Adrian had that next Friday off from work. Over the ten days that had passed since he asked about it, they went out on four different dates. Two dinners, one trip to the aquarium, and one to an arcade bar called The 1up, just a couple blocks down from the stadium.
During all that time, he refused to share what he had planned for the secret date night.
“It could end up being nothing,” he had told her. “So I’m not saying until I know for sure. Either way, we’ll still go do something.”
The anticipation grew even heavier as she had to wait at the office all day, wondering what Adrian was doing at home. They had started talking on the phone every night before bed, and even as of Thursday night, Adrian remained tight-lipped about the secret.
She sent him text messages Friday morning, asking how his day was going, but only received a one word response.
He had called during her lunch break, informing her that things were looking good for his planned surprise, and that he’d have a final confirmation by three o’clock. The afternoon passed without another word, and by the time four o’clock rolled around, she sent him another message to check in and he replied right away.
Just seeing his response sparked an instant flutter in her chest. She had been surprised with flowers and candy in the past, but never an entire date night. It was both nerve-racking and romantic. She had no idea what would happen during the next few hours of her life, and that sensation made her feel so alive.
Melissa ventured to the water cooler and filled a cup. “What’s that big smile on your face for?” she asked.
Natalia put her phone down. “Nothing. Just read something funny.”
“Right. You and Adrian going out tonight?”
Natalia’s heart raced. How could Melissa possibly know? “Why do you say that?”
“Haven’t you been going out all week?”
Natalia widened her eyes at Melissa and waved her hand to tell her to quiet down. “How do you know that?” she whispered. “Did Adrian tell you?”
Melissa squatted down so only Natalia could hear her. “Girl, no one had to tell me. You two might think you’re being sneaky, but you can’t help the way you look at each other. Going to lunch together every day, walking out together after work. You both act different when one of you has a day off. Not sad, just like something is missing. So it’s true then, you two have been going out?”
Natalia nodded. “But don’t tell anyone. We’re trying to keep it on the hush.”
Melissa pursed her lips and did the old motion of pretending to zip her mouth shut. And she threw away the invisible key for good measure. “I’m so happy for y’all. You two are perfect together. And don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”
Melissa patted her on the leg before standing up and returning to her desk.
The final forty-five minutes of the workday dragged for an eternity. Natalia wasted ten minutes trying to guess where Adrian would take her. It was impossible. Denver had hundreds of things to do on any given Friday night. She eventually gave up and simply stared at the clock on her work phone, each minute passing by, one agonizing tick at a time.
About three months later, by Natalia’s judgement, five o’clock finally arrived, and she darted out of the call center without so much as a goodbye to anyone else. She hurried to the break room to clock out, and rushed down the stairs to reach the underground tunnel, leaving no chance of getting caught up in a conversation in the elevator, or worse, stuck walking with one of her elderly colleagues.
The parking lot was outside of the center field gates, while the call center was behind home plate. Today was not the time for a casual stroll through the tunnels that smelled of peanuts and the tangy yeast from the stadium’s in-house brewery.
Natalia made record time through the tunnels, stepping outside to the parking lot in less than a minute. And there he was, leaning against the front of her RAV4 in a pair of dark jeans and a sky blue t-shirt, a charming grin plastered across his face.
“You ready?” he asked once she reached her car.
“Sure,” she said, trying to sound like she hadn’t been counting down the milliseconds all day, and doing a horrendous job.
“Good day at work?” He extended his arm and rubbed her shoulder.
“Long day, but not too bad. So, what are we doing? Should I change?”
Natalia had worn a pair of khakis and a gray vest over a white t-shirt.
“You look beautiful, as always. No need to be fancy where we’re going. Now, let’s go.”
He waited for her to toss her backpack into her car before grabbing her hand and leading them to his silver Civic.
The compliment. The hand holding. Natalia was melting inside and couldn’t resist wanting more of that feeling.
They got in the car, and Adrian sped out of the lot. She wasn’t sure if he did so none of their colleagues would see them together, or if he was just as anxious as her to get to the date.
