Lisa raised her glass toward the space behind me, and on reflex, I spun around, curious about the person she meant.
Behind me, walking toward our table, was a man in a formal navy-blue suit with white stripes. His black-framed glasses and messy black hair made him look exhausted.
He was breathing hard, probably from running before coming into the restaurant, which meant he must have been in a hurry to get here. Maybe he had just gotten off work? Judging by his eyes, the man now sitting beside Lisa and apologizing over and over looked like he hadn't slept in days.
“I thought you were going to forget about our date today!” Elegant Lisa acted all spoiled in front of him. Then she turned her gaze to me. “Nia, meet my brother—my stepbrother, technically—Galih. Bro, this is Nia, the one I always talk about!”
The man glanced at me, touched the area beneath his nose, then looked away.
“Cute.”
The word that slipped from his lips made me blush furiously. What did he just say? Me, cute? Even Danis had never called me cute!
“Nice to meet you, Nia. Sorry I'm late. You must've been waiting a long time, huh?”
Galih held out his right hand for me to shake. Awkwardly, I gave a small shake of my head, then took his hand and smiled politely. How old was this guy? In his twenties, like me? Or in his thirties?
I kept watching him, still feeling awkward because this was my first time meeting a man dressed as formally as Galih. So this was the charm of a mature man...
When I saw Galih try to take off his glasses, my hand quickly grabbed his, stopping him from removing them. I shook my head rapidly, asking him to put his glasses back on, which startled both him and Lisa.
“Please, don't take them off...”
My voice trembled as I said it.
“Why? Is something wrong?” Galih looked confused.
“Let me speak for you: It's because I really like guys with glasses like you.”
All of a sudden, Danis was sitting beside me, wearing an amused expression as he said it. “I'm right, aren't I?”
Danis winked and laughed, knowing his guess had hit the bull's-eye. I scowled, annoyed at being interrupted, and immediately pinched his arm as hard as I could until he cried out in pain.
“Oh my God, Nia! Get a grip—this is a restaurant! What if people see us? That's embarrassing.”
“You started it! Besides, do you even have any shame?”
“I was just helping you. Why are you being so mean?” Danis pouted. “Maybe your brain still needs a little stimulation like that. You're so slow.”
“Ugh, you're so annoying!” I pinched his arm again—not as hard as before, but still hard enough to hurt. “You too. You took forever in the bathroom. What were you even doing? You were probably worried. Was I looking good today? Just admit it. I am, right?”
I could see the panic on Danis's face when he heard that. See? I was right! Serves you right!
“Oh my God, Lisa. You're right. He's really cute. This is the first time I've met such a talkative rabbit.”
Only then did Danis and I realize that Lisa and Galih had been watching us the whole time. We immediately straightened up and started acting cool again, even though we knew there was no way to hide how childish we'd just been.