"Wine tasting?"
Clarissa asks with a raised eyebrow. Does she still remember what happened at the park?
"Well, this winery has a lot of good reviews. We should get to enjoy ourselves as adults once in a while, shouldn't we?"
"... Right, I see."
"They have charcuterie boards."
"You should've mentioned that before!"
I'm not sure why she likes cheese so much, but at least it's convenient in the moment.
This date is actually quite enjoyable- each wine tastes so flavorful, yet different from the last. But Clarissa talks first.
"This one smells like strawberry… though I preferred the one with a cinnamon aroma."
"You're oddly descriptive."
"Did you not expect me to know my wines?"
"Not really, since you get drunk so easily."
"I do?"
I should stick to the plan. We have a few more glasses, and sit down at a table.
She munches mindlessly at the cheese on the charcuterie board, and I decide to begin my interrogation.
"So… when did you first meet this anti-cupid guy?"
"To be honest, I'm not sure if we ever met formally."
"So why do you hate him if you don't even know him?"
"Because he used his powers on me! Now that was just uncalled for."
"Why do you think so?"
"I know Max's father was a loser, abusive, and all of that. But I wanted that- so I wouldn't get attached."
I feel like some sort of therapist now. Everything she says makes no sense, but I don't want to be jumping to any conclusions with mental illnesses…
"How would Max feel if he had to grow up with someone like that?"
"It wouldn't be a permanent thing."
"You knowingly had a child, knowing they might not have a father figure?"
"Yeah… is that an issue? Anyways, thanks to the stupid anti-cupid, it was the other way around!"
She throws a glare at me, and I can't help wondering why she's referring to me in the third person.
"I'm right here, you know."
"What you did was dumb, but that doesn't make you dumb."
"Thanks…"
I literally only met this woman for the first time at the first Genesis7 meeting. Am I losing my memories?
"Is there a reason you think I'm the anti-cupid? Have you seen me use any powers?"
Clarissa almost looks dumbfounded for a moment, and so do I.
"Your hair looks the same as twenty years ago."
"... Actually?"
That's it?! I have the same hair as an old dude?! Is that all it took for her to make a completely backwards assumption?!
A long sigh almost escapes my lips, until she murmurs.
"The prophecy as well, I guess."
"What prophecy?"
"That one day cupid and an anti-cupid would join together and share a bond so strong it will create a new power… and I feel a difference when I'm with you."
It's quiet, aside from others talking in the background. A difference, huh?
"What if it's not the prophecy?"
"What do you mean?"
"It sounds like what you're talking about is just… love."
Her eyes stare right back at mine, as if the gears are turning in her head… until her head falls forward on the table with a thud.
"Clarissa?-"
I didn't think she would actually get this drunk again. But it's adorable. Quite worrisome as well, but still adorable.
"You're lighter than I thought."
One arm wraps under her leg, the other under her back as I pick her up to carry her to the car.
After taking her home and tucking her into bed, she mumbles something against my ear.
"Dylan… would I… if fate didn't…"
"What was that?"
By the time I ask, she's snoring softly and holding onto my hand.
I can feel my cheeks heating up with the atmosphere now. Have we ever had much of a calm moment like this?
"I'm gonna go now… okay?"
Though unfortunately, it's difficult to get myself to leave.
"Dylan! What are you doing on the floor?"
"Ugh…"
Did I really fall asleep here? And why is she shaking me so hard?
"What time is it?"
"It's almost five in the morning!"
"What? Why are you even up at four in the morning?"
"Did you collapse when we got back? Nobody sleeps in that positon… in that place.
"I wasn't sure if I was allowed on your bed."
"Doesn't your back hurt?"
"It didn't until you said that."
"Get up here!"
"Ow…"
She drags me onto her comfortable bed, and instant relief follows. This feels like a cloud. Or perhaps I'm just tired.
"You never answer my question, though. Do you always wake up this early?"
"For work, yeah."
"Huh?!"
Did she say she was- oh, yeah. Seraphina gave her a job.
"What kind of place has you…"
I should've asked then, but I fell right back asleep. When I wake up again, she's gone.
Am I being too invasive? Is it bad to want to know all of this?
Waves of overthinking wash over me, until I receive a message from her.
It's a selfie.
Wait.
"Is that Jupiter Stone?!"
I feel like freaking out, and I'm not even there. How did Clarissa get a photo with one of the world's most famous actors?
"I'm a movie director now, silly."
Wow. I was worried she was being exploited at worst. My heart seems to finally slow down after minutes.
"How much did she have to be paid just to be there?!"
"A lot, supposedly."
"Do you think I can't keep this secret?"
"I felt like you'd wanna follow me to work every day if you knew."
"You're right. I'm a big fan of her movies. But I'm not a creep, you know."
"After this morning, I definitely know."
"I really like your bed."
"Really?"
"Yeah, where's the mattress from?"
"... Actually?"
"What do you mean?"
"I thought you liked it because it smelled like me. Here's the link for the mattress, I guess."
Should I not have asked? I almost get a flashback from when one of my exes broke up with me for eating fried chicken with a fork.
She was from Georgia.
"What perfume do you wear?"
"Huh?"
"To spray on the mattress. So it smells like you."
"You don't have to tiptoe around me, haha. I was kidding."
"It's hard to tell sometimes, if I'm being honest."
"I could say the same about your feelings."
"What feelings?"
"The ones I'm hoping you have for me."
When did she get so flirtatious? I can already feel a blush forming on my cheeks.
"I have a question, before my own answer."
"What is it?"
"Do you actually think the prophecy is about us?"
"Who would it be about then? I've been single for a net total of over four hundred years… don't I deserve a happy ending?"
"I'm not saying that you don't- I'm just wondering if it's really fate, or the choices we both made that led us here."
This has been lingering in my mind for some time now. Maybe it's time to admit it.
"I think I'm in love with you, but I don't want to credit fate. It was my choice, my own heart that allowed me to fall for you."
"Woah. This is an odd way to confess."
"I agree. I should've waited until you came back home."
"What if we end the day how we started? But awake?"
"What makes you want to pull an all-nighter all of a sudden?"
"We started the day in my bed, didn't we?"
Oh great heavens! I didn't think- or anticipate- I really want this. Am I even thinking right now?
"Ok."
I fling my phone against the room (really only across the bed so it lands on the blanket and doesn't break).
Are we finally official now?
Worrying so much wasn't necessary after all, and that makes me feel much better.
I'm happy I know more of the truth, even if it doesn't all make sense now.
I can be patient for Clarissa to tell me the entire story. She's worth it.
However, my overthinking self finds another thing to worry about now that I'm at ease with one person.