Tuesday morning slowly set in; the skies were cloudy, and the morning chill was imminent. Maeve was still in bed in her dark room but kept one of the lamps to help her see the Friends & More app. She was researching events for Wednesday, and a few things were happening since it was just a short distance from Christmas. Also, there were few things on weekdays; only the weekends had more options. Her research was interrupted when her phone vibrated; when looking at the caller ID, Maeve rolled her eyes and answered. "Morning Patrisha."

"Girl, why didn't you tell me!?"

"Tell you what?" Maeve knew what Patrisha was talking about. Her mother must have told Patrisha she was going on a date with Treyton.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about! Why didn't you tell me or at least text me that you were going on a coffee date with a guy you met!?"

Maeve sighed as she fixed the pillow her head lay upon. "It's not like I will keep it a secret forever. I just wanted to see how that date turned out. I didn't want to give you or myself false hopes."

Patrisha hummed. "So, how did it go!? Details, I need delicious details! Is the guy at least handsome?"

"He's not handsome; he's gorgeous. I had mistaken him for a model when we first met. We went to a nice coffee place where we spoke for a couple of hours and then went for a walk afterward. That was that."

"That's it!? No kisses or touches!?"

Patrisha was always blunt and would do anything to get bits of information. It was almost admirable and amusing. "You know how I am, Patrisha. Whenever I go on the first date, I don't kiss. We barely met."

"I'm not going to lie to you, but your momma told me this guy is eighteen years older than you. Is that true?"

Maeve grunted; she hoped that her mother didn't tell Patrisha everything. "Y-Yeah. I never dated a guy with a major age gap. Still, I couldn't help but feel a strong pull toward him. It was like my whole world shifted when I first saw him." The memory of meeting Treyton and seeing his smiles and eyes made her heart flutter. "Mom always said to keep an open mind."

Patrisha was quiet; she felt that Maeve was going too quickly. It was her friend's first time going out with an older man. Maeve was her best friend, and Patrisha didn't want to see her get hurt again. "Maeve, you know that I care and worry for you. Believe it or not, you kind of sound desperate." Before Maeve could intervene, Patrisha continued, "However, you're an adult, and I will not butt in too much in your personal life. I will say this: don't jump into a relationship too quickly. Don't feel pressured to accept something that might destroy your peace. Understand?"

Maeve slowly rose from her bed and squeezed her phone. She knew Patrisha was looking out for her, but she also knew she was right. "I know."

"So, since it went well, what's next? Are you guys going on a second date or something?"

"Yeah, we agreed to meet again tomorrow but haven't decided what to do. I'm reviewing the app to see if anything interesting is on Wednesday. Nothing."

Patrisha was quiet on the other end until an idea came up. "Hey, you know that I have baking classes on Fridays. My baking teacher told me to inform people that there is a free class tomorrow to make gingerbread houses for the Christmas spirit. You should go there."

It had been a long time since Maeve had made a gingerbread house; she couldn't imagine a man like Treyton making one. "That sounds like fun, but I'm not sure if that would be Treyton's cup of tea."

"So his name is Treyton, eh? Cool name. Well, he better go! If he's not open to trying new things, that should tell you a lot about him! You can tell him that I demand it if you have to!"

"Okay, okay. What time will the class be?"

"At 4 p.m., I will give you the address and information about the class. I have to get ready to go to work! Also, don't worry; everything is going fine in the classroom. I'll call you on Thursday to see how your date goes!"

The two women hung up. Five minutes later, Maeve received a text message with a link showing the event information. "I'll call him first and then send him the link later. Let's see if he's up to it."