Everything Meant Nothing | Part 13: First Official Date (Patreon)

All characters depicted in this story are fictional and 18 years of age or older. Everything portrayed is safe, sane, and consensual.

Part 13: First Official Date | The Dating Phase

By the time Theo got home that evening, I’d changed outfits twice, fixed my hair three times, and told myself out loud that it wasn’t that big a deal. It was just a date. Just Theo. Just the guy I’d kissed on our couch three nights ago. The one whose hand I still kept thinking about; the way it had curled around mine like it belonged there.

I was pretending to be unbothered on my bed, scrolling aimlessly on my phone, when I heard the front door open. A second later, Theo’s familiar footsteps crossed the apartment and stopped outside my room.He leaned in through the doorway, his hair a little wind-tousled, t-shirt wrinkled from whatever lecture hall he’d been half-asleep in that afternoon. His bag was slung across one shoulder, and there was a faint smudge of ink on his fingers. He looked tired, a little messy and for some reason, it made my chest warm.

“You ready for tonight?” he asked, voice light.

I looked down at myself; jeans, a clean t-shirt, my hair semi-behaved, then back up at him. “Yeah. I’m ready. Are you gonna tell me where you’re taking me for this mysterious... ‘first date’?”

Theo leaned a shoulder against the doorframe, eyes glinting. “Well… since it’s our first official date, I figured it’d be fun to do something that kind of started this whole thing.”

I raised a brow. “Like what?”

He shrugged. “Like our arcade date night.”

I blinked. “Wait. That was a date?”

Theo smirked. “Uh, yeah... at-least for me. I literally carried you to your room after you sprained your ankle and looked adorable in my arms.”

I snorted. “Right, because nothing screams romance like me limping around like a baby deer.”

“Hey,” he said, stepping in closer. “You were cute. And stubborn. And kept insisting you were fine while very much not being fine.”

“Sounds on brand.”

Theo smiled, soft around the edges. “Anyway, I thought we’d keep that energy going. So… we’re going bowling.”

I raised a brow. “Bowling?”

He grinned wider. “Yeah. Something easy. Fun. Slightly chaotic. Also, I like watching you try to act chill when you suck at games.”

I groaned. “You just want to destroy me at something again.”

“Not true,” he said, heading back toward his room. “I might even let you win.”

He paused, turning halfway around with that same glint in his eye. “Okay, that was a lie. I definitely won’t let you win.”

I threw a pillow at him, but he ducked and laughed. “Gimme two seconds to change, then we’ll head out.” And just before disappearing into his room, he leaned back again, his voice playful. “Oh, and FYI...I’m not carrying you tonight. Unless you really want me to.”I laughed under my breath, but it came out a little breathless. My cheeks were already warm. I rubbed the back of my neck, grinning like an idiot as I sat there alone for a second, trying not to overthink everything.

First official date..

I felt like I was young again.

_____________The bowling alley was busy but not packed, lit in that neon glow that made everything look slightly retro and slightly ridiculous. The place smelled like fried food and floor polish. Music played low in the background; something vaguely early 2000s and poeple were screaming two lanes down. Honestly, it was kind of perfect.

I stared at the row of bowling balls in front of me, trying to act confident as I picked one up and tested the weight like I had any idea what I was doing. Theo stood beside me, already grinning. “You know, you don’t have to pretend like you’ve done this before.”

“I have done this before,” I lied, rolling my shoulders.

“Yeah? When? In a dream?”

I gave him a look and turned toward the lane. Took a breath. Stepped up. Threw the ball.

It spun out of my hand like it had a personal vendetta against the pins, veering immediately left before lazily rolling into the gutter. I stared at it. Then turned back around slowly.

Theo clapped once, biting back a smile. “Stunning. I mean, that was... almost impressive.”

“I hate this place,” I said, dragging my feet back to the bench.

He sat beside me, nudging my shoulder with his. “C’mon. We’re only one frame in. And besides; bowling is 80% attitude.”

“I think it’s more like 80% hand-eye coordination.”

“Fine. Then maybe I should help.”

He stood, motioning for me to follow him. I groaned but did.

Back at the lane, I picked up the ball again and held it like I was defusing a bomb. “This is embarrassing.” Theo walked up behind me, so close I could feel his breath near my neck. “You’re not terrible,” he murmured, reaching for my wrist. “You just need a little guidance.”

I tensed immediately. “Uhm. You do know we’re in public, right? Someone might see.”

His hand slid just slightly up my arm. “And why is that a problem?”

I didn’t have an answer to that. Or maybe I did, but my brain short-circuited the second he adjusted my stance, pressing just close enough to make my heart skip. “You need to step forward with your opposite foot,” he said casually, like his hand wasn’t resting on my waist. “And keep your wrist straight. Don’t flick it.”

“Easy for you to say. You didn’t just throw a ball into the void.”

“Try again. I’ve got you.”

I took a breath, re-centered, and bowled again. This time, I managed to hit a few pins. Not many. But at least it wasn’t a gutter.

Theo threw his arms up like I’d just scored a perfect strike. “Yes! Progress!”

“Look at that,” I grinned. “I’m getting better under pressure.”

“No,” he said with a smirk. “You’re getting better under me.”

I snorted. “I mean, yeah...”

He winked and sauntered off to take his own turn. Theo, of course, bowled like a pro. Smooth stride. Perfect release. Knocked down nine pins effortlessly.

“Show-off,” I mumbled as he returned.

“Sorry. I can’t turn off greatness.”

The rest of the night went on like that; me barely scraping by, Theo pretending to be my coach-slash-hype-man, teasing me after every shot but never in a mean way. I lost. Badly. But I was smiling the whole time. And somewhere in the middle of it, I stopped caring that people might be watching. It just felt... good. Normal. Fun.

After we returned our shoes and stepped back out into the night, I was already glowing from the adrenaline and whatever that feeling was; something warm and fluttery and new that had nothing to do with bowling.--------

Theo stretched his arms over his head as we reached the parking lot, glancing over at me with a crooked smile. “Okay, so maybe you weren’t exactly a natural, but you didn’t fall over this time. That’s something.”

I bumped into him lightly with my shoulder. “Wow. High praise.”Theo laughed under his breath, rubbing his arms as the night air cooled around us. I could tell he was feeling the chill, but he didn’t seem to mind. His gaze flicked toward me like he was taking a mental snapshot of the night, of me, standing beside him, smiling for no reason at all.

We didn’t say anything for a moment. Just stood there in the soft, buzzing quiet of the parking lot, watching the streetlights flicker to life one by one.

“You hungry?” he asked finally, voice lower now. Quieter.

“Yeah,” I said. “I could eat.”

Theo nodded like he’d already planned this. “There’s a diner ten minutes from here. Nothing fancy. Chrome booths, decent fries, and the milkshakes are actually incredible.”

I gave him a small smile. “Sounds perfect.”

He motioned to the car, and we started walking together, our hands brushing once...accidental, maybe, but I didn’t pull away. I liked the space we were in. This in-between. The glow of it.

As we pulled out of the lot, the lights of the bowling alley fading behind us, I glanced over at Theo, one hand resting on the gearshift, his eyes focused on the road. He looked calm. Comfortable. Like this..us...wasn’t strange or fragile anymore. It was just beginning.

And somehow, that felt bigger than anything.Everything Meant Nothing | Part 14: Burgers and Milkshakes