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Rosemi does not like it when things don’t go according to plans.
She’s not a perfectionist by any means, or at least, she doesn’t consider herself to be one like all of her friends think so. But she does like it when something she puts all her time and effort into works out, and to be rewarded of her patience can be nice sometimes. It makes her feel like there was a purpose after all, with what she gave up in exchange.
It’s why she’s so hesitant to do things outside of her comfort zone. Why she prefers doing things she knows and is used to. At least when she messes up, the fall isn’t so hard, and she can pick herself up right after with a few scars.
Usually, she can keep a cool head in unfamiliar situations for a limited amount of time depending on the circumstances. If it’s somewhere in public, like say a busy and famous restaurant where reservations were hard to get, and the entire reason why she was at said place was because she was on a blind date, however, even Rosemi starts sweating a bit. Especially when her supposed date is late.
Thirty minutes. It’s been thirty minutes and twenty-three seconds now since she’s arrived at their set meeting place. And in those thirty minutes of arriving at the reservation and waiting, Rosemi has watched single individuals, friends, couples, and families enter and leave the restaurant as the sun begins to set, the skies shift from blues to grays. At the same time, she has felt pitying gazes and heard the sad sighs of the people who passed by her table while also trying to tell the waiters that come to her every five minutes that her second person would be coming soon.
How soon? Rosemi’s not so sure. Just that they’re on the way, hopefully. The longer she waits though, the more she wonders how she ended up tricking herself into believing that.
A part of her wants to believe that something must've come up, explaining her date’s tardiness. They don't have each other’s phone numbers, but surely they would've called or texted explaining everything if they did! Even her friend who had set up the whole arrangement reassured Rosemi that they would’ve—even though they haven't actually answered the ten missed calls and thirty-seven messages delivered to their phone despite being seen active on their social media account. Even when she contacted Pomu and their group chat for help, and everyone yelled at her to leave the sore loser and that they're going to beat him up when they find him the next day.
Everything just had to be a misunderstanding...right?
“Umm… Miss Lovelock.”
Rosemi looks up from the last, half-melted ice cube in her water, meeting a pained smile from one of the waiters as they nervously shift around the menu in their hands. She glances at the time: another five minutes have already passed.
“While we appreciate you...enjoying the interior of our restaurant, we will be closing soon within the next hour and a half.”
“Oh,” she says, and against her will, her cheeks become hot. The reality of the situation hits much harder than she would've thought. “I...I see. Um…”
“Please, take your time,” they reassure, setting the menu down—for the fifth time now.
“No, no, it's fine. I'm…” She lets out a nervous breath, motioning towards her phone, the only reliable scapegoat. “I was about to leave actually. Something suddenly came up, and they… They're…”
They're not coming.
Outside, the downpour of rain grows harsher, drowning out the faint piano music playing above her. The whispering doesn't stop, and she can catch the phrases “stood up” and “poor thing” close to her ears. Teeth clenched, Rosemi sucks in a sharp breath as she clutches for her purse and puts down a tip for the trouble.
Even she knows when enough is enough.
A soft jingle plays when the door opens and a gust of wind and rain come in, disturbing the peace inside the restaurant as something squeaks against the floor. A pair of soaked sneakers quickly come into her line of vision as she prepares to leave the booth, and a large shadow looms over her. Water droplets fall to the ground, forming a small puddle.
When they speak up, it’s not who Rosemi expects—but they are familiar. The smile that greets her when she looks up is warmer than the restaurant’s heating system itself, and it sends a weird feeling through her chest when their eyes meet.
“Hey! Sorry I'm late,” Selen says, and her eyebrows are furrowed, conveying remorse and guilt Rosemi is not used to. “Ember’s vet appointment took longer than expected… Did you eat yet?”
Rosemi blinks and opens her mouth to answer, but the words fail to leave her throat, which makes her only gawk at the lunar sky dragon adorned in a yellow raincoat with a drenched umbrella next to her side. Selen, who somehow seems to have caught on to the situation and has come to her rescue, leans down, voice lowered to a whisper no one else can hear.
“Just follow along, okay?”
And like that—Rosemi understands. She falls back, puzzled, as Selen leans away with a cheeky grin and slides down into the seat across from her. The stares that were originally on her from the other tables and waiters waiting near the kitchen drop the moment the dragon clears her throat and looks through the menu.
“I'll get a hamburger,” she announces, although the decision seems to have been made without much thought judging by how she quickly turns the menu over. “What about you, Rosemi?”
