Sara and David stepped out of the bar. "Wait! Let me drop a message to my friends, otherwise they'll worry."
David nodded. "Yeah, me too. I'll also text my pals."
It was almost 10 o'clock. The streetlights glowed warmly, welcoming them to explore. No traffic noise. David felt relieved in the quiet city and took a deep breath.
"Hey, come with me. I'll show you the real Ilford," she said, walking ahead.
David followed her.
_
Mia handed the cake to the waiter to distribute. Leo spotted her and walked over.
"Hey, I'm Leo. And you are?" he asked.
"Mia. Nice to meet you... brother," Mia said, her sarcasm sharp as a blade. Leo choked on his drink, eyes widening. Mia laughed. "Are you okay, brother?"
Leo sighed. "Enough, Mia. I'm sorry for avoiding you. Work kept me busy. I tried calling, but you blocked me. You know I told my friends to come here just to see you. Emily said you were coming, so I dragged them along."
Mia went silent, her face frozen as she processed his words. Leo reached out and held her hand gently.
"I'm sorry, nugget. Will you forgive me? I promise, I won't do this again," he whispered.
Mia searched his eyes. They were raw, sincere. Her heart softened. She nodded. Relief washed over Leo, and he kissed her. Mia closed her eyes.
"Eww, look at this couple! Guess I'll be a lone wolf tonight... or forever," Ethan groaned dramatically, covering his eyes.
Mia and Leo pulled apart, faces flushing. "Come on, man. Don't be jealous," Leo teased with a grin.
Ethan glared at him. Just then, Emily returned and joined them.
"Wait, where's Sara? Where did she go?" Emily asked Mia.
Mia looked around. Leo frowned too. "Wait, where's David?" he asked Ethan.
At the same time, all their phones buzzed. A message from Sara and David.
"What? How could she leave us? Who's the guy she went out with?" Mia snapped.
Leo said the same thing to Ethan about David. Mia and Leo locked eyes. "So... they went together," they said in unison and smiled.
"My single man David finally went out with a girl. I must be dreaming... Leo, pinch me," Ethan said, thrusting out his hand.
Leo pinched him hard. "Ow! No... that means I'm not imagining it. It's true. David never cared about girls except his mom and my girl - his sister. Now... oh God... the 8th wonder! What do you think?" Ethan asked Leo.
Mia and Emily beamed. "God, I know about him, Emily. He's handsome, rich, single, never dated anyone. Sara's so lucky. My girl finally grew up," Mia said, hugging Emily like a child.
"Yeah, if she gets committed too, we can do triple couple dates." Emily paused, then gasped. "Oh God, my boyfriend's calling again. I told him to pick me up. Maybe he's already here. You enjoy with your man... I'll enjoy with mine. Bye!" Emily waved and left.
Leo hugged Mia from behind as they watched Emily go. "Okay, I'm out too. Can't watch this couple stuff. Bye," Ethan muttered.
Leo and Mia both nodded. Leo turned to her, voice low. "My nugget. It's just us now. What should we do?"
Mia smiled and dragged him toward the washroom.
_
Sara stopped at a convenience store first. "This one... and that... and this too. I'll grab some strawberry smoothies. Wait here," she told David. He watched her childish excitement and smiled.
Sara went to the billing counter. "Why are we buying all this? Are you hungry?" David asked, trailing behind her.
"Actually, no. But we will be... when we explore," she said with a wink.
David frowned, confused.
_
Sara led him to Seven Kings Park and sneaked toward the gate. "No one's here. I know it's closed, but we can jump the gate without making a sound. Come on, jump," she whispered.
David glared at her. "Why are you looking at me like that? If you want to see the real Ilford... then jump," she dared him.
David had no choice. He jumped over, then offered his hand to Sara. She climbed in, and they wandered through the dark park.
"I know your name and where you're from... but I don't know you. Not really," Sara said.
"What do you want to know? Ask me anything," David replied.
"Like... your family. What do you do for a living? Are you still studying or working? Stuff like that," she asked.
David smiled. "At home... there's me, mom, dad, and a little devil," he said, eyes crinkling.
Sara raised an eyebrow. "That's your sister, right?"
David nodded.
"So what do you do?" she pressed.
"I graduated and came here for a break with my friends. But honestly, I'm interested in teaching. My father... he wants me to run his company," David said, exhaling.
Sara studied his face. It was unreadable. She wanted to comfort him.
"What am I doing? How can I get this close to someone I just met? Control yourself, Sara," she thought.
"How am I talking to her so openly? I wasn't like this before I met her," David thought, watching her.
"Hey, who are you? The park is closed. How did you get in?" a security guard shouted.
Sara grabbed David's hand and started running. They darted out before the guard could catch them. Both collapsed into laughter. Sara was mesmerized by his smile.
"Come on, next destination," she said, still grinning.
"Are you hiding any snacks? I'm starving," he asked innocently.
Sara offered him the bag. "Told you, right? You'd get hungry," she said.
David smiled, took the snacks, and ate.
Sara showed him her world - quiet streets, hidden corners. Sometimes she said something funny that made him laugh.
David felt something shift in his chest. "Maybe she's the one." he thought.