“Oh, I trust you to be entirely yourself, Toni.” Summer shakes her head, slightly. “It’s me I don’t trust. You’re /you/, darling, and — oh, how do I even explain this?” She looks at him, and presses her lips together. “That particular joke — it’s not a joke to me, it’s — I’m not gorgeous, Toni, I’m short and skinny and sharp-tongued, and to be quite honest I’m over thirty years old and no one has ever asked me out on a date before.”
“My first relationship was with an abusive prick,” he shrugs, scratching his nose when he felt a swell of quick panic. “I babble too much, I talk too loud, I like to flail my arms a lot and I’m from 1994. Believe me, you’re going to work harder at trying to drive me away.”
“I didn’t know that,” she says softly. “Okay. Okay. I’m here, and obviously I’m dressed okay, and we’re both nervous.” She chuckles briefly. “Let’s just pretend I didn’t say any of those stupid things, and you tell me where you’re taking me.”
He gives her a brief smile, leaning in to peck her cheek before looping his arm through her own. “Ah, but if I told you then that would ruin the whole surprise,” Toni chuckles. “I promise it will be fun, though. I’ve never had someone complain about my wooing skills.”
“Is that — ” Summer clears her throat and tries again. “Is that what’s happening here?” She looks down at his arm linked with hers, then back up at his face. “I’ll be honest, I have no idea what is going on here.”