“Um, uhh—”
She glances at the back cover. Realizes that it's all the alcoholic beverages the restaurant serves. It feels a little weird now, to look through the actual meals they have when she could've done that ages ago. Her mind goes blank as she tries to latch on to the last remaining bits of her sanity left.
“...A hamburger too?”
“Two hamburgers then,” Selen corrects the order, handing the menu off to the waiter who was still in more of a shock than anyone else present; their eyes looked ready to bulge out. “I'll just get a water. Oh, actually she needs a refill as well… Is that too much?”
The question comes across a little more harshly, and it snaps the waiter out of their confusion as they write down everything on a notepad and hurry away without a word. Selen only lets out a small sigh, proceeding to remove her raincoat and reveal a thick sweater underneath. The braids in her hair have come undone just slightly, likely due to the winds and rainfall raging on outside, but that hardly affects her overall appearance.
She looks good. Rosemi forces her gaze down when she feels herself staring for a little too long, focusing instead on the paper napkins in front of her. Her nerves are all over the place, and her hands are ice cold—likely due to how tightly she has them clenched.
For once, the restaurant is quiet. She's not used to it.
“How did you know I was here?”
It’s asked so softly that Rosemi fears Selen doesn't hear it at first, but she does, head raising up with surprise as a hand is raised to her own ear. “I didn’t. Pomu told me,” she says, and this causes Rosemi’s shoulders to square up with a quiet breath. “She told me you texted her to come save you, but she was busy at work and no one else was available, so she called me to do it.”
“Ahhh, I was wondering why she sent me that dragon emoji...” Rosemi sinks deep into her seat, face flushing again as her hands move towards tugging at the ends of her skirt. “I-I'm sorry, Selen—I didn't mean to drag you all the way out here.”
Of all people, Rosemi didn't expect her to be the one to show up. They've kept up with each other on social media and messaged each other quite a few times throughout the days, but Selen’s a very busy person Rosemi has come to learn, and she rarely has the time to go anywhere when deadlines for her projects are tight. Not to mention she lives decently far away from the rest of them and taking care of Ember can be taxing on its own.
The last time they ever saw each other was probably around seven weeks ago. The last time she also heard Selen getting more than four hours of sleep was longer than that.
Seeing her now, in-person, makes Rosemi’s stomach churn.
“You don't have to stay here,” she mumbles, and her voice trembles just slightly as her fists ball up. “Your schedule is already packed as is. I don't want to cause you any more stress by dragging you into something against your own will—”
“You didn't,” Selen interrupts, firm but gentle as her expression softens a bit. She continues in the same tone, “It's all good. Ember actually did have an appointment a few hours ago, but I already dropped him off back at home. Had to go pick up his medicine on the way back here anyway.”
Rosemi gasps. “Oh... Is he okay?”
“It's just a monthly check-up. Nothing too serious.” Selen drums her fingers against the table before stopping abruptly, gaze flickering from the window to in front of her. “...What about you though? How did you find yourself all the way over here?”
The sudden switch of focus on her makes Rosemi freeze. Selen’s gaze was now fully trained on her, and since there was no one nearby, it was difficult to look anywhere else that wasn't considered rude. Her throat goes dry, the pounding of rain droplets against the window making it hard to hear her own thoughts.
Selen isn't the type to judge—but she is critical to people who ask for it. Being friends with her (was she even allowed to describe their relationship that?) doesn't exclude that; if anything, it makes her more blunt and direct, which can be good or bad depending on who’s asking.
Would Selen judge her for waiting for a date who stood her up? Call her an idiot for holding out for some hope on someone she doesn't even know?
Perhaps her hesitation shows because it doesn't take long for Selen to pull back into the seat.
“You don't have to tell me,” she reassures with a wave of her hand. “I was just trying to fill in the air, so don’t worry about it. I'm sure you have your reasons.” A yawn leaves out of her. “Man, it would be nice to eat already though! Kinda forgot to get some lunch before leaving…”
The attempt to switch topics is obvious, but Rosemi gives a smile at her try nevertheless. “You know you should make sure to eat…”
“I do! Like yesterday I had salsa with chips, and this morning, I only had some crackers with cheese...”
“Selen.”
“I'm just kidding. It was actually crackers with soup.” Selen returns a lazy grin. “Guess I'm lucky to grab some dinner with you, huh?”
