11:30am Saturday July 17th
Boudin Bakery on the Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA

"Lydia, patience is a virtue."

"Not right now it isn't," I quipped as I continued to impatiently tap my fingers on the table inside of Boudin Bakery. We arrived in San Francisco at ten o'clock this morning.

After the night at the beach in San Diego, we had a talk about what this was. Sean was just as worried about our friendship as I was, but I had to agree with him on one thing: we couldn't keep ignoring this connection between us. But we refused to put a label on anything. Weren't going to "think too much into it"; his words, not mine. I still had my freak-out moments. Mainly because, he's the only person I've ever felt anything for. The only person I've actually kissed. Most importantly, he's the only person who's ever made me feel like it's okay to be who I am.

"You're cute when you're impatient. Did you know that?" He asked with that same smirk that makes me melt.

"No, I didn't," I replied as I held back my own smile.

He reached across the table and took my hand in his. "Well, you are extremely cute when you're impatient."

Unable to hold back my smile any longer, my mouth curved upward. "Thank you," I said.

It took a minute for me to notice that I had calmed down. This wasn't the first time he's been able to do that. It was almost as if his touch or his voice, soothed me when I got worked up.

He was studying my face and I could tell he knew my mind was doing that crazy ping pong ball thing when I got uncomfortable and was trying to work something out internally.

He let go of my hand and sat back in his chair. Surprisingly, he didn't seem put off by my ordeal. In a way, he knew what I was dealing with and accepted it completely.

"Here you are. Sorry about the wait. I hope you guys enjoy!"

I looked down at my Granola & Yogurt with my side of sourdough bread and my mouth watered. Sean had ordered something called the Dessert Waffle. It had strawberries, whipped cream, Nutella Hazelnut Spread and powdered sugar.

"That thing is huge," I said as I eyed the massive meal.

He scoffed as he took a bite and moaned with pleasure. "Huge...and delicious."

He looked down at my small meal with a frown. "Lydia, are you sure that's enough food for you?"

"Yes, it's fine. After all, I came here for the sourdough." I bite into the soft, fresh dough and couldn't hold back my sigh of delight. "Better than I thought it would be."

Sean got through about half of his waffle before he held out a bite for me on his fork. "Here. Try it."

I held his stare as I leaned forward and wrapped my mouth around the fork. I noticed his sharp intake of breath as he watched me pull the food off. I leaned back in my chair as I chewed it.

He stayed like that for a minute, arm still extended.

"You're right, it's delicious." I said with a knowing smile.

Coming out of his trance, he cleared his throat. "See? I told you."

It didn't take long before finished our meal and walked out of the restaurant.

"Well, milady, you've had your sourdough. Now, what would you like to do?"

After breakfast, Sean and I took the cable car to Chinatown. I've never been to the one in New York, but according to Sean, the one here in San Francisco was better. Not to mention, cleaner. We tried the different foods and took in the culture of it all. Chinatown was definitely different.

After leaving Chinatown, we went to Ghirardelli to get coffee and chocolate, something I very much enjoyed.

"You know, I think you and chocolate have a secret relationship going on," Sean said with a laugh.

"Oh, yeah? I could say the same about you and chicory coffee," I countered.

Sean closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "Ah, chicory coffee. There's nothing like it."

We continued walking towards Golden Gate Park. Since I picked most of the activities, I let Sean pick this one. The park has always been a place on his bucket list. So, here we were.

As we walked through the enormous park, we went through the conservatory of flowers and danced a little at the music concourse.

"Where to next, Captain?" I asked playfully.

"It's a surprise," he said as he turned towards me.

Excitement filled me. "What kind of surprise?"

He didn't answer my question as he grabbed my hand and said, "Follow me and I'll show you."

I let him lead me down a long pathway. I had no idea what he was going to show me, but I trusted him completely. I frowned and stopped as we came into view of a large building. You could tell by the design that it was very old.

"What is this place?" I asked curiously. I felt my heart start to race as we got closer to the building.

He didn't say anything as he led me to the placard on the outside of the building. I froze as I read what it said: THE SHARON ART STUDIO.

I felt short of breath as I turned to Sean. "An art studio?"

He had a sheepish smile on his face. "Yeah. I know how much you like art. I thought this would be a nice surprise."

I had to compose myself for a moment before I could respond to him. "Thank you," was all I could say.

After we left Golden Gate Park, I couldn't stop talking about The Sharon Art Studio. They had everything from paintings to clay molds. We spent hours in there and Sean followed along patiently. He watched as I danced around the studio admiring all the art. I could only imagine I looked like a kid in a candy store.

We were walking back to our hotel rooms when I noticed Sean got quiet. "Hey, you okay?"

He had his hands in his pocket, something he did when he was nervous. What does he have to be nervous about? I wondered.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."

We got to my room door and I turned to him with my arms crossed over my chest. "You're lying to me, Sean Williams."

