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Sasha was positively giddy. You had cancelled on her for dinner, but that meant that it would be just her and Connie, pigging out on ramen. Or maybe they would go for pizza. Sasha considered her options. She certainly SHOULD save the new ramen place for you, since you had a review assignment due the next week anyway. Maybe she should ask Connie? He seemed to be the kind of guy who would be okay with whatever. She decided to text you back, asking for advice. She had always thought you were better with all this social stuff.
That’s fine! We can go tomorrow or something. Do you think I should make a move with Connie?
Her phone buzzed almost immediately.
Yes, you dingbat. Just shove him against a wall and make out with him. He clearly wants you to.
Sasha blushed as she read your text. She had noticed that Connie was always eager to spend time with her. He had accompanied you and Sasha on some of your restaurant excursions, although he was never as critical as the pair of you were. He was fond of taking in the environment and ambiance, occasionally taking a photo of his food that he would inevitably post to his ridiculously popular Instagram page.
You’re actually the worst, you know? I’ll figure it out. So who’s this guy?
Sasha was certainly curious. In all the time she’d known you, you had never dated, although you had opportunities - Eren Jaeger, one of Mikasa’s friends, had expressed a bit of interest in you. There was a bartender, Reiner Braun, that had asked you out once, but you had turned him down. Sasha had made it a point to avoid that bar ever since.
Oh my god we’ll go to breakfast tomorrow and I’ll tell you all about it. Right now I have to figure out what to cook for him for dinner tonight.
Sasha’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. You were making him DINNER? For a first date? That seemed...Bold, to say the least. She texted you back agreeing to breakfast (to be honest, she had been craving eggs Benedict, so breakfast sounded delightful even if it meant waking up early), and began to fret over what to wear for her date-not-date with Connie.
Her phone rang, and she darted to answer it, holding a dress in one hand and pair of jeans in the other. “Hello?” she answered breathlessly.
“Hey Sasha! We’re still on for tonight, right?” Connie’s voice replied.
“Yeah! But, uh, my friend cancelled on me, so it’s just us, if that’s okay…?” Sasha’s heart was racing. What if Connie didn’t want to go out with just her? What if Connie had a thing for YOU? Sasha wouldn’t be angry with you for it, of course, but it was a distinct possibility.
“That’s totally cool! Did you still want to go for ramen, or did you wanna do something else?” Connie’s excited voice made Sasha’s heart race.
“Oh! Uh, well, we can do whatever you want. I was kind of thinking of saving the ramen place for a review assignment, but if you’re craving ramen, that’s fine. I’ll eat just about anything, you know that!” Sasha let out a very un-Sasha-like giggle.
“Hmm...Oh! What about pizza and bowling?”
“Oh my god that sounds fantastic! Meet you in an hour?”
Sasha took a few minutes to do a happy dance around her apartment, and hurriedly got dressed. Pizza and bowling, that would mean something a little more casual. Jeans, then, and a cute top that she swore she borrowed from you, but both of your apartments were so full of the others’ clothes that neither of you kept track anymore. She tucked her jeans into a pair of brown boots, and hastily applied some light makeup. She didn’t want to look like she was trying too hard, but she still wanted to look nice. This was probably the nicest Connie had ever seen her look, so he’d probably get the hint, right? Did boys understand subtle things like that? Sasha picked up her phone, wanting desperately to text you for more encouragement, but tucked it away in her purse instead.
She didn’t want to look overeager, so she delayed a bit by pacing around the kitchen, resisting the urge to stuff her face with cookies. She left with five minutes to spare, hoping she didn’t get stuck in traffic. When she pulled up to the bowling alley, Connie was just getting out of his car.
“Hey, Connie!” she called to him, locking the door.
“Sasha! Wow, you look great!” Connie exclaimed. Even in the dim streetlights, Sasha could see a slight blush tinge his cheeks. “I mean, not that you don’t always look great...Er...Shall we?”
Sasha giggled as she followed Connie into the bowling alley. I guess they DO notice!
