one of the assistants told me how they saw it as a problem to solve like a puzzle I got interested. Probably a pretty frivolous way to pick a career.”

“Not at all. I don’t think there is a right way to pick your career or major. And you clearly are good at it.”

“Thanks. It did seem to work out. I do feel like I was lucky.”

But fate or destiny, whatever played with people’s lives, certainly not someone with a pen just doing things at random. A waitress walked by their table carrying a pot of tea and cups. She unfortunately stumbled against a chair that was a little too far out, losing her balance and the tray.

Hiroyuki was close enough, though not in a direct line, that he stood up and caught the tray. The weight of the pot already fell from it and he had to quickly catch the bottom of it with his bare hand. He saved it all with impressive flare and grace.

His hand was burning in truth. He prayed the waitress would take it quickly.

“Are you okay?!” Noriko jumped up, helping the waitress back with what he saved. The woman apologized and in a fluster hurried off with the order she was meant to deliver. But then Noriko turned to look at his hand. “That had to hurt. Are you burned?”

“Not much…” he yelped. Waving down one of the staff, she got some ice and wrapped it up in some napkins at the table. “Thanks…definitely feeling a little better.”

“That was reckless, you could have gotten hurt badly.”

“My body just sort of reacted. It does get me into some trouble.”

“Some? Hopefully, nothing more at least for tonight.”