"I think I should go." I say quietly.
"H-Huh? Bir, no, there's so need-" Tino looks panicked.
"I ruined the date.."
He grabs my hand as I try to stand up. "Bir! It's not ruined, please-"
I sit again. "I'm sorry." I want to cry.
"It's okay! Please, listen. I didn't mean to make you upset. I know you don't know me very well, but you can talk to me. Please talk to me." He offers me a tiny smile.
I close my eyes. "I over-reacted. But listen," I open them again, and stare right into his. "I don't like bein' patronized. I can't stand it. I won't eat 'f I'm not hungry, ya can't convince me otherwise. Sometimes I'll feel fine, then 't hits me like a brick."
He watches me with his big, lavender eyes, holding my hands tightly.
"I know Nora thinks.. She thinks 's because of my weight." I look abashed. "I mean maybe. Maybe that's part 'f it. But it's not all. I don't know what it is." I finally say, then pull my hands away from his.
"Just please.. Please don't comment on it. I can't help 't. I'm trying to get better, I really am."
He nods slowly. "I won't. I didn't know, I'm sorry." He presses a quick kiss to my forehead.
My face flushes. "Thanks."
We sit in silence for a minute, until I remember. "Oh, how about th't song?"
Tino's eyes light up. "Yeah, of course! Come on!" He pulls me to my feet, leading me to his bedroom. "Let me get my guitar!"
He digs a huge case from his closet, then pulls out his black acoustic guitar.
"Okay, now listen, I'm not very good at guitar, let alone writing, but I hope this turned out well."
He starts strumming quickly, pulling me into the pop-ish beat, before he starts to sing.
"Those lips, hypnotizing. Those lips, mesmerizing. Those lips, gold.. my heart, sold.."
I listen to him, leaning back on the bed.
He finishes the song with a big smile, his cheeks pink. "So.. Uh, what did you think?"
I grin, sitting up. "That was fantastic!" I laugh. "You should be t' songwriter, I think."
He giggles. "I'm not that good!"
"Yer great." I smirk.
His face flushes, and he looks away. "T-Thanks.." He smiles, then jumps up to put his guitar away. "I don't know if I'll ever even get to play that, though.."
"Huh? Why?" I ask, leaning on my arm as I watch him.
"It'll be a long time before Matthias' arm gets better. And we swore we wouldn't replace him." He says softly. "And.. And even if he was fine, it'd still be a while, because I usually don't write.. A-and, I don't think the band would like it anyways.. I-it's too pop, we're not a pop band-" He rambles, and I pat him on the back.
"No. It's good. I'm sure they'll like it. You can always change t' song a little, ya know, make it a little deeper, or whatever." I shrug. "But I really like it. How it is."
Tino smiles widely, his face pink. "A-Are you serious? T-That means a lot!" He puts his guitar in the closet again, then faces me. "I'll.. I'll play it for them, the next time we get together. And.. And maybe they will like it!" He laughs happily.
I laugh with him, smiling. "I bet they will. Don't worry." I suddenly think of an idea.
"What 'f ya play it on electric guitar? Instead of acoustic?" I suggest.
He gasps in delight. "That's a great idea!" Then he pouts. "Mine is in the studio, though, so not today.." He shrugs.
"That's fine." I laugh. "But I still wanna hear it when ya do." I say, leaning on his shoulder once he sits back on the bed.
"Of course!" He grins. "I'll bring you with me!"
I giggle. "That's very nice of ya. I'll me waiting." I wink.
He snickers. "Great." He's quiet for a second. "So.. What do you wanna do now?"
I shrug. "It's yer house."
He hums. "Oh, hey! Do you wanna spend the night?"
I stare in shock. "Isn't it a bit early fer that?" I blush.
"N-Not like that! Not for that!" He shakes his head quickly, closing his eyes. "I didn't mean like that!"
I tilt my head. "Huh?"
"I just meant.. I-it's late, you can stay if you want-" He says quickly. "A-Although Nora probably wants you back home, huh..?"
I squint. Nora probably is pitching a fit. I glance down at my phone. It's 8:32, but she hasn't texted me.
"Sure."
"Huh?" He looks surprised.
"I said sure." I repeat, sticking my phone back in my pocket. "Like ya said, 's late. Don't want ya to have t' drive me back right now, not this late."
Tino grins. "Ah, okay then!"
"You have a guest room I can sleep in, right?" I ask, yawning to emphasize how tired I am.
"Huh? Oh, actually, I was thinking you could sleep in here with me.." He tugs on the blankets.
"Uhh.." I squint at him, shuffling.
"W-What?"
"Tino, I'm not.. not that.. It's the second date.."
His face goes bright red. "No! I didn't mean that! Oh gosh, I'm doing it again-" He shakes his head. "I just meant.. It's cold r-right? Wouldn't you rather.. S-sleep in here, then all alone..? I mean, you usually sleep with Nora, yeah?"
I nod slowly. "Yeah."
"So.." He looks at his hands. "I just mean, I'd rather if you slept in here with me. If that's okay. I won't do anything funny, I swear! It's a king-sized bed, you could fit like, 5 people in here! Lots of room.."
I bit my lip. "Okay." I look into his eyes for a minute. "If you try anything, I will break your hands." I say sternly. "That can wait until the third date, at least."
He goes even darker. "Bir! N-No, I!" He flumps back into the pillows. "I'm going to sleep." He tugs the blankets over his head, hiding.
"Okay." I sigh, then take off my glasses, putting them on the end table. "I can shut off t' light, right?"
"Sure.." He says, muffled by the blankets.
I do so, and snuggle under the covers. He's really warm, I can feel him from all the way over here. There's room to fit three people between us, just like he says. I'm all the way at the edge of the bed, though.
I stay perfectly still for a moment, before shuffling closer to him. Room for one person, now.
He notices, of course. "Birgit?"
"Cold." I reach out, my hand finding his arm.
"O-Oh! You can come closer, if you w-want."
"You."
"Huh?"
"You move closer. Yer too close to the edge. Might fall off."
"Ah, okay!" He moves closer, until he's pressed against me.
After a moment, he speaks. "We're um.. We're spooning."
"Yeah." I say.
"I'm the little spoon." He says weakly.
"Yeah."
"That's weird, because g-guys are usually the big spoon."
"Sayin' ya wanna switch?" I tighten my grip on his waist.
"N-No! I like this. It's just, gosh, I feel like I'm too warm." He laughs nervously. "I'm probably suffocating you with my heat.."
"Tino."
"Huh?"
"Quiet." I give him a squeeze around the stomach for good measure.
"AH! Yeah, I'm sorry!"
I grunt, then press my face into his hair. It's so cold, and he's warm. Very warm. I can tell he's nervous. Not only from the heat, but his heart is beating like a rabbit's.
I sigh softly, feeling the tiredness hit me.
The last thing I remember is him whispering, "Goodnight.."