After what seemed like forever, they pulled into the parking lot for Snail Pizza. He quickly got out and got the door for her, helping her out of the seat. He locked the car and the two walked side by side to the entrance of the restaurant. Oscar got the door for her, and she stepped inside, him following soon after.

It was busy. Surprisingly, they were able to get seated right away, but the restaurant was still packed. The host seated them at a small table, handing them their menus. Oscar looked over the menu, his stomach rumbling. It all sounded so good.

“Do you want some appetizers?” He asked her. She studied the menu for a bit, tapping her fingers against her chin as she thought about her decision.

She licked her lips. “Oooh! The mozzarella sticks sound great.” Her eyes traveled down farther, then grew wide. “OH! But what about buffalo wings! They both sound delicious!”

Oscar immediately blurted out “why not both?” before remembering who was paying the bill. He almost regretted his decision, but also knew how much he wanted to impress Leona.

Leona flipped to the inside of the menu. “Should we split a pizza? What do you like?”

Oscar looked inside as well. He was by no means a picky eater— there wasn’t much food that he didn’t like. His stomach rumbled again, and now that he thought about it, artichoke happened to seem like a pretty tasty topping idea.

“Do you like artichoke?” He asked timidly. Leona smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, you want one with artichoke?” Her eyes scanned the menu, thinking of toppings that would pair well with artichoke. “I’m personally wanting some pepperoni. How does that sound?”

“Artichoke and pepperoni? Sounds good. Any other toppings?”

Leona’s smile grew wider. “How about… mushrooms and olives? That sounds delicious!”

Oscar closed the menu and nodded in agreement. “That sounds great!”

The waiter came and went, taking their orders. Their drinks came almost immediately– Oscar having ordered a Sprite and Leona a Dr. Pepper– and it wasn’t long before their appetizers arrived as well. It smelled delicious, and Oscar waited patiently, letting Leona have the first bite.

She grabbed a mozzarella stick, dipping it into the marinara dip and hooking her teeth into the middle, pulling the other end away with her hand. She chuckled at how long the cheese stretched. “Mmm, this is so good!” She beamed, then went for a buffalo wing. She covered it with a generous amount of ranch before taking a bite of that as well. “Mmph! Oscar, these are amazing!”

Oscar reached for a buffalo wing first. He wasn’t the biggest fan of ranch, so he got as little ranch as he could on his wing, then took a bite.

It was hot. The temperature of it burned his tongue, and there wasn’t enough ranch on the wing to combat how spicy the buffalo sauce was. Oscar’s mouth felt like it was on fire, and he quickly grabbed his Sprite and took a huge gulp of it. He immediately flushed– not just from the heat, but also from how pathetic he must’ve looked to Leona just now.

Leona, however, didn’t say a word, as she was too busy enjoying her food.

They continued to eat the appetizers. Oscar focused mostly on the mozzarella sticks, but made sure to leave plenty for Leona. She licked the buffalo sauce from her fingers and directed her eyes at him.

“Those wings are spicy! How are you liking them?”

“They’re pretty good!” Oscar’s tongue still stung.

As they continued the appetizers, Oscar discreetly but deliberately avoided the buffalo wings, and instead focused on the mozzarella sticks. Of course, making sure to leave enough of the sticks for his date. He marveled at just how fast she was eating. Each mozzarella stick was gone in just about two bites, and she tore apart each buffalo wing like a hungry lion eating its first prey in days. Orange hot buffalo sauce painted her mouth like poorly applied lipstick. This girl sure did have an appetite.

It would be a while until their pizza was ready. Oscar knew she would be finished with the appetizers soon, so he tried to come up with some conversation starters in his head. However, each mozzarella stick and buffalo wing gone from the plates filled him with anxiety. He was running out of time, which made him panic, and his panicking distracted him from possible talking points with Leona. It was a contradicting cycle, one that irritated him to no end.

The bones of the chicken wings littered the plate, the meat having been completely shaved off, leaving them looking as if there was no meat to begin with. Leona licked as much buffalo sauce off her fingers as she could, wiping her mouth with her napkin. She sighed.

“That was so good,” she breathed, smiling softly, leaning her head back slightly and closing her eyes. Oscar said nothing, only stared. His tongue felt like a tight knot, one he was unable to undo. She opened her striking green eyes and gazed at him, her smile growing wider.

“Those wings were great! Although,” she leaned in, “they could’ve been much spicier. I LOVE spicy food.” She put a hand under her chin and rested her elbow on the counter. “Do you, Oscar?”

“Yeah! I do.” Oscar blurted out. It wasn’t a complete lie, but these particular wings were too hot for him. In fact, if food had spice, he preferred it on the mild side. He didn’t agree with Leona’s statement wishing they could be spicier. However, he wasn’t going to say that.

“The spiciest food I’ve ever had was, I think…” Leona’s eyes drifted off to the side as she thought. “I actually think it was wings! This one bowling alley I went to with some friends had some super hot wings. The sauce was even called ‘Hell’s Fire’.” She lolled her head back in laughter. “Isn’t that hilarious?” She regained her composure. “Anyway, they were so hot. My face was so red. One of my friends, the poor girl! She was sick in the bathroom from how hot they were. She couldn’t handle it at all!”

