The idea made her want to pack a bag and fly to Europe and hide for at least a year. She could probably stay at her dad’s place for free and he wouldn’t even know she was there.
Because what if it was all in her head?
What if she was the only one with feelings bigger than friendship?
But the way he’d touched her body and kissed her skin had not felt like a “just friends” thing. She wished she would have been brave enough to ask him about it sooner.
But what if her asking about it brought it to a sudden end?
“I’m going to have to be brave,” she said.
Kara sat down again, closer this time. She put a hand on Sabine’s knee. “Youarebrave. You’ve forgotten because sometimes you do that. But I’m always going to be here to remind you.”
Sabine’s phone pinged and both women looked at it.
She picked it up and read the message from Dave.
She read it three more times.
“What?” Kara asked.
Sabine shoved the phone at her. “Tell me what it says because I don’t trust myself.”
Kara eyed her and took the phone. Her eyebrows went up as she read it to herself and then she read it out loud. “Would you like to go out to dinner with me tomorrow night?”
Kara nudged Sabine with her foot.
“Are you going to reply?”
Sabine stopped chewing on her thumbnail. “Is this a friend thing or a date?”
Her phone pinged again and they both looked at the screen.
DAVE: this would be a date date. You can say no.
Kara snorted. “You two are hilarious.”
Sabine’s stomach felt like it was on a roller-coaster. She closed her eyes to try to reduce distractions so she could think. When she opened them again, Kara was typing a reply into her phone.
“What are you doing?” Sabine reached for her phone but Kara held it out of reach. “Annnd, send.” She tossed the phone to Sabine. “I told him yes and asked what restaurant so that I can help you pick out clothes.”
Sabine gaped at her friend.
“What? You were taking too long, and you know that boy was hyperventilating over his word usage. I work tomorrow night anyway so you have no plans. Boom.”
Her phone pinged again, and she opened it to find a link to a local Italian restaurant.
Kara sprang to her feet. “Time to try on dresses!”
Sabine stared at the text thread for a moment as her heart processed what her brain was still comprehending.
He’d asked her on a date date.
An “in public” date.
Yeah, they’d been in public before at the NMAs, but this wasn’t an event that required her to sign four thousand documents.
This was deliberate and weirdly normal.