Page 65 of Paradigm

Eline laughed, and their eyes connected. Arlowe wondered if this was the moment when they’d kiss. She swallowed, trying to help her dry throat, but unfortunately, that was all she could do because Chris was back with their appetizer.

“Crostini with ricotta, topped with pear, sea salt, cracked black pepper, and honey,” he announced as he set the plate down. “Enjoy. I’ll have your entrées out in a few minutes. If you’d like to wait longer for any course, though, just–”

“No, no need to wait,” Arlowe interrupted.

Eline laughed and said, “Thank you, Chris.”

He gave them a smile and walked back down into the boat.

“Did you know these would have pears?”

“No,” Arlowe replied. “Nice coincidence.”

“Are they still your favorite fruit?” Eline asked, picking up one off the plate.

“Yes. I don’t eat them that often, but I still love them.”

Eline held it out in front of her and asked, “Want this one?”

“Oh, that’s a loaded question,” Arlowe joked.

Eline smirked a little and gave her a wink.

“You can’t do that.”

“Yes, I can,” Eline said. “Here, take a bite.”

“Of you?”

Eline laughed and held the crostini a little closer.

“Of this.”

Arlowe did, and for once, she didn’t care about how ridiculous it might look to someone, watching them feed each other, and they had fed each other. Their entrées had been fine, but not anything worth mentioning, so they’d eaten the chicken and vegetables while they talked, but when their desserts came, Arlowe held out her fork with a whole fresh strawberry on it, and Eline ate it and smiled as she chewed.

When they’d finished their meal, they stood up and let Chris clear the table while they took their wineglasses over to the other side of the small boat. Eline had a blanket around her shoulders, but Arlowe set her own glass down and moved behind her, wrapping her arms tightly around the woman she’d never stopped loving and resting her chin against her shoulder as the boat turned around at a wider part of the river and took them back to the dock.

With their two hours being up, they got off, thanked the captain and the steward, Arlowe tipped each of them, and they walked back to the car hand in hand. Once buckled in, Arlowe started them in the direction of Eline’s apartment and moved Eline’s hand into her lap for the entirety of the drive. Having arrived at her complex, though, she pulled up to the building and wasn’t sure what to do now. They hadn’t talked about what would happen at the end of the night, given that it was their first date in a dozen years. Her nerves were close to getting the best of her, so she silently prayed for Eline to say something and take the lead.

“You can park,” Eline told her.

“Yeah?”

“Over there.” Eline nodded. “I have a guest spot. That one’s mine.”

“Well, aren’t you special,” Arlowe teased, but she pulled the car into the spot and waited.

“Arlowe, come on. Walk me to my door.”

Happy to hear that they were on the same page, Arlowe nodded, and they walked up to the main door, where Eline used her key to let them in. Arlowe hadn’t needed one earlier because a neighbor had let her into the building, and when they got to Eline’s door, she took a deep breath and stood back a little, waiting for another cue.

“I had an amazing time tonight,” Eline said, turning to face her after unlocking the door.

“Me too,” she replied.

“Do you remember what I said earlier about how I remember how it felt to pull you toward me when I couldn’t wait to kiss you?”

“Yeah.”