Chapter 12 - THE FIRST DATE WITHOUT LIES
Our first date took place at a small café in Brooklyn.
No security team inside.
No private dining room.
No expensive champagne.
Just two cups of coffee and a plate of pastries.
Julian arrived early.
I noticed immediately.
“You're nervous.”
He smiled.
“Terrified.”
I laughed.
“Good.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Good?”
“Means you're taking this seriously.”
He laughed.
We talked for hours.
About childhood.
Family.
Regret.
Dreams.
And the strange loneliness of people who had spent their lives surviving instead of living.
Julian told me about his mother.
How she'd taught him to cook.
How she'd died when he was twenty.
How Victor had slowly taken control of the family afterward.
I told him about my father.
The way he sang while washing dishes.
The way he always brought home pastries on Fridays.
The way he'd promised to teach me how to drive.
Julian listened.
Really listened.
When the café began closing, he looked at me.
“Elena.”
“Yes?”
“I don't know what happens next.”
I smiled.
“Neither do I.”
He reached across the table.
Then stopped.
“May I?”
I looked at his hand.
Then placed mine in it.
“Yes.”
His fingers closed gently around mine.
And for the first time, I felt like we were beginning something real.
Not built on fear.
May you like
Not built on secrets.
But on choice.
