Contrary to popular belief, Dexter Charming was a textbook outdoorsman. He loved being outside and breathing unfiltered air. Leaves crunched under his feet as he made his way to Lily Bo's barn. She had been struggling in math for a while and he had agreed to tutor her.
Lily Bo was was standing outside the gate, a tiny sheep at her feet. "Hi Dexter. Thanks for meeting me."
"Of course! I'm always happy to help a friend" he said cheerfully. "Who's your adorable little friend?"
"Her name is Daisy. She's a few weeks old." Lily Bo led Dexter to the barn. "I have a few chairs and table inside. We can slap some hay on the chairs for comfort."
The doors and windows were wide open, illuminating every corner of the barn.
"The lighting is amazing in here" Dexter said, setting down his backpack.
Lily Bo already had her homework and binder out.
"I'm so glad that we were able to set this up" she said. "I got a 49 on my last test."
Dexter winced. "Wow. You need tutoring really badly."
His eyes widened. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."
Lily Bo laughed. "It's good. You're adorable when you're nervous."
Dexter blushed and started flipping through his binder. "Alrighty, let's get to it. Let's go over your last test."
Lily Bo held up her test, making sure he couldn't see it. "Questions and five."
Dexter raised an eyebrow. "Are those the only questions you got wrong? If so, your grade should be a lot higher than a 49."
"This is just on the first page" Lily Bo said, a little too quickly.
Dexter pulled out his test. "Ok, question number four..."
He copied it down onto a sheet of paper and pushed it towards her. "Show me what you can do."
Lily Bo scribbled some numbers out on paper. "You know, pushing this paper back and forth is tiresome. How about we get a little closer."
She scooted her chair to Dexter's side of the table. Dexter reviewed her paper. "You already finished the problem. And it's right."
He grabbed her test. "Wait... you got a 94? You did better than I did!"
He looked at her. "Why did you lie to me?"
Lily Bo bit her lip. "I wanted to spend time with you and this seemed like the best way to do it."
"You acted dumb to hang out with me?" Dexter asked. "That's... wow."
Lily Bo grabbed his hand. "I really like you. I don't know how to tell guys I like them. I figured I would spend time with you and then you would ask me out."
Dexter cleared his throat. "That's a very interesting thought process. You know, there are better ways to communicate your interest. You could've asked me to dinner."
"Will you go to dinner with me?" she asked. "As a date and an apology."
Dexter smiled. "I would like that. The Rickety Broom at seven?"
Lily Bo squeezed his hand. "It's a date."
