Caoimhe was tugging on her shoes when the knock at the door came.

She glanced at the clock in the kitchen as she hobbled over. 5:29. Nick had obviously not done his job right.

She unlocked the door, finally shoving her foot into the chunky black heels with one last push. They were only brought out on special occasions. This seemed like a special occasion.

Clay was standing there, in all his glory, another bouquet in hand. Astilbes and daffodils. Their favorite flowers, combined into one. Caoimhe gasped.

"." He offered, Caoimhe taking them gently.

"Come on in, I won't shut the door in your face like the last time you brought me flowers."

Clay laughed, stepping into the small apartment. Caoimhe shut the door behind him, and then turned and walked into the kitchen to fill up the vase again.

"" He ran his hand through his hair. "."

Caoimhe would've whipped out her phone and thanked Wingman Nick profusely if she thought she could. If Clay had come ten minutes earlier, he would've seen pre-blended Caoimhe. And Caoimhe with unblended contour was not a pretty sight.

"No, it's fine. I needed all the time I could get to get ready." She tucked the flowers into the vase, turning and smiling at Clay.

"" he paused, trying to find the right word. "."

Well she sure would hope so. The little black dress she was borrowing from Katie was a bit tight in the chest area, and she'd curled the ends of her hair. Drew had practically forced the jade earrings into her ears themself, claiming she needed to have some green to match him.

"I'd say you look absolutely pulchritudinous, yourself." Caoimhe winked, grabbing her purse. "Now, let's be off."

"" Clay mumbled, following her to the door.

They walked to the parking garage connected to the apartment complex, Caoimhe grabbing his hand and swinging it between them wildly.

Clay pulled car keys out of his pocket, hitting unlock. He followed the sound.

Caoimhe faltered when she saw what he was leading her to. "A Kia Soul?!"

He patted the roof of the green cube on wheels. "."

"I would've preferred the minivan, honestly." Her upper lip curled in disdain, making Clay let out a laugh.

"Why not? I went on dates with minivan drivers in high school. They were alright. Much better than this nightmare." She really didn't like Kia Souls.

Clay opened the passenger door for her, gesturing to it dramatically. Caoimhe flicked him on the forehead, but got in nonetheless.

"Please, I don't want to die in a cube. Drive slow." She reminded him as he buckled up.

"!" He reversed quickly, making Caoimhe's heart stop. She gripped onto the handle over the window, and started murmuring prayers.

Clay wasn't a bad driver, necessarily, but he was definitely not the greatest. He had a tendency to speed up when the light turned yellow, instead of slowing down. Caoimhe just squeezed her eyes shut and hoped that it would be over soon.

And of course, they had to pay for parking, because he didn't drive slow enough to get there after 6. Caoimhe couldn't bring herself to care, she just wanted out of the car.

She would've knelt down and kissed the pavement if her dress wasn't so tight and she thought she could get back up on her heels. Dignity be damned. Solid ground was solid ground.

"." Clay scoffed at her.

"Shut it, moneybags." Caoimhe pointed a finger at him, raising her eyebrows. "Now, where are we eating?"

Clay placed his hand on the small of her back, smiling down at her sheepishly as they walked. "?"

Oh god, it was showtime. Caoimhe plastered a confused look onto her face. "Where?"

"."

"What?! Clay! That's so expensive!"

"It was a pet name!" She protested.

Clay snorted.

Caoimhe sucked in a breath as they entered the restaurant. It was really nice. She grabbed Clay's arm and squeezed, using it like a stress ball. He rubbed her back to try to calm her.

"" He told the hostess, who confirmed it.

They followed her to a table, smiling politely when she handed them their menus. Caoimhe batted Clay's hand away from pulling out her chair for her, she was perfectly capable of pulling it out herself.

They had a basket of bread and two glasses of wine, that only Clay had to show his ID for. Their waiter was some old man that glared at the two of them as if daring them to cause chaos in his restaurant. Caoimhe made sure to be extra polite to him.

"" Clay said nonchalantly as he looked through the menu.

Caoimhe stared at him like he was crazy. She still was leaning towards the creamed spinach and crying option.

"Bartholomew, this is worth like an entire week's paycheck for me."

She was tempted to kick him in the shins, but held herself back, afraid to cause a scene.

He noticed her furrowed brow and smiled softly. "

Caoimhe started to melt. "Awww."

"If you want to make this first date even more stereotypical, maybe I'll let you give me a kiss goodbye at my door." She teased.

Clay winked. ""

"Nevermind, you ruined it."

(Spoiler Alert: He didn't ruin it)