Food for Thought.

"Well, shall we" I said, my hand found hers and I ran my fingers through hers. She said nothing but held on as we made our way to the booth. “You okay?” I asked, glancing over as we settled into the seat, Emma's expression pensive as she started out the window, her raven hair iridescent in the afternoon's warm light.

"Sorry, I was just thinking," She said, her eyes scanning the lingering crowd outside, a group gathered around Mia deep in merry conversation. She gnawed at her lower lip in an inelegant fashion in contrast to her usual composed self, "about what Nina said, about cooking"

"You want me to cook for you, wine, and dine you?" I said leaning back on the cushion of the booth, "Your wish is my command, but it probably wouldn't be edible"

She smiled at that, a genuine one, "Well, I'm sure it would be fine after Nina teaches you," She added hastily before she let out a small breath, "It's not that, it's just that - I realized I don't know that much about you at all. "Emma trailed off with a grimace as she continued her stare out the window.

"You know plenty about me, especially my deepest darkest desires," I offered with a wiggle of my brows.

"That's just it." She said frankly, "What will we have when it's gone? What will we have when the excitement and lust dies" She turned to study me with those blue of eyes of hers before she wrapped her hands around the steaming paper cup tightly as if seeking a comforting warmth.

"Tons," I said simply. "I think we have tons of stuff in common"

"Such confidence," She murmured and grew silent, I paused waiting for her to continue but she gave a wave for me to continue

"Well, there's studying, I know how much you love to study," I said with a grin but I changed my tact noticing a slight tightening of her lips, rattling off a list of things that popped into my head, "and we have DND of course"

"That's the problem," She said as she crossed her arms across her chest and raised a skeptical eyebrow, "I think you and I both know what path we're traveling down on this adventure of ours."

"What do you mean?" Leaning back, I ran a hand through my hair trying to project calm into my voice despite its tremble.

She straightened up against the cushion and looked me in the eye coolly, uncaring or ignoring the waver in my tone, I braced myself for what was to come, but with a start, I felt there was a silent understanding between us and I sensed her next words before she even spoke.

"It's going to end with me fucking all your friends," She said plainly without malice or judgment. The words cascaded over me like a calming wave to my surprise, washing away my anxious tremors, "And after last night I'm worried that I won't ever be ready for you without the... foreplay. I don't want to be cruel and get your hopes up despite what some might believe"

"Oh is that it," I chuckled waving off her concerns," To be honest I've kind of made peace with it after last night" I shrugged hoping to downplay her fears, "Besides, don't you remember our conversation a few days ago. Open, honest communication about how we feel and what we want."

"I do." She conceded, "But, I'm just surprised how easy this is for you, Emma said before she cast her eyes downwards, pain coloring her every word "I remember every word you said and I still fucked up. Slow and steady with small steps and then I just dived in."

"We dived in" I corrected, "together, we were with each other every step of the way. I - we could have stopped it any time during your check-ins. Last night just confirmed what we both knew"

"Owen's going to be insufferable," Emma grimaced, her lips opened as if to say something but seemed to think better of it.

"Do you regret it?" I said watching her lips pursed.

"Do I regret it?" Emma repeated to herself, "I think in the present I don't, but the consequences seem a bit murky right now"

"Let me deal with him"

"You know now that I slept with him, he's going to be pushing for more and more"

"I know," I said, "Do you want him to?"

Emma was silent for a long moment, her lips pursed to one side thinking hard, before she huffed out a sigh, "Maybe," She mumbled a bit hesitantly, "Do you want me to sleep with him, sleep with them all"

"I think I do"

She took a sip of her coffee, but the cup trembled as she brought it to her lips from nerves or the rush of caffeine, I couldn't tell "It's going to take over our lives, you know that right"

"Maybe"

"I'm just worried about the future and I'm not talking about DND." She said as she squinted over the top of the cup and she took another sip, I stayed silent and braced myself. "After I fuck all your friends "She made a face as if she tasted something sour before continuing, "I'm not sure what we'll have left at the end at the end of our little adventure. It's been fun but over time, It's bound to create resentment in anyone no matter how good-natured they are. It's made me realize, do we have anything in common at all? Besides the ... adventures, I don't know what I have to offer you at all. That emotional connection we have, it's only when we're doing silly banter or when I'm hurting you. That's hardly the foundation of a healthy relationship"

"Well, that's why we're here right? On this date, right?" I lay my hands flat on the table open towards her, "We're gonna start small, little steps. Build each other up. So why not start here and now? Let's just live in the present"

Emma shot a look at my proffered hands and snorted, "What's that supposed to be?"