Oscar grinned awkwardly. “Dang, that sounds intense.” He responded. 

Leona clapped her hands together. “You gotta try them sometime! I wanna see how you react!” She cackled.

Oscar felt himself slightly cringe, but he nodded his head anyway. “Yeah! That sounds awesome. I’m sure I could handle it.” He hoped his tone was convincing, because he knew he would probably end up like her poor friend. He didn’t want Leona to know that though. He prayed that if he didn’t bring it up again, she would forget about it…

He reached for his Sprite, ready to take a big nervous drink, but found the cup was empty. He frowned.

“Oh, you’re out of Sprite?” Leona said. “I’ll waive down the waiter!” 

She proceeded to throw her arm in the air the second the waiter appeared in her line of sight. Oscar leaned back, his cheeks growing hot with embarrassment. Waiving down the waiter was something he never did, he was too afraid it made him look rude.

Not that he thought Leona was rude. She had energy, but she wasn’t rude. Oscar noticed that difference between him and her; Leona had confidence. She wasn’t afraid to be herself and put herself out there, she wasn’t afraid to make her presence known. Oscar was not like that in the slightest. He preferred to stay back and let others be in the spotlight, and he was so scared of imposing on others. He felt sweat trickle down the back of his neck. 

They were opposites, and there was no way Oscar wanted Leona to know just how docile Oscar was. He did not want her to see him as a wimp, and he was going to do whatever he could to make sure Leona thought he was cool.

The pizza came. Oscar ate what he could, but his nerves were so bad, the food tasted bland. Leona seemed to really enjoy the pizza, and when all the slices were gone, she leaned back into the seat, resting her hands on her stomach. 

“I am full!” She sighed. “That was amazing.”

“Yeah,” Oscar agreed halfheartedly. “It was.”

The waiter came by with the check, placing it in the middle of the table. Oscar made sure to reach for it first.

“I’ll get it!” He quickly said, looking at the check.

Oscar’s eyes grew wide and his stomach dropped at seeing the bill. It was definitely more than he had expected.

Shoot, he thought, rubbing his temples. I should’ve paid more attention…

His gaze met Leona’s, whose eyebrows were furrowed in concern. “Is everything okay?” She asked gently. Her hand shifted, and Oscar was afraid she was reaching into her wallet.

Oscar slightly panicked. “N-no, everything is fine! Just a bit more than I expected.” He replied.

Leona discreetly pulled some cash from her wallet and slid it toward him, but Oscar refused. He couldn’t make his date pay a single cent. Even if this meal would leave his bank account uncomfortably low, he could not accept her money. 

“No, I got it, Leona.” He shook his head and put his debit card with the check. He drew in a deep breath. “Thank you though.”

Leona shrugged her shoulders and put her cash back in her wallet, then shot Oscar a cute grin. “Well, thank you!” She said happily. 

Oscar’s heart fluttered.

It was time to take Leona home. After Oscar paid for dinner and left the tip, he and Leona headed out to his car. It was late, much later than he had anticipated. The air was cold, with an autumn wind whipping at their clothes and hair. Clouds covered the moon.

They got in his car, sitting for a moment while they waited for the car to heat up. Neither said a word. Leona seemed to be a bit drowsy, probably from all the food she ate. Oscar was too nervous to speak.

He slowly pulled out of the parking lot and began to drive her back to her place. She sighed.

“Oh my god, I am so full.” She said. “That food was so good. I’m gonna sleep so well tonight.”

“Me too,” Oscar lied. He knew he wouldn’t be getting much sleep.

After what seemed to him to be a long drive, they reached her house. He parked on the side of the street. He looked at the time. How was it already ten at night?

Oscar hopped out of the car and quickly opened her door, helping her out of the car. A small blush played on her cheeks. “What a gentleman,” she smiled, giggling. 

Oscar walked her to her door, and Leona scrambled for her keys in her pocket, unlocking the door and stepping inside. “Thank you so much Oscar! I had a lot of fun.”

Oscar nodded his head. “So did I. It was a pleasure spending the night with you.” 

Leona leaned against the door frame, and Oscar couldn’t help but stare at her curved waistline. He quickly shot his eyes back up to meet hers, his palms growing sweaty. She rested her hand on her hip.

“Well, text me when you’re home so I know you made it home safe!” She told him. “And let’s plan something fun again soon!”

Oscar grinned. “That sounds great.” He extended a shaky hand, to which she grabbed and gave a firm shake. “Have a good night, Leona.”

Leona wished him a good night as well, giving him one final smile before closing the door. Oscar stood on the porch for a moment, before turning and hurrying back to his car. He threw open the door and sat in the seat, letting out a huge sigh and sinking into the chair.

“Holy…” he whispered to himself. The weight of the night was lifting off his shoulders, and he could finally relax. His muscles were sore from how tense he was. He leaned his head back, taking a few deep breaths to fall deeper into relaxation.

He did it. For the first time since he started college, he had gone on a successful date. His heart raced with excitement, and he found himself laughing. He was so relieved. It was the most fun he had experienced in a long time.