8:30 Dinner:
Barney and Robin are sitting at a small table in a very fancy restaurant. They are casually talking when Barney suddenly changes the subject.
"I don't love tacos." He says, suddenly, interrupting Robin's sentence.
Robin looks flustered for a moment and then replies. "I know."
"What? I mean, how? I told you I loved them!" Barney says, confused.
"Weird meats, funny music, side of rice… you don't like Mexican." Robin replies, calmly. "Why did you feel the need to tell me that you didn't really love them anyway?"
Barney looks at Robin, thinking about what to say next. "I'm not sure." He answers quickly. Although, honestly, he knew exactly where he had been planning to go with his taco comment. This was supposed to lead into him actually telling her the truth. He was going to say "I love you" calmly, not like the first time he had said it. He wanted to tell her but now he had his doubts. This was a lot harder than he had planned.
Robin stared at Barney, who was obviously thinking hard about something. "Barney?" She asked.
"Yea, sorry… I guess I told you because I was, uh, tired of pretending. I know that I can't fight the truth anymore. I can't fight the way I feel. It's clear to me that I've always felt this way. I need to tell you. I can't ignore the fact that I lov… I mean don't love tacos." Barney said, seriously.
Robin studied his expression. "Are we still talking about tacos here?" She asked.
Barney was caught off guard. "Yes?" He said. It came out as a question more than a statement. This girl was good, he thought. He really needed to watch what he said and how he said them!"
Robin smiled. "I think I know what we're really talking about. And… I don't love tacos either." She said.
"What are you talking about? Of course you do. You've ordered them tons of times." Barney said, before realizing that they weren't really talking about tacos at all. Then he understood. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" He asked, in a confused tone.
"Yea, I am. And I'm pretty sure I mean it. I mean I really don't love tacos." She said.
Barney grinned. "You're right. I hate tacos so much. Tacos are not amazing, and beautiful, and awes…"
Robin suddenly interrupted him, laughing. This was getting to the point where it didn't even make sense. "A beautiful taco… smooth. Now you want to get dessert? The chocolate cake is calling my name." Robin said.
"Definitely." Barney said, still grinning from their taco conversation.
Robin enjoyed sitting with Barney, eating the rest of her food more than any previous part of the date, and the cake was a little dry. So they couldn't exactly say the "L word" yet? They were getting there. And until they could say it using, random, obscure references to disliking tacos. It would work. And she had to admit, Barney really was good at planning dates. The day had been amazing. "So…" She said after finishing the cake. "Are we going back to the apartment now?"
"Robin! Still underestimating me! This date is NOT over. It is close. I'd say we're at the "legend" but we still have the "dary". He said.
Robin looked confused. "Barney. It's 9 o clock at night. Where else can we possibly go?"
"Well I can think of a very interested group of close friends that would love to hear about our day. I can also think of a place that we can find them all." Barney replied, smiling.
"MacLaren's of course!" Robin answered.
"Yes!" Barney exclaimed. "Now let's go, Ranjit should be waiting for us outside."