"A romantic gesture?" I smiled, "Is it working"

Emma gave a sad smile "I don't even know why you like me"

"Besides the obvious?"

"What would that be?"

"You're the hottest girl in school" That earned a smile from Emma, "How am I doing? Oh a smile, that's a good sign, my flirting skills have improved "

"Hmm, maybe a two out of ten," Emma said with a smirk. She peered down at me with a raised chin before she let out a cute giggle. She paused, placed the cup on the table, and cleared her throat before continuing, "A lot of relationships begin with physical attraction it's true, but there's a reason why I'm not dating Ryan or any of the other guys. I don't think either of us wants a shallow relationship based on physical attraction alone that limps along with every little peak we climb on this journey of ours"

"The peak doesn't have to be the end. Think about it this way. I don't think the people who first climbed Everest just gave up on life after they summited. They kept going and found new passions to ignite their wanderlust.

Emma raised a brow at that, "Hmph, how very poetic of you," she said with a tilt of her head, "surprising"

"I'm full of surprises and hey, you learned something new about me. Besides, I've been dming for years, bound to have a few good lines up in here, "I said tapping the side of my head. "I'm the best DM you've ever had admit it"

She scoffed but a smirk quirked into life, "You're the only DM I've ever had"

"Bah semantics, anyways, the point is, we don't have to be afraid of the big scary end. There'll be plenty more peaks for us to climb.

"See to me that sounds like an addiction," Emma frowned," I'll indulge you with this theme you've got going on. What will happen to us when there are finally no more peaks to be climbed." Her voice was quiet, but I could see the slight curl of a grimace on her lips, and her hands tightened white against the cup, the lid bulging at the rim.

"That's the beauty of life," I said with a shrug, "There's always going to be something new and exciting for us to explore. It doesn't have to be erotic in nature. So let's start something new today. Something more"

Emma gave a sad smile, her gaze went to my hands, then back to me before gently reaching for them and nodded in agreement. It was slow and stumbling as we began, but soon awkwardness melted away as we traded little tidbits back and forth, our hands intertwined over the table. We found ourselves laughing with ease as we traded stories; everything from school to plans after school, future hopes and dreams to the more mundane things. The worry faded from us as we discovered a rhythm to our conversations, an easy flow between us as we learned each other's cadence. There were surprises and disappointments, likes and dislikes but in the end, I felt like we were closer as we were left smiling.

Before we knew it, we were stirred by a lovely scent followed by soft steps accompanied by the jingle of plates and cutlery. Nina's features were bright and smiling lit up by the warm afternoon's sun as she placed two plates before us with a clink. "Here we are!" She chirped excitedly, "and I managed to rescue your fave from my aunt's stash. I'll leave you guys alone for now" She gave me a wink before she scampered off. The smell was absolutely amazing and without another word, we dug in with our eyes.

"Hang on a sec - let me take a pic - It's almost too pretty to eat," Emma cooed, "You'll cook this up for me right?"

"I'll make it taste like love" I said to which Emma giggled as we dug in. The crepes were delicious, perfectly paper thin, and delightfully buttery with a hint of nuts, wrapped around savory morsels of mushrooms, mortadella, cheese with a side of poached eggs, and home fries. But it was the doughnuts that drew Emma's attention as her eyes seemed to sparkle as she held the doughnut aloft in both hands. The honey cruller was freshly powdered with icing sugar and hints of frosting glinted between the gaps like ice. It was neatly separated in half and sandwiched in between were curls of thick luscious curls of custard that threatened to spill out sides as she took an enormous bite.

"Dessert first?"

"Always," Emma said, her mouth full of doughnuts.

"No fries?"

