The place where Kyle takes me to for lunch is this cozy cafe called Wafflicious that's a few miles from the harbor.

The moment we enter, I fall in love with the otherworldly decor right away. In fact, it's actually a book cafe that occupies three storeys. Endless rows of bookshelves line along the walls and the dim illumination of fairy lights only gives off a mysterious yet charming aura to the place. Small, round tables and cushioned chairs litter across the floors. Tall bookshelves surround them, which gives us a decent privacy.

To me, this is perfect.

Arching a brow, I glance sideway at Kyle. "I never knew you would like this kind of place."

His hand rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, an action which tells me he's embarrassed. "It's not really for me, but I know you like this kind of place."

He's referring to the past me, but I guess a part of me remains because I can feel excitement bubbling inside of me. "I do," I say happily. "In fact, I love it."

His lips curl into that cute, boyish smile that I absolutely adore. And knowing that he only shows this side of him to me makes me a happier girl.

"So, do I earn more brownie points for this?"

"Definitely."

"What can I exchange them with?"

"Oh, I don't know. What do you want?"

He steps even closer to me and I find myself unable to breathe. Butterflies stir my stomach. My nervousness turns up a notch and I can almost hear the blood pounding in my ears.

"Can I ask for anything?"

My mind blanks out. "Y-yeah."

His teasing eyes flicker to my lips and it suddenly feels hot in the room, even though the AC is blasting cold air at us. "Later," he says. "I'll need time to think about it."

He takes my hand and tugs me to a spot in the corner by the window. We order two sets of waffles topped with strawberries and bite-sized bananas that are drizzled with a generous amount of chocolate sauce. When I bite into the crispy yet fluffy waffle accented with a cinnamon and vanilla scent, I let out a delightful moan.

"Dis is shoo gud," I mumble with my mouth full and swallowed. "We're coming back here again someday."

He takes a bite too. "I agree. This place is fairly new, and it's a good thing that I found them."

We take a moment to finish the food. In the meantime, I pull a book titled 'Wonder' from a nearby shelf, rifling through the pages. It's a story about a ten-year-old boy named August, who was born with a facial abnormality. He went to a proper school and struggled to be accepted.

I'm intrigued, because it sounds a little similar to my case. But this character definitely seemed like he had it tougher than me.

The brief description of the story pulls me in, not to mention how enchanting the smell of a physical book is. As I read, I can feel Kyle watching me.

"Riley?"

"Hm?"

"You've chocolate beside your mouth."

Embarrassed, I try to wipe the stain with the back of my hand, but I think I miss the spot. As I struggle, a hand reaches for my face.

"It's on the right side," he says. "Here, I got it."

Using his thumb, he swipes at the corner of my lips. I'm fairly certain that my cheeks are in flames right now. "Thanks."

He stares at me for a long time, his shoulders shaking in suppressed laughter. I'm confused, but when his eyes are staring at my chin, I finally understand why.

I wipe at my chin, trying to clean off the smeared chocolate. "Kyle! What did you do to me?!"

He breaks into laughter, clutching his stomach as I huff at his playful prank. "Stop teasing me!"

"Don't be mad," he says, still laughing. He props his chin on his arm and reaches out to tuck a lock of my hair behind my ears. Sighing happily. "Are you real, Riley?"

His question catches me off guard. "Real? Of course, I am."

"Sometimes," he sighs, "I wonder if this is all a dream."

A dream? Is he afraid that he might wake up and find me missing from his life again? The image of him being heartbroken constricts my heart with sadness. I set aside the book I'm holding and take his hand in mine, using his index finger to poke my cheek. "See? I'm very human."

That does the job. A small, amused smile forms on his lips. "We need to talk," he says. "About us."

"Okay. Where do we start from?"

"From me. I know you have questions for me." He leans back into his seat and takes a sip of his coke. "Do you know my family name?"

This is easy for me. I remember Blaire calling him once and it stays in my mind forever. "Evans. Kyle Evans."

His eyes brighten. "What else do you want to know about me?"

I ponder for a moment. "Favorite color?"

"Blue," he replies quickly, before adding on. "It's the color of your eyes."

I blush, unable to find words to respond to this sudden compliment. Sometimes, his confidence startles me and I wonder how he does it. I sneak a glance at him again and find a grin working its way to his lips. Clearly, he's finding amusement in my flustered state.

I clear my throat loudly. "H-how many people are there in your family?"

"Four. I live with Mom here, but I've an older brother and he stays with Dad in LA."

"Oh. Why did you guys move here?"

To my question, he seems a little uneasy. "Dad is a business owner, and he often took Mom along for events. I guess she got tired at some point and wants a quiet life. When she received my grandfather's house in Lakeshore after he passed away, we figured it was a good chance for us to move then."

I nod in understanding and move on to the next question. "Aunt Abbie told me you switched schools. Is it because of me?"

This time, Kyle hesitates. "Yes," he answers truthfully. "But you must understand, Riley, that I've already lost Gramps and then when it was your turn, I couldn't handle it. That place reminded me so much of you."

I shake my head in remorse. "I'm sorry."

His hand reaches for mine, and I watch as he interlaces our fingers. "Enough with the apologies. You know that's not what I want to hear from you."

We both know that he's waiting for me. And I say it out loud because I want to believe in my own words too.

"I don't know why I left you in the first place, but I'm not leaving you again, Kyle. Unless...you cheated on me last time?"

My joke apparently offends him to a great extent, and he retorts. "I didn't! I was over at your place on most days. Everybody knows we were often attached by the mouth and the hips–"

"Hey!" I cover his mouth with my hand, scanning around us. Fortunately, nobody seems to hear his rambles. "Don't say that so loud! And what do you mean by hips?!"

He removes my hand from his mouth and holds it in his lap. "Hips," he repeats with a humored expression. "Because we cuddled a lot. What were you thinking?"

Mortification blooms across my cheeks. "I wasn't thinking about anything!"

He lets me go, chuckling and ruffling my hair. "I think we've done enough questions for the day? I want you to take it slow."

I nod. It's wonderful that he's being incredibly patient with me. He knows everything about me and I know nothing about him. The thought of speaking to him everyday thrills me.

I want to be closer to him.

After finishing our meal, we head to the terrace at the highest floor, where it opens up to a beautiful view of Lakeshore. The sun shines down on us and we see the small, colorful boats and houses in the distance. A rustic piano sits in the corner and I immediately make a beeline for it. With the soundproof glass windows and door, we don't have to worry about us being loud and disturbing the other patrons inside the cafe.

My fingers are itching to play, and I shoot a meek glance in Kyle's way. "Can I...?"

His eyes enlarge in disbelief. "You remember how to play?"

"Just one song." His face is one of disbelief, so I prove it to him. I sit down on the black bench and pat the seat next to me. "Join me."

When he's settled, I run my fingers over the piano keys to test them out. Once I'm attuned to the instrument, I play the song that has been occupying my head since forever. The melody is short and sweet, but holds a tinge of sadness.

When I'm done, I turn to meet Kyle's gaze. He stares at me, his jaw hanging wide open in complete shock. His eyes waver with emotions and his hand reaches out to catch my wrist.

"Why?" I ask, panic rising in my voice. "What's wrong?"

However, Kyle simply shakes his head at me and leans in to bury his face in my hair.

"Riley..." he says weakly. "That's the song that you played when we first met."