The napkin. Perfect. Rava, you genius.
I’ll make her a pretty flower. Romantic, right? Cute. Sweet. I pick up the napkin, all excited.
Okay… twist here… bend there…
Yes.
YES.
It’s actually coming out really nice. She’s gonna like this.
Who doesn’t like a little handmade flower?! Even if it’s made of… you know… paper trash.
I finish it proudly and sit there holding it, waiting for her to notice.
Still no reaction. Her eyes are glued to her screen.
I shift a little, lean forward so she can see me in her peripheral vision. I’m still smiling like an idiot.
Finally, she looks up. My heart jumps. I hand her the flower.
She starts laughing. "What is this silly thing?" she giggles. "It’s silly. But it’s… cute. Thank you."
She kisses my cheek, tosses the flower next to her in the sand, and goes right back to typing.
I just stare at her like a clown.
Then I look down and laugh at myself. That’s it. I set down my cup. "…You know we’re on a date, right?" I say, trying to keep my tone even. She looks up, surprised. Like I have no reason to snap at her.
"What?"
"Your phone," I nod toward it.
"I was just checking something."
"You were texting. For fifteen minutes."
She rolls her eyes. "Okay, sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. It was just—someone sent me something funny."
"Funny enough to ignore me?!" That comes out sharper than I meant.
She sighs. "You’re overreacting."
"I’m just saying it’s kind of hard to connect with someone who’s not even here."
"Iamhere."
"No, girl, you’re not. Not really."
She pulls her legs tighter against herself. "So now I’m the bad guy for replying to a text?"
"That’s not what I—" I rub the back of my neck. "Forget it."
She stands up, brushes the sand from her legs, and looks down at me. "You know what? Maybe this was a bad idea."
Of course. Of course it’s my fault now. "Wait—Sophia, come on. I didn’t mean—"
"No, it’s fine. You clearly have some idea of what this is supposed to be, and I’m not doing it right. So maybe… don’t force it."