"Nah, I never get 'em. More room for sweets, I can always steal yours if I get a little peckish"

"Luckily you have a most generous boyfriend," I said as Emma scoffed, but a giggle escaped despite her pout as she bit down on the doughnut, a bit of cream decorating the tip of her scrunched-up nose, "You have a bit of custard on your nose," I reached out to wipe it off with a napkin, but her pink tongue darted out to lick it off before I could reach it. She caught sight of my expression and giggled, "You look so cute when you're flustered Isaac, I really do enjoy teasing you" Her eyes glinted in amusement before she let out another giggle.

All I could do was shrug in response, "I don't think we need to change that, I think we'll be fine" I finished lamely before we settled into an awkward mood. Silence reigned as we ate in the sudden stillness of the cafe.

"You still eating that" At last Emma spoke breaking the quiet, without waiting for a response Emma pounced on a fry, spearing it before popping it into her mouth with gusto.

"Does crime make the food taste better?"

"It absolutely does," Emma giggled with a self-satisfied smirk on her face and stabbed another," Don't you know," she twirled the speared fry in the air," girlfriends always gets fry stealing privileges." She grinned without a hint of shame popped the fry in between her teeth and bit down chewing slowly.

"I wasn't aware of this social contract," My eyes narrowed in mock outrage, "What happened to equality? Feminism? Why must I be **** to give up my most precious fries" I breathed a sigh halfway between defeat and wry amusement.

Emma smirked and tugged at something below the table, I almost yelped when I felt my bare skin get pricked with a thousand needles.

"Feminism, "She said deadpanned before she burst into laughter at my expression, "What? You can't expect me to shave on weekends"

"Is that why you always wear those thigh-highs"

She bobbed the fork up and down with a grin before reaching over, but I snatched my plate out of her reaching grasp

"What's with the bag" I said gesturing towards the navy blue backpack that lay beside her.

It's a surprise," She said cryptically patting it, "You'll find out"

"That sounds a bit ominous," I said slowly as she gave me a cheeky grin, "Are we actually studying? Pop quiz?"

"Something like that." She said dismissively as she mopped up a splatter of ketchup with her stolen prize.

"Is this where you tell me you're only with me for my brains"

"Well, it's definitely not for your fashion sense" Emma smirked as she laid her fork down and cleaned off a stray crumb from her shirt, her smile faded into a frown as she leaned over the table. Her lips pursed to the side as she studied me, To my surprise reached over and ran her fingers through my hair undoing the combed styling, "I kinda like you scruffy" She muttered under her breath as she leaned back and admired her handiwork.

"Well you know what they say, opposites attract." I shrugged, "I'll leave the prim and proper to you then"

"As it should be" Emma smiled, patting her midsection with a satisfied sigh "God I'm stuffed, I need to walk off the calories after this."

"Why do I get the feeling that "I" is a we?"

“Didn't we decide on doing this together like a couple," Emma grinned, "It won't be so bad, I'm gonna go use the washroom real quick” Laughing, she shuffled out of the booth, "No peaking at my bag," Emma wagged her finger at me before she sauntered away. I sighed letting out a captive breath as I looked at her retreating form swaying enticingly. She was definitely doing that on purpose and sure enough her head snapped over her shoulder to give me a playful smirk.

It was sinking in a bit, that this was real, like a wish come true. But like some twisted genie granting a wish, it had twisted it with a capricious caveat, I sat there thoughts running wild about the future. Emma was right, Owen was definitely going to become worse after all of that, now that he had finally won, how the fuck were we gonna do DND from now on. But as I expected, the monster purred in the back of my mind, we relished it, even welcomed the idea of my friends doing the most depraved things with Emma. I sighed and turned my attention to my phone, seeing if Mike had texted me, but my phone was empty of notifications, and Discord was the same as well. I felt oddly lonely even though I was on a date with the girl of my dreams, I hastily typed out a series of thoughts to Mike but nothing felt right and I was left with nothing but an empty text box.

I jumped as a pair of hands almost slammed into the table, sending the plates and cutlery jumping into the air with a clatter, "Tell me everything"

Author's Note:

Happy Eclipse day

Also I have have literally no idea how climbing or mountaineering works but it felt kinda... appropriate. /shrug