“We don’t have a long drive at all,” he said once the stadium was in the rearview. “We’re staying downtown, actually.”
Traffic was filling the roads with everyone breaking for the weekend. It was the first warm day of the spring—it had hit seventy degrees at lunch time—so crowds of people herded down the sidewalks to pack the bars lining both sides of Blake Street as they headed south.
Natalia shared about the workday while they continued down Blake, eventually merging onto Auraria Parkway. Adrian flicked on the turn signal before entering the parking lot for the Pepsi Center.
“We’re going to a Denver Nuggets game?!” Natalia asked.
Adrian grinned. “You mentioned basketball is your favorite sport. I spent all day in a bidding war online for some really incredible seats. But first, we’ll head into Blue Sky Grill for dinner.”
Natalia gasped. “I’m so excited,” she said, unable to wipe the smile off her face.
“Good. It should be a fun night. The Spurs are in town.”
“Tim Duncan is my giant teddy bear. Can’t wait to see him play.”
They parked, climbed from the car, and held hands as they walked to Blue Sky Grill, the restaurant inside the stadium. Over the next hour, they enjoyed drinks and dinner, swapping stories about past basketball games they had attended.
Once they wrapped up, Adrian led them toward their seats. They entered the section behind the Spurs bench and descended the stairs, getting closer and closer to the court. He finally stopped at a row near the bottom, only two rows behind the Spurs bench.
“Here we are,” he said, holding out his arm for Natalia to enter their row.
“Wow,” she said, settling into her seat. The players were only feet away, towering giants up close. “I’ve only sat this close a couple of times. It’s really a different game down here.”
“I know it. I always get as close as I can when the Bulls come to town. You can hear everything the players are saying. It’s like being more involved in the game. Look, we even get service in these seats.”
Adrian pointed to the end of the row where a man was taking food and drink orders from other fans.
They hung out in their seats for the next half hour, watching the players warm up before the game eventually tipped off. During the first time out, Adrian leaned over and asked if Natalia was having a good time. She responded by leaning closer to him and planting a kiss on his lips. “I’m having an amazing time.”
“Good. You deserve it.”
“Say, we need to talk about something.” Natalia looked around until settling on Adrian.
“Oh? Is everything okay?” Adrian’s eyes narrowed on her, searching for the potential issue.
“Everything is great. Maybe too great. It’s just that Melissa seemed to know we’ve been seeing each other.”
Adrian shot his hands up. “I haven’t said a word.”
“I know. She said as much, but also mentioned she could tell something’s going on between us.”
Adrian leaned back in his seat, slipping his arm around Natalia’s shoulders. “And what’s wrong with that?”
Natalia sighed. “I just don’t want all the call center putting their noses into our business. You know how everyone is.”
“So, what, we just need to act like we did before the Vegas trip?”
Natalia laughed. “Doesn’t need to be that extreme. Just don’t give anyone a reason to think anything is going on. Melissa promised to keep it a secret, but she knows. Let’s keep it at that.”
Adrian chuckled. “Seriously. Can you imagine if Denver found out? He’d try to take all the credit for setting us up.”
“I don’t doubt that. Maybe he deserves some credit─as does Caroline─but still.”
Adrian laughed, pulling Natalia tighter into his one-armed embrace. “It’s kind of romantic, don’t you think?”
“What? Pretending we’re not seeing each other?” Natalia leaned into Adrian, noting how she fit perfectly against his shoulder.
“Not when you put it that way. I meant the secrecy. Sneaking around. I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“Well, hopefully it’s not for long. I have a job interview I’m feeling great about next week. Just might be the one.”
“And it’s here in Denver?”
The way Adrian asked that question made her wonder if he had somehow heard about the offer from Spain, like he was begging her to stay. But he had no way of knowing. He’d never even met Megan before, and she was the only person who knew about that offer.
“Yes, here in Denver.”
She watched the relief sweep over his face. He didn’t say anything in response, only nodding his approval.
