"So…" Lola began, her voice coming out much more unsure than it sounded in her head. "Tristan is back in town. Your ex."
Miles nodded with regret dripping from his expression, slowly, like molasses. "But that doesn't mean anything for us." He reached his hand across the table to lay it on top of Lola's, but Lola pulled away instinctively.
This was the first time Lola finally felt like she wasn't a second choice. Not just with Miles, but with anyone. She'd always felt like someone else was on a higher pedestal, demanding more love or attention. There was always someone more important. Someone with more chemistry, or more history… There was always someone else. And finally she felt like that wasn't true. She finally had Miles to herself. And then… Tristan Milligan. The guy Miles had a whirlwind relationship with for like, forever, was back in the picture, ready to sink his perfectly clipped and buffed claws into Miles Hollingsworth.
"I'm not doing this." She said, retreating into the wooden seat she was sitting in. "This isn't what I want."
"What?" Miles replied, cocking his head to the side. "But… the other night. You were crying your eyes out about how much you wanted me. How did that change so fast?"
"It's not that I don't want you." She said. "Of course I want you. You're you." Lola's eyes darted to the still-full plate that sat in front of Miles. The food had no-doubt gotten cold by now. Which was kind of how she felt right now. Dumbest metaphor ever. Or was that a simile? Those two always got mixed in Lola's head. She was never that good at English.
Miles reached for Lola's hand again, and this time she allowed his fingers to rest on the backs of her hands. She refused to reciprocate, but… she couldn't exactly stop his warm, soft fingers from resting on her skin.
"I want you, Miles. I have for like, forever now. But I'm not gonna fight over you. Especially not with Tristan. Do you forget how that ended last time?" She asked, before pulling her hand from Miles's grip once again and placing her fingers right under her eye's waterline. "I had to invest in waterproof mascara, which is like, totally less good for your eyes. But raccoon eyes were becoming a regular look for me and…" She stopped herself, and looked at Miles, who was clearly lost. "I'm trying to say I cried a lot. You gotta learn how to speak Lola language, boo."
"I'm sorry I made you cry before." Miles said, grabbing her hand for a third time. Damn, he really wanted to hold Lola's hand. "But this time it's different. I'm telling you… I'm over Tristan. My feelings for him are long gone. Thrown away. I could not be more over Tristan Milligan if I tried. I'm all in on you. You're the person who is gonna make me happy, Lola Pacini. And I want you to trust me on that."
Lola furrowed her brows. She wanted to believe him too. But she just didn't know how.
"How do I prove it to you, Lola?" Miles asked, his tone had the slightest tinge of desperation. Nobody had pleaded for Lola like this before. Not even Tiny. And she had to admit, it felt damn good.
"I dunno…" Lola said, letting a slight smile creep across her face. "But I guess this is a good start." She said, standing up and leaning across the table, placing a kiss on Miles's lips. Their first public kiss. The first time they showed affection for one another where they weren't hidden away in a bedroom or behind a stairwell. And she had to admit, it definitely made her feel more confident that Miles was serious. The way he was leaning into the kiss told no lies. This meant something.
Lola pulled away from Miles's lips and noticed that a few people in the restaurant were watching. "Get it Lola!" One of the waitresses called out, causing Lola to giggle. If they stayed at the Cantina, they were bound to get a few workers coming up demanding info. After all, a few people had gotten curious when Miles worked at the Cantina for a few weeks. They recognized him, and were probably having a field day over the fact that Miles and Lola were finally sealing the deal with a kiss.
"Lola Pacini, will you allow me to take you on a real, public, official date? No secrets, no sneaking around, no second choices?" Miles said, pulling Lola onto his lap.
She blushed. Both about the words he was saying, which were beyond perfect, and the fact that he was letting her sit on his lap in such a public space. Anyone could see them. Anyone.
"Yes." Lola replied, pressing her hand to her warm cheek and then covering her eyes due to the combination of embarrassment and excitement that were taking over her nerves. "Yes. Yes. Yes." She repeated. "Did I say yes?"
"You did. Miles said, placing a kiss on Lola's collarbone. "But I don't mind the extra confirmation."
The entire restaurant was basically staring at Lola and Miles by now, but their gazes were matched with only one another. This was finally happening. Finally, Lola was getting the chance she'd only dreamed about for the past year and a half, since their first kiss…. And the subsequent virginity loss situation. She couldn't be happier. Lola Pacini was on a cloud. And she wasn't going to come down.
"Come to my place? You can dish all of this to Frankie, which I know you're dying to… And I'll go pick up something pretty for you to wear for our date."
The word date echoed in her head over and over and over. Date. Date. Date. Miles Hollingsworth was taking her on a date.
"Sounds great." Lola said in response, lost in a bit of a daydream over what this date could possibly be. "Let's go." She said, climbing off of Miles's lap and extending her hand for Miles to take it. He did, and when their fingers interlaced, all felt right in the world. They exited the Cantina hand in hand with matching grins.
However, a problem arose when they reached the front door of the Cantina and ran into a familiar face. Tristan Milligan. Because of course this couldn't just be a perfect moment.
The look on Tristan's face was a look of pure heartbreak. He was crushed when his eyes darted down and he noticed Lola and Miles's hands interlocked. "So…" Tristan raised a perfectly-tweezed brow. "This is why you weren't answering my calls and texts. Lola."
Lola looked down at the ground and let go of Miles's hand, but he stopped her and gripped her hand harder.
"Yeah," Miles started, his voice confident and a little defiant. Kind of sexy, honestly. "I'm with Lola now. And we're really happy. I'm sorry, Tris. I've moved on."
Tristan looked defeated once again, but then he just scoffed. "Sure… Good luck with that." Tristan said to Miles, and then turned to Lola and opened his mouth to speak. "Just be careful. As soon as another pretty thing walks his way… You'll be history. That's the way things go with Miles Hollingsworth III."
Miles's face contorted into an angry stare, and he opened his mouth, ready to tell Tristan off, but Lola just grasped his hand as tightly as she could. "Just let it go. I know who you are. It doesn't matter what anyone else says."
Tristan pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and held back a laugh. "Girl… If he'll cheat with you, he'll cheat on you. I thought you'd grown from the cotton candy ditsy chick, but… I guess you're proving me wrong. Kudos."
Lola exhaled deeply as Tristan walked away, trying to convince herself that his words meant nothing. He was just jealous and mad. After all, five minutes ago he was dying to get with Miles again, and now he was demonizing him. He just wanted to rattle the two of them. She tried to convince herself, but she could only get to about fifty percent convincing by the time Miles looked over to observe her.
"Don't listen to him, please." He said, his voice a little bit shaky, clearly wondering if Tristan had ruined everything. "You were so happy a minute ago. We were both happy. Don't let Tristan get to you. He's just mad that I won't take him back. He's just mad." He repeated, seemingly trying to convince himself at the same time. "I care about you, Lola. I'm serious about you."
She nodded, still a little unsure, but she was trying not to let it show. "Okay. Let's go to your place. I can gush to Franks and you can go buy me something sexy for whatever our date is tonight."
Miles looked hopeful again, probably glad that Lola wasn't freaking out about the Tristan thing. But she was. She was just better at hiding it than most people.