He laughed as he glanced down the hall. Clearing his throat, he said, "No, I'm not. Everything is good. I'm just...a little nervous."

"You never get nervous."

Another smile as he said, "Well, I wanted to ask you on-- a date tonight. A proper one."

My heart felt like it dropped out of my chest. No one has ever asked me to go on a date before. I know we had decided to give this connection thing a try and I was all for it. But, I couldn't help that all too familiar feeling. Fear. It was like ice in my veins. Fear of the unknown. Fear of not knowing what I'm doing. Even as those old voices tried to creep their way back in, I found myself saying, "I'd like that."

He smiled and I got that same butterfly feeling again. "I'll pick you up at seven, beautiful."

I spent the next hour trying on multiple outfits. I got more nervous as time passed by, especially since deep down, I wanted tonight to go well. I wanted it to be the start of something with Sean. Most of all, I wanted to get over at least one of my fears. When I looked at the next outfit, I paused. It was a dark red thigh-length dress that hugged my body pretty decently. I bought it in Tijuana and haven't worn it yet. I could wear my black jacket with it and my black heels.

I just finished putting on some light makeup and styling my hair when I heard a knock at the door. "One second," I called from my bathroom. I double-checked my hair in the mirror. I wanted to do something different, so I had it up tonight. I hope he likes it, I thought.

My heart started pounding in my ears as I walked to the door. I reached for the handle and hesitated before opening it. Sean looked at me and I shivered as I felt his eyes roll over my body. Almost like a caress.

His eyes met mine and there was that damn smile again. "Hi," he said. God, that deep baritone should be against the law.

"Hi." Fuck. Could I sound anymore breathless right now?

"You look...Well, I don't think beautiful quite covers it."

My cheeks heated and I couldn't hold back my smile. "Thank you. You clean up pretty well, yourself." Where did that come from? I've never said anything like that in my life.

He was wearing dark pants, with a black shirt. His dark hair was slicked back, making his blue eyes stand out. "Thank you."

He extended his arm to me as he asked, "Shall we?"

I looped my arm with his as we walked to the car. I wasn't surprised when he opened the car door for me. "Such a gentleman," I said as I slid into the passenger seat.

He came around the car and I waited until he started the car before I asked, "So, where are you taking me tonight?"

He kept his eyes on the road and his left hand gripped the steering wheel. He tapped the gear shifter with the other one. He really was nervous about this. "If I tell you, then it will ruin it."

"Okay, okay," I said as I felt my excitement rise. My only guess would be a fancy restaurant. "I have to admit...I've never been on a real date before." I tried to keep my voice steady and strong.

He was quiet for a moment before he reached over and took my hand. "Me, neither."

His statement shocked me but I didn't ask about it further. It was hard to believe someone like him has never been on a real date.

We were quiet for the rest of the ride, and I perked up when he turned into a parking lot. In the distance I saw a stretch of road that was full of people. I could see different colored lights and lanterns in the distance. After he parked the car we got out and started walking towards the crowd.

When we got closer, I saw what it was and stopped walking. "It's a food market."

"It's not just a food market, beautiful. It's Off The Grid: Food Night."

I smiled like an idiot as he took my hand and led me to the entrance. There were tons of vendors and food trucks selling different kinds of food. There was music playing, fire pits roaring, and lounge chairs. It was amazing.

He walked me over to the line of food trucks and we took some samples from each.

"Okay," I said with a laugh, "this is disgusting."

He returned my laugh as he handed me a napkin. "Not a sushi girl, huh?"

"No. Hell, no. Never again." I still wasn't used to the way he looked at me. It made me feel equally good and scared at the same time.

We walked towards the next food truck that sold dessert. "What would you like," he asked me.

I looked over the menu. They had everything from eclairs, to sundaes. "Hmmm...cheesecake, please."

Sean paid the cashier and grabbed the cheesecake. He put a bite on the fork and held it out to me. "Open up."

I opened my mouth as he fed me the bite. I couldn't stop my moan of pleasure at the decadent taste. "Wow, that's amazing."

"I'm glad you like it." He eyed the cheesecake quizzically. "I've never tasted cheesecake before."

"What?! How can you-- Give me that," I said as I took the plate and fork from him. I fixed him a bite and held the fork out to him. "Your turn."

He raised an eyebrow and he accepted the bite. He held my gaze as he chewed it slowly before swallowing. "Delicious."

"I can't believe you never had cheesecake."

"Actually, that was a lie," he said with a guilty smile.

"Excuse me?" I shot back in a teasing tone.

"Come on, it got you to feed me some cheesecake, didn't it?"

"You are incorrigible."

"Yeah," he said as he grabbed the plate and sat it on a nearby bench. "But you like that about me."

He cupped the side of my face and brought his lips to mine. Just as he started to deepen the kiss, I heard a voice that sent a shiver down my spine.

"Lydia!"

Tuning around, I saw him. It may have been nearly twenty years, but he was still the spitting image of my father. My brother...

"Michael?"