“But you’re on board with keeping it a secret?” she asked.
“Of course. As long as I don’t have to do it forever, I think I can manage.”
Forever?
The word was intimidating in any regard. Definitive. Infinite. But in a romantic sense, it carried so much more weight. His use of the word suggested he had thoughts about Natalia remaining in his life for how long? Certainly not forever—that was ludicrous to think after a few weeks of dating. But would it last beyond their employment together at the Rockies? Would seeing each other less weaken the connection they had built?
“Natalia?” he asked, nudging her out of her daydream.
“Sorry, what?”
He was grinning at her, leaning in close enough to kiss again. “I asked if you wanted a drink? He’s coming back around to take orders.”
“Oh, yes. I’ll just have a water.”
Natalia felt sick to her stomach all of a sudden. She couldn’t help but dwell on his choice of words. He was deliberate with the things that came out of his mouth, so she couldn’t chalk it up as some subconscious mistake. If he said it, then he meant it, though he surely didn’t mean for her to get consumed by it.
They enjoyed the rest of the game together, laughing and sharing stories, still getting to know each other. Natalia pushed her thoughts aside once she realized Adrian had no plans of getting down on a knee today. She was even disappointed in herself for wasting so much energy on the matter.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Nuggets celebrated a 115-112 victory over the Spurs, and Natalia threw her arms around Adrian. “Thank you so much for tonight. I had such an incredible time.”
“You’re very welcome. I wouldn’t have wanted to share this night with anyone else.”
She kissed him again—and couldn’t stop doing it. The strings in her heart felt stretched to their capacity. They just might snap any day now.
He kissed her back, and they held each other while the rest of the arena cleared out, taking their time to mosey outside. The temperature had fallen once the sun had set, but the night remained beautiful as they walked to Adrian’s car, hands intertwined.
They talked about the excitement of the game once they were in the car and back on the road to Coors Field. The traffic from earlier had vanished in the later hours, and they returned to the stadium five minutes after they broke free of the jammed traffic surrounding the Pepsi Center.
Adrian pulled right next to Natalia’s car and parked.
“Thanks again,” she said, hanging her head as she gathered some much needed courage.
“Of course. Is something wrong?” Adrian killed the engine to leave them in silence.
Natalia gently shook her head. “Not at all. I’ve just been thinking.”
“About?”
“Us. Tell me if I’m wrong, but I feel like we have something. It’s hard to say how serious it is, but I can’t deny it’s something real. Do you feel it?”
Adrian nodded, a subtle grin touching his lips. “I do. I can’t spend enough time with you. I’m already sad I have to say good night and leave you.”
“Don’t be sad. That’s a good feeling. I have it, too. It could be the opposite, and you can’t wait for me to get out of the car.” She chuckled at herself, but Adrian didn’t budge.
“Never.”
“If this is going too fast, just tell me. But I’d love for you to come have dinner with my family.”
Adrian widened his eyes. “Really?”
“I knew it. Too soon. Forget I said anything.”
“Hold on a minute. I didn’t say no. I’d love to, actually. I’m just curious how you’re going to introduce me, since I’m not your boyfriend.”
Natalia smirked. “Well, if you’re not my boyfriend, then I’ll introduce you as my friend. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“But isn’t meeting your family a big deal? If you’re bringing a guy home to meet your parents, that usually means things are more serious than being friends. At least that’s how I understand our society. In fact, it’s one of the ultimate acts of approval people seek before deciding to take the next step with someone.”
Natalia desperately wanted to ask Adrian if he wanted to be her boyfriend, seeing how much he brought up the topic. But she couldn’t. That decision was ultimately up to him, considering he was most recently out of a prior relationship. Despite that, she had no idea how she’d respond to the question of making their dating relationship exclusive.
“Call it whatever you want,” she said. “I’m just asking my charming, handsome friend if he’d like to come have dinner with my family. No pressure, and you can totally say no. I won’t be offended.”
Adrian smiled. “I’ll be there. Tell me when.”