“And Knox said to make sure he got credit for his help too. He wasn’t going to do all this on his own without some details, so I told him it was for someone I really wanted to impress.”

“Job done.”

He tapped his phone screen and slid it back into his pocket.

Amos Lee’s ‘Arms of a Woman’ began its gentle build with the slow guitar finger-strumming.

“May I have the first dance?” He gestured to the small dance floor made up of large carpet swathes overlaid to give us enough space.

“Would you look at that? My dance card has an opening.” I took his hand and placed the other on his shoulder.

He settled his arm on my waist and led me around our makeshift dance floor.

Staring into his eyes, I couldn’t hold back the feelings welling inside me. The love, something I’d been trying to deny for so long, but now I knew it was true. Not because he’d planned this amazing evening for me, but because he looked at me like no one else existed for him.

I’d been so ready to leave. My bags had practically been packed since the tenth grade, but here I was, less than a week from graduation, trying to figure out a way to slow down time. I wanted to make this last and never have to let go.

I’d have to, though, and so would he. But standing under the twinkling lights, listening to the gentle whine of the guitar, with his hand in mine, I knew we could make it deep down in my bones. Dare had become so intertwined with my soul that walking away would be like leaving a piece of myself behind. We might not be thirty yards from one another after graduation, but leaving him would be like chopping off a limb.

“What’s got you making that face?” He smoothed a finger over my brow.

“Nothing important.” My smile widened. “Does this exceptional date also come with a meal of some kind? Maybe some snacks?”

“What kind of date would it be without food?” The song ended and he kissed me before heading back to his car.

The latch of the trunk popped and slammed shut.

He walked out of the dark with a silver, insulated bag. Sliding out two containers, he waved me closer to the table.

“I thought you might like one of these.”

The clear lid to one container had ‘B.Well’ written on it. The other said ‘L.Thermidor’.

“You didn’t. How’d you even think of these?”

“They stuck out in my mind when you invited me over for dinner. You said it wasn’t like you were making Beef Wellington or Lobster Thermidor. I figured if you’d mentioned them, they were probably things you’d like. Or at least things you’d thought about.”

He pulled out my chair and opened everything that had come with the meals.

“My dad and I would always watch cooking shows together. When he got home from work, we’d hang out on the couch while my mom read and watch chefs prepare amazing meals. And there was one where they made these two dishes. He said for my birthday we’d find a restaurant that served them and go all out.”