Chapter 308 - Mr. Romantic (1/2)
Liam's romantic plan for sitting on the edge of the park's lake turned into a quest to search for the frogs that were noisily chirping somewhere in the shallow edges of the water. He shined his phone flashlight along the grassy shore, trying to track down the noise as Ying Sheng walked at his side.
”What are we even doing?” He couldn't help but chuckle, unsure of how they got from walking around and eating churros to searching for frogs. He was pretty sure it had been Ying Sheng's idea.
”I want to see what beast of a frog is making so much racket,” Ying Sheng smirked as she lowered herself down into a crouch, sweeping her phone light along the edge of the lake. She then paused and quietly motioned for him to get down next to her.
Liam crouched down near her and followed her finger as it pointed ahead of her. He peered at the beam of her flashlight, seeing its light catch onto a pair of beady eyes in the water.
”That frog isn't even the size of my palm,” he chuckled quietly when he realized it was particularly small, yet still making a loud enough chirp to sound through the park.
Ying Sheng huffed, an amused smile breaking out across her face as she turned her head to gaze at him.
”Oh, well. It's cute, though,” she giggled.
Liam nearly held his breath when he realized how close they were crouching to each other. To him, the date had been going perfectly. Things were casual and fun, and they remained in sync with each other. There was no awkwardness, but he did get shy from time to time. He couldn't help it. He was on a date with a girl he mentally drooled over.
”You're cute,” he commented before standing up and switching his phone light off.
”Oh, someone's slick,” Ying Sheng lightly teased at him as she followed suit, darkness surrounding them. She reached out to take his arm, pulling herself close to his side. ”I've really enjoyed tonight.”
”Me too. Think we passed?” Liam asked her, feeling up to a second date already. The momentum was good and strong, and he wanted to keep it going. There was no reason to stop now.
Ying Sheng laughed softly as she rested her cheek against his shoulder and nodded.
”I think we did good,” she replied as they continued to stand on the edge of the lake, the moonlight rippling off of its calm surface.
Liam leaned his head against the top of hers, taking the moment to just enjoy being so close to her. In that moment, everything felt right and complete, which was the feeling that he had been searching for. Being with someone, being with her, was that piece that he felt like he was missing in his life. He had everything else that he could ever want besides someone to call his own.
His family was close-knit and happy, and he wanted the type of connection that his parents had with each other. They had each other's backs no matter what happened, and it was obvious that they were meant for each other. They didn't want anyone else. When it came to Ying Sheng, he felt the same thing.