It's a small, off-handed comment, but a part of Rosemi can’t help feeling lighter—although, she's still somewhat concerned at the possibility that Selen’s actually telling the truth. She takes a sip of her lukewarm water, gathering her thoughts together until the cup is empty and the taller woman can be seen through the very bottom.
Selen can be too nice sometimes—another aspect about her Rosemi has come to learn. When the cup is set down, a deep breath is taken as she clears her throat.
She’ll take her chances then.
“It was supposed to be a blind date.” The embarrassment from before still lingered, but it was replaced with exhaustion mostly. A frown forms on her lips when reminded of how long she sat here waiting as she goes on. “He was apparently kind….and gentle. A...friend? I think, had set it up and told me to give him a chance.”
“‘Give him a chance,’” Selen repeats in a deadpan manner. “It sounds like they did this without telling you beforehand.”
Rosemi looks down, letting her silence answer the question as Selen’s eyes widen a fraction.
“Oh sh—for real? They did that to you? What the…” There's a sharp inhale taken as she trails off with a loud sigh next and rubs her temples. “I'm assuming they guilt-tripped you into agreeing.”
Rosemi gives a strained smile this time. “She's just trying to look after me.”
“But you didn't want to go either way, right? Some sort of friend she is.” Selen props an elbow up, leaning against her palm as the patterns on the table are traced along her finger. “Can’t believe he didn't even bother to show up. What an asshole.”
“He probably got busy last minute…”
“Busy enough to leave a cute and sweet girl all by herself without saying anything? Yeah, sure.” Selen scoffs, and though her voice has a hint of anger in it, the look on her face says it's not directed towards Rosemi. “It's his loss in the end. Loser missed his chance to go on a date with the Rosemi Lovelock.”
Rosemi laughs for the first time tonight. “I’m not anyone special, Selen.”
“To some people, you are, though,” Selen mutters, looking out the window. “Like me,” she adds in a quieter voice.
The words fail to be processed in her mind in a timely manner. Before she has the chance to respond, two plates of their orders are suddenly placed down, the steam coming off of both blocking each other’s view. The opportunity to continue the conversation (or really, the questions) is taken away, dropped in favor of eating and letting it end there.
It's possibly the best and worst timing to come out of this whole night. Still, Rosemi accepts it as is despite how warm her entire face is and how she can't even lift her eyes up from the table; she takes a bite into the burger, savoring the saltiness as Selen goes on another tangent about how cooking itself can be a grueling task if you're not up for it. She can only nod her head, contributing her own input every now and then, but her mind wanders.
Stupid. It's ridiculous how antsy Selen can make her feel sometimes without intention. She blames it all on how hectic and stressful this whole day has been, ignoring the other very obvious possibility of what it could have meant.
They take their time eating. An hour passes eventually, and much to Rosemi’s relief, her date has still not shown up. By now, there's only three occupied tables, including their own—most of the restaurant has fallen silent, with even the music coming to a stop as everyone begins to clean up. The clinking and clattering from inside the kitchen are the only things disturbing the peace until it eventually dissolves into white noise once they decide to leave.
Rosemi tries to pay for both of them, claiming that it's only right considering how she pretty much dragged Selen into the situation, but the taller woman doesn't budge. For a few minutes, they go back and forth in an effort to reach an agreement before ultimately settling on splitting it evenly despite Rosemi’s visible disappointment.
“You're insane if you think I'm going to let you pay for all that,” Selen says once they're out the doors. The rainfall has lifted quite a bit despite how harsh and winding it still is. “It was just a hamburger, Rosemi. And it wasn't even that special!”
The latter statement had a lot of truth to it; the hamburger did, in fact, taste like any other hamburger would, if not a little too salty. Refusing to back down though, Rosemi argues, “I still made you eat with me!”
“I wanted to eat with you! And besides—I was hungry too!” Selen shoots back, turning towards the rain as an umbrella pops open. “I don't mind it. Honestly! Twenty bucks is—well, okay yeah, it's a lot, but it’s not going to make me go broke or anything.”
“You could have used it for something better though… Like buying Ember treats.”
A loud laugh is met with her concern. “That's what you're worried about!? Oh my god… I'm not sure if I should be happy on his behalf or what.”
“I'm serious! He might even want toys or something.”
Another fit of laughs leaves Selen as Rosemi deflates, kicking the ground. The weight of something that rests on top of her head and hair ruffling that follows, however, is enough to make her pout even more as she tries to pry Selen’s bandaged hand off.
“Then next time,” Selen says, struggling to maintain her composure as her voice shakes. “Next time, you can treat me, okay?”
