The third course was a bowl of something. There was bread slices on the side so he took that to mean that he was supposed to dip or scoop the bowl contents with the bread rounds. It was a delicious thick stew. It had chicken, turkey and pheasant. Large chunks of carrots, celery and some other veggies he couldn't quite place. He dipped his bread and found it a little more difficult to eat this course though it tasted really good.
Adrien had wanted to ask Ladybug if she took classes with Marinette. He remembered that they had both said they knew each other way back in high school. Marinette was a great designer and he was waiting for the day she applied to his dad's business. He would hopefully get to see her more then. Even if it was only in passing in the hallways or on a photo shoot.
He stopped himself though. He realized that would be too personal and if Ladybug said yes then he would have a way to find her and that would also be disrespectful of her wishes to remain anonymous. While he loved the woman across from him, he wanted to treat her the best he could. He would never forgive himself if he did something to drive her away.
So, he stayed on fun topics. He tried to flirt to make her laugh, but without her being able to see his coy glances and hand gestures, he felt like it didn't ring as true. But that wasn't going to stop him from enjoying himself while making her happy tonight. He let his Chat side out. This meant that while he talked his hands kept trying to find her hands in the dark. He tried to make it seem like he just didn't notice or realize that he had brushed her fingers or the back of her hands with his own.
"I mean it was hilarious to see some Sigma Theta Pie members putting on a play to encourage new members, but I don't want to join. Also was that the best idea to do at a literacy festival?" Adrien had eventually finished his bowl and while he couldn't wait for the desert/cheese course, he didn't want his time to end with Ladybug.
"Can you excuse me for a moment? I need to use the facilities." Ladybug stated.
"No problem, my lady." Adrien was about to stand up and help Ladybug out of her chair when he realized that he couldn't see a thing. He had been enjoying his talk so much that he forgot he was blindfolded. He heard a server come over and Ladybug whisper that she had to use the powder room. A soft scraping of the chair on the floor and receding footfalls let him know she was gone from the table.
He ate the last of the bread while thinking on what they had been chatting about. He remembered about the possibility of Ladybug and Marinette still knowing each other. While Marinette was better at talking with him, he couldn't ask if she still talked to Ladybug. Not as Adrien and not as Chat. Come to think of it he hadn't been by her balcony as Chat since about a week after high school was over. Too busy. Maybe he could find a night to visit her after patrol in the next few weeks. Recently he only ever saw her as Adrien when they were with Alya and Nino. He still didn't understand why she was still sometimes so nervous around him. Even though she could now talk without stuttering it was like she was on edge around him.
He had done his best to get Marinette to warm up to him by leaning close, touching her arm or hand and making sure they had eye contact while they were all hanging out with Alya and Nino. He wanted her to be more comfortable around him. He wanted to hang out with her more. What was he doing wrong?
She still seemed so on edge with him. So unlike how Ladybug was with him. Wait, why was he thinking of Marinette right now? He was with Ladybug, he should be thinking of more things to talk about with her over the final course. Yet here he was thinking that he wouldn't mind being with Mari if he hadn't fallen in love with Ladybug first.