for: kai ( @cstlavietes )
time: any time your heart desires!
location: the rift valley kickoff
dulce didn't want to admit it, but she had spent far too long trying to pick the perfect outfit for the kickoff. normally she would've thrown on the first cute, beachy thing she found and called it a day, but kai had asked her to come with him. truthfully, she had gotten far more excited about that than she probably should have. though she still hadn't given arisa a name, she had told her she was going to the kickoff with someone. what followed had been several hours of sending outfit photos back and forth to her best friend, changing her mind every twenty minutes, and overthinking things she normally wouldn't give a second thought. was this a date? dulce had tried not to dwell on it too much. they had only recently found their way back into each other's lives. still, hope had always been one of her greatest weaknesses when it came to kai.
by the time they found themselves standing in line for funnel cake, the nervousness had mostly settled into something softer. the festival hummed around them with music, laughter, and the scent of freshly baked funnel cakes. every now and then her shoulder brushed his when the line moved forward, or tried to squeeze past people, each accidental touch somehow making her smile a little more. “thank you for inviting me, by the way,” she said after a moment, warmly glancing over at him. “i'm having a really wonderful time.” she was, though not because of the festival itself, even if it was lovely, but because she was sharing it with him. the thought stayed tucked safely inside the corners of hr mind where it belonged.
eventually they reached the front of the line, placing their order before stepping aside to wait for the powdered-sugar-covered masterpiece they were promised. dulce clasped her hands loosely behind her back and rocked lightly onto her heels before looking over at him with a soft smile. “so,” she began, dark eyes bright with curiosity, “what would you like to do after we get our funnel cake?” her gaze drifted briefly toward the festival stretching out before them before returning to him again.