The pair took a table in the corner of the restaurant area. “What kind of pizza do you want?” Connie asked, examining the menu. “They have, like, every topping imaginable!”
“Er, well...My favorite is pepperoni with olives and sausage, but I’ll eat whatever!”
“As long as we can add extra cheese, that sounds awesome,” Connie jumped up with a nod from Sasha, and headed to the counter to order. She bounced a little in her seat with excitement. She was on a date, a real date, with Connie Springer! Her phone buzzed in her purse.
So, how’s it going?
I thought you were cooking dinner for that BOY!
It’s cooking right now, I’m just waiting for him to show up. Where are you?
Pizza and bowling. Is this a date?
You idiot, of course it’s a date. Is he paying? Yes? Then it’s a fucking date. Doorbell! Gotta go, have fun!
Sasha tucked her phone back in her purse, laughing. Connie returned to the table with a pitcher of beer and two frosted mugs. “I hope you’re not a beer snob or anything, because this place isn’t exactly known for its delightful craft beers.”
Sasha and Connie sipped at their cheap beer, making light conversation about school and their classmates. Connie laughed when Sasha told him you had skipped out for a boy, and demanded to know who it was. Even when the pizza arrived, they pondered who it could be between bites.
“Oh, what if it’s like, one of the professors?” Sasha giggled.
“What, like Levi or something? No way, he’s not even human, is he?”
Sasha laughed. She found herself laughing a lot with Connie, his sense of humor appealing to her own oddball personality. Oh god, what if I’m laughing too much? What if it seems like I’m trying to make him feel good about his humor or something? Ugh, fuck this dating thing, it’s so confusing!
When both the pizza and the pitcher of beer were gone, Connie snatched up the check before Sasha even had a chance to reach for it. “Hey! I mean, I can pay, you know.” she pouted.
“First of all, I’m the one who suggested it, so I’m paying. Secondly, I’m sure as hell not going to let you pay if you keep pouting like that. It’s too cute.” Connie gave her a wink and her heart raced. So it definitely seemed like a date, then. He called her cute! That was date-y, right?
They walked over to the shoe counter, and reserved a lane. Carrying their shoes to lane 9, Connie joked about how terrible he was at bowling, and how if he really wanted to impress her he definitely shouldn’t have chosen a sport-like activity. After they changed into their red and blue bowling shoes, Connie whipped out his phone. “We have to take a pre-bowling selfie. We’ll both look happy, because afterwards I’ll be devastated at how horribly you beat me.”
Sasha laughed as she leaned towards him, and they both made goofy smiles as Connie snapped a photo. “Okay, okay, a real one this time!” Sasha insisted, and gave a picturesque smile to the camera.
“Oh, that one’s going on Facebook, for sure. Let Jean tease me any more about not getting hot dates!”
Connie hadn’t been lying about being terrible at bowling. Sasha was surprisingly good, landing a couple of strikes, compared to Connie’s four gutter balls. She insisted on best two out of three, but they ended up playing the third despite Sasha winning the first two. As promised, after returning their shoes they took another selfie, Connie putting on a fake disappointed face.
“Thanks, Connie,” Sasha said as they walked to the parking lot. “I haven’t had that much fun in a long time!”
“It’s only because you beat me.” Connie waved it off. “Next time we’ll go to an arcade or something, I’m pretty beast at those ‘throw the ball at the clown’ games.”
“Next time?” Sasha asked before she could think better of it. She tried to play it off with a sly grin.
“Erm...I mean, if you want to go out again, that is.” Connie blushed, stopping at Sasha’s car.
Sasha’s face broke out into a wide grin. “Definitely.” She leaned in and kissed him quickly on the cheek. “You’ll call me, right?”
“Oh! Yeah! Definitely!” Connie exclaimed loudly, the blush on his face deepening.
Sasha wanted to dance as they said their goodnights, getting into the car and squealing to herself when Connie was at a safe distance. She had a hell of a story to tell you in the morning.