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Xi’an was trying not to fidget too much with the tablecloth.
She was trying not to be impatient, or nervous, or look like someone waiting for a date, because she wasn’t and she knew she couldn’t get her hopes up about this. She’d just end up disappointed when it turned out Kitty was straight, or not into her, or into someone else, or all of the above. She kept reminding herself that she needed to get her life straightened out (no pun intended) before she should be pursuing a relationship, that right now she needed to be focusing on work and her siblings and not romance.
Problem was, she really liked Kitty.
And if they never talked about it, then maybe this would slip away from them and-
“Sorry I’m late!”
Xi’an jumped, startled out of her mental merry-go-round as Kitty dropped into the seat across from her.
“Work was a nightmare, I barely got out,” Kitty continued, dropping her bag on the floor next to the seat. “Our stupid DNS host - anyway, sorry, you don’t want to hear about all that.” She tucked some hair behind her ear and laughed lightly.
“I don’t mind hearing about what goes on behind the scenes,” Xi’an said. “Though that doesn’t mean I’ll follow what you’re saying.”
“Let’s leave it at you should be glad you had today off,” Kitty said.
Xi’an laughed. “All right, I can live with that. What do you-”
“Are you two ready to order?”
Xi’an had half-forgotten about lunch in her relief over Kitty’s arrival. She’d been delaying the waiter for a while, so she couldn’t blame them for trying to move things along, but the distraction was inconvenient. “Are we?” she asked Kitty, who had buried herself in her menu when the waiter had appeared.
“Yyyyes,” Kitty said, looking up with her best tech support smile. The cafe’s menu was small, largely composed of soups and sandwiches, and soon enough they’d placed their orders and the waiter had left them with a smile and an assurance that their food would be out soon.
“How was the party yesterday?” Kitty asked once they were alone and settled once again.
“It was fun,” Xi’an said with a smile. “The scavenger hunt was a bit hit.” Nga had wanted a detective-themed birthday party, and Xi’an had spent a good couple weeks putting together a mystery for her and her friends to solve by finding the slips of paper with simple riddles on them that she’d hidden around the apartment. The kids had seemed to enjoy it, to her immense relief.
“That’s good,” Kitty said, taking a sip of water before continuing. “I’d hate to hear that all your hard work went unappreciated.”
“I’m just glad nothing broke.” Leong and Nga she could handle, but having a swarm of children over was always cause for some stress. “How’s school treating you?”
“Oh, you know,” Kitty said. “Papers.”
“My offer to edit still stands.”
“I just might take you up on that!”
“We should do this more often,” Xi’an said. “Hang out. Outside of work, I mean.” She wasn’t going to bring up the date word just yet, but she did genuinely want to spend more time with Kitty, regardless of the details.
Kitty visibly brightened. “Yeah! We definitely should. I know my hours are kind of hectic between class and work, but we can figure it out.”
“We’ll have to compare schedules,” Xi’an agreed.
“I can just come over to your place sometime, if that’s easier,” Kitty said. “I don’t mind hanging out with your siblings.”
“Oh?” Xi’an said, momentarily thrown off by her probably-unrequited crush inviting herself over. “I mean, yes, that would be fine. Good. We should definitely-”
And of course that was when their food arrived.
The distraction wasn’t a bad thing this time, Xi’an told herself as their conversation drifted into other topics. She had to stop getting ahead of herself. Keep things casual. Not think about it too much.
Kitty laughed at something she said, her cheeks dimpling and the sunlight catching in her brown curls just so, and Xi’an reflected that maybe she was too far gone for that.