she loved how casual and, at the same time, meaningful holding his hand felt, it felt real, and it gave her butterflies in her stomach over something as simple as that. "i know, but you were the one who said you’d judge me," she pointed out, raising her eyebrows at christian with an amused smile on her lips, "well, not exactly that, but something close enough," she added with a soft laugh. she liked hearing him call it a date, she already knew it was one, but hearing it from him made it feel different. "it’s not a controversial opinion," she assured, laughing, "it’s about handling spice, and i don’t know how good you are at that," she teased, laughing at her own words. "but it’s really good, just thinking about it makes my mouth water," she admitted. when he asked about her comment on pets looking like their owners, este smiled. "oh, he’s just sweet, a little goofy, nice hair… that’s you," she said, "and he’s got that western attitude, i bet he can line dance too," she joked. "it’s definitely the charm, the long hair, and how polite you are," she laughed. "i don’t know if you tackle people when you’re excited," she added, "maybe you do, but you haven’t been excited to see me, so i feel like the answer will decide if i’m offended or not," she teased, echoing him. she smiled, then shook her head lightly as she stepped closer to the cart. "i’ll have a cappuccino, two pup cups, and…" she turned to look at christian, her tone softening, "what do you want?"
When she brought up spice, though, he laughed again, this time a little louder, almost immediate. “Alright, I’m gonna be real with you,” he said, glancing at her with a playful kind of honesty, “I’m white. Like, aggressively white. My spice tolerance is questionable at best.” He lifted his free hand slightly like he was admitting defeat. “But,” he added quickly, smile widening, “I’m down to try anything once. For the experience. For the plot. For you.” His tone stayed light, but there was something genuine tucked in there as he looked at her. At her description of the dog, he let out another amused breath, dragging his hand briefly through his hair. “Sweet, goofy, nice hair?” he repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Wow. I’ve never felt so accurately represented by a dog in my life. Maybe a dog really is the representation of it's owner." At her last tease, though, about tackling people, he laughed again, head tilting as he looked at her properly. “Okay, first of all, I'd absolutely tackle someone when I’m too excited,” he admitted, no hesitation. “Like, full commitment. Zero warning. I'd knock you onto a couch." He took a small step closer, just enough to close that space between them again, his expression softening into something a bit more intentional. “And second, I am excited to see you,” he added, voice quieter now but still carrying that easy charm. “I just figured I’d ease you into it before I start launching myself at you. Next time though, be warned." Then, as she ordered and turned to him, he glanced at the menu for about half a second before looking back at her like he’d already decided. “I’ll grab whatever she's having,” he said. As they stepped aside to wait, Christian shifted a little closer, nudging her hip lightly with his in an easy, playful bump. He glanced down at her with a crooked smile, clearly enjoying himself. “Careful,” he murmured, glancing down at her. “You keep standing this close and people are gonna think you’re into me.” He let that sit for half a second before his grin widened, clearly pleased with himself. He bumped her hip again, lighter now, like it was becoming a habit.