Against her judgment, Rosemi perks up. “Really?”
“Yeah! I'm free in two weeks, I think. I'll text you the date.” Selen blinks when she realizes something. “I’ll be on time, so like, don't freak out.”
Despite the soft sigh that falls, hearing that causes a smile to stretch across her lips as her chest settles down. “I know you would be, silly.”
Her attention returns to the storm in front of them. The bus stop was approximately ten minutes away, and the next one that would come pick her up wouldn't arrive until thirty minutes later, if not later thanks to their current weather. Depending on how things progress, it might be impossible for Rosemi to reach back to her apartment before midnight.
The silence that follows makes it seem like that's the end of their time together, and a part of her feels dejected, even though she knows that she really shouldn't—she’s taken enough time in Selen’s day. It's wrong and selfish to expect anything more than that.
They already decided to hang out soon anyway. What more could she possibly want? She can't afford to get her hopes up. When Selen turns towards her with a questioning look, she braces herself.
“You said you took the bus to get here, right? Is anyone picking you up?”
Her immediate response is to say yes, that there indeed was someone picking her up from this dreary weather. The lie that threatens to leave her mouth is swallowed back down, however, as their eyes meet, and her confidence in the ability to lie comes crashing down.
“Um… N-no. Not that I'm aware of,” Rosemi says thickly, knowing what this would entail; she mentally kicks herself. “The last bus is coming in about thirty minutes though, so…”
Selen raises a hand to stop her. “Nah, I can drop you off. Same place as before when we crashed over there last time?”
“Uh, yeah, that's corr—waitwaitwait, hold on a second. You're really driving me home?”
“Duh! I don't mind,” Selen chirps, slipping on the raincoat; upon closer inspection, the size is a little too big, its sleeves and hood covering her up completely. “I don't want you to get sick, so I'll drive up. If anyone weird appears, just scream as loudly as possible...or go back into the restaurant. I'm sure they don't mind.”
It’s as though her brain and heart are racing to see who gives out first, with how fast both are going. “Aren't you tired?” Rosemi weakly asks. “You really don't have to go this far. The bus can be pretty fun to take this late!”
“As nice as your passion for taking the bus is,” Selen struggles to put it as sweetly as she can, “the thought that you would have to wait for it when you literally have me, someone who can take you home within those thirty minutes, is too much to risk.”
There's a deliberate pause in her next words. She looks at Rosemi then, straightening up.
“...Unless you have a problem with it?”
A hint of disappointment can be heard in her voice when Selen asks this—or Rosemi’s just hearing things. Stress and exhaustion does that sometimes. Deep down, she hopes that isn't actually the case.
She meets Selen’s gaze evenly despite how her body screams at her to run away as the cold wind from the rain does little to ease the nerves. For what feels like forever, the silence stretches on until it gets unbearable.
“It's...difficult,” she whispers, wincing at her own very expansive vocabulary. “The more you do this, the more I feel obligated to you.”
This answer stumps Selen, which isn't surprising. “Obligated?”
“Like… Like I owe you a debt. That kind of thing.” She shrinks more and more under the unyielding gaze, squeaking, “It’s like I dragged you into my mess, and now I’m forcing you to clean up whatever’s left.”
It's perhaps the most obscure and blunt way of putting it, she realizes too late, but it’s as clear as she can get it. At the very least, it comes across clearly enough for Selen to look alarmed as she raises an eyebrow.
“What, is that the problem here? You think I'm just here to—to take care of you or something out of pity? Because I have to?”
“That's not what I meant entirely,” Rosemi grumbles, nails digging deeper into her palms. “I—it’s just—you know! I’m really thankful that you came to my rescue and made tonight better, but I can’t offer you anything in return to make it up to you! It’s frustrating. I can't help but feel bad.”
My head and heart might just burst too, she leaves out, although, at this rate, it feels like she could kneel over at any second.
“You’re not who I was even supposed to meet up with, Selen,” she continues after a pause. “If you keep this up, others might also get the wrong idea. It'll only inconvenience you.”
It was a fact both of them needed to be reminded of. Rosemi briefly wonders had she left earlier, all of this would've been avoided and she wouldn't be here digging her own grave. Adding more problems to their plates was something that needed to be avoided at all costs.
The expression on Selen’s face is hard to read; what she's even thinking about is up to anybody’s guess. Regret and guilt overwhelm Rosemi as an exhausted sigh soon leaves from the taller woman’s breath as she pinches the bridge of her nose.
“Rosemi, you… Wow. Just wow. Where do I even begin?”
Rosemi becomes cold. The disbelief in Selen’s voice forces her to clench her jaw at the incoming end of their friendship. That must have been the last straw, wasn't it? She hangs her head low, holding every breath.
Selen gets quieter.
“You…” Here, another sigh is drawn out, but this one sounds shaky. “You can be so...DUMB sometimes…”
Rosemi quickly snaps up. “Wha—!?”
“You're so thoughtful that you can get a little dumb sometimes is what I meant to say,” Selen elaborates quickly, as if expecting the reaction. The corners of her mouth lift up slightly. “Not to say it's a good thing...but it’s not bad either. It’s what makes you ‘you,’ after all.”
“What does that even mean…”
“You're just funny, Rosemi.” Selen relaxes a bit as she leans against the wall. “You're right though. I wasn't originally supposed to come here,” she concurs with a nod before raising her hand. She points a thumb at herself. “But right now? At this current moment in time? I am. I'm going on this date with you. Your blind date lost his rights and hurt you, so I'm here to prove that you deserve someone better than him. And also maybe get some intel on the idiot just to teach him a lesson.”
Rosemi blinks. Selen huffs, choosing to stare off into the rain.
“You said it yourself: I am here to make sure tonight is better. But the sole difference is that I'm doing it because I want to. I came here because I wanted to. If I had any other choice in the world and had to choose between that and this, nothing would've changed.” She murmurs all of this with a distant look in her eyes, and then clears her throat. “Besides, dropping you off is the least I can do. I would've done it under any circumstance.”
“But...the bus—”
“Won't mind if you drive home with me,” Selen finishes gently. She moves towards the rain that threatens to soak her shoes, still facing Rosemi. “It's not going anywhere, but just—can't you please let me drive you home? So that I can see you're okay by the end of today?”
It's a direct request, and the distress each word carries doesn't go unnoticed. Rosemi’s mouth hangs agape until she remembers she has to give an answer when a yellow umbrella is pushed into her hands. The look on Selen’s face is reminiscent of a puppy that's been following her around: hopeful and pleading.
Rosemi can’t find it in her to say no.
Selen is quick despite the weather against them. In under five minutes, a familiar car pulls up, and Rosemi is greeted by the heater as she enters the front passenger seat; soft humming comes from her left, a satisfied grin on the taller woman’s face as she drives. The radio plays softly in the background, but it's drowned out mostly from the pellets that hit the windows.
It's peaceful. Silent. The tension in Rosemi’s muscles soon goes away, and she listens to the soft mumbling of the lyrics to the song playing with a fond smile she wasn't even aware of.
Dummy. You really are dumb, Rosemi.
Selen was right after all. Within thirty minutes, maybe even less, they pull up to where the apartment complex is just as the bus leaves for the next stop—the one where they were at before.
Rosemi ignores the smug expression next to her. Unbuckling herself and preparing the yellow umbrella lent, she turns to Selen with a nod.
“Thank you,” she says. “And um, I'm really sorry.”
Selen lets out a small laugh. “What are you apologizing for?”
“Just...for being so weird. And dumb. Hard to deal with.” Her cheeks flush at having said it out loud; it’s a miracle she managed to meet anyone with this amount of patience with her. “I still feel bad that you got involved in this somehow.”
“I told you it's fine! Don't mind helping out a friend in need.”
“It's embarrassing,” Rosemi insists, groaning at the situation. “The fact that you had to substitute for my blind date is sad.”
“It’s not that sad,” Selen muses thoughtfully. “Next time we should go on a real date if it bothers you so much.”
“Selen,” she warns.
“Rosemi,” Selen shoots back in the same tone before deflating. “Okay, I get it: you’re not interested.”
“That's not—”
Rosemi bites down on her tongue. Selen only tilts her head, the teasing smile on her face growing wider as she leans forward a little.
“So you are?”
“I'm leaving,” Rosemi announces, reaching for the door handle. “I'm taking this umbrella! It's mine now!”
“That cost me twenty dollars, but you're going to return it eventually anyway. You just want to see me again, don't you?”
She nearly recoils hearing that from Selen of all people. “Seriously, what has gotten into you!? Why are you doing this to me!?”
Rosemi is bright pink by now as she’s met with a second hearty laugh. She sinks deeper into the seat, trying to avoid the pokes on her side.
“I’ll stop if you stop apologizing and feeling bad,” Selen says simply, and she sounds sincere enough that it's believable. “Like I said before, I knew what I was getting myself into. Though, to be fair, I had no idea it would just be me getting dinner with you. If anything, I should be the one saying sorry I couldn't do much more.”
“Your company was enough. You being there helped a lot,” Rosemi mumbles, glancing over at her. “I liked listening to you talk.”
“Oh, looks like you did pick up something from this,” Selen replies back with a cheeky grin, causing her to frown and become flustered once more. “I'm glad to hear that though. Are you going to give blind dates another try?”
“...For a while, no.” Rosemi clears her throat, opening the car door as she’s immediately swept up in the rain and opens her umbrella. “And I think I prefer meeting someone the old-fashioned way.”
“Yeah? And what's that?”
“By pure chance maybe?” Rosemi ducks under as she leaves the car and peeks over, hiding half of her flushed face behind the door. “I think it’d be easier if we were friends first. An easy and natural development. I think that would be nice...especially if it's mutual.”
Rosemi hopes the waver in her voice doesn't give anything away. Selen gawks at her, mouth open to something, but she ends up closing it after a moment. The warm smile that she wears is telling enough though, and Rosemi can hear her hopeful heartbeats against her eardrums.
Why did I go and say all that.
The embarrassment that hits her afterwards makes her almost wither up on the spot, and she has to hold back the scream of anguish that threatens to leave her throat. Maybe Selen realizes this because she waves around her hand, breaking whatever moment they had just there.
“Get a good night's sleep, Rosemi.”
“Y-you too! Again, sor—” she stops herself short upon receiving a glare, “—err, I mean, thank you for being here today with me at such late notice. You're pretty cool for that. Um…”
She looks up, giving the umbrella a small twirl as the rain begins to slow down.
“Next time we’re both free, I'll return this to you! Whenever that may be…”
“Probably the next time you treat me. Hopefully, we won’t need it.” Selen rests against the steering wheel, nudging her head with a small yawn. “Go on ahead. I'll be here until you get inside.”
Rosemi gives a smile and nods, quickly shutting the door and rushing inside of the main building as the regret catches up on her. Every ten steps, she sneaks a look over her shoulders, wondering if Selen was actually there waiting as her car gets farther away—and she was, each time without fail.
By the time she’s reached inside, Selen is still there waiting. Rosemi squints, offering a small wave as a test to see if she could even see so far away, and a blur of purple moves back and forth in response. A familiar, loud laugh can practically be heard in her ears as she steps into the elevator, the soaked umbrella next to her leaving a trail of water behind.
When her phone buzzes and she checks it, it's hard trying to keep a straight face. The messages are short and simple, but it makes her giggle—probably because it’s directly from Selen.
> did everything a blind date SHOULDVE done
> got you to smile and laugh also so 3:0
> loser’s never going to recover from this one
> hope you had a good time being stuck w/ me!
“I did,” Rosemi says to herself, replying back to the message. “I had a really nice time.”
Selen has this ability, she notices, of being silly at the strangest timings. Maybe it’s a talent, actually, how she’s able to lift up the mood one second, making Rosemi happy and safe, to confused and lost the next, causing her to receive more questions than answers. It's partly the reason why she finds herself wanting to get to know Selen more, along with a multitude of other reasons.
She's a fun person to be around, that's for sure. But Rosemi likes to think that Selen’s a lot more...thoughtful than one might expect from her. A lot more kinder and patient than anyone typically is.
Maybe she hasn't met that many people in her life, but for the ones she has come across, she makes sure they count. And Rosemi’s happy to be given the chance to see those sides of Selen, even if she was just acting in as a substitute in the blind date.
The giddiness that washes over her at the thought of Selen alone is—well, it’s something. She's not sure what. When the elevator doors shut close, Rosemi sinks to the floor, groaning into her arms as her phone receives another text, this time from someone in the groupchat.
> So…did he end up showing up?
A few more texts appear, everyone basically sharing the same question. Rosemi stares at them, Pomu’s specifically, who seems to be referring to someone else before her hands hover over the keyboard.
No, she texts back. Then, after a long pause as she stares at the three dots that pop up, she follows up, but I did meet someone who was better.
A soft ding! goes off, alerting her that the expected floor has been reached. The walk to her apartment room is long and her phone goes off with a number of notifications as everyone in the chat reacts, but her steps feel light and she hums the same tune that played on the radio in the car.
...She wonders if Selen doesn't mind if she keeps her umbrella for a little while longer, even after they meet up.