Arjaan cleared his throat. "Anyways. How have you been?" "Alright, I guess. I... I actually haven't been able to see the future as clearly recently. It's like my powers are dimming. I mean, with a dog to take care of, I haven't had any time for long meditation and so every time I try to take a quick glance... well, it isn't working anymore." "If you need, I can come over sometime and play with Lola so you can meditate." "That would be great. I feel crippled, not being able to see the future. Like I'm running blind on a highway of dangerous possibilities." "Scary." Thora took Lola off her leash and threw a Frisbee for her. The puppy ran and got the Frisbee and brought it back to her. "I'll have to [i]actually[/i] ask my parents about you, though." "What? I thought you did already!" "I will tonight. I just.. I didn't know what to say." "Hmm. How about for now, say we're just friends, let them decide they like me, and then we'll open up more possibilities." "Good idea." "What else did you expect from me? A bad idea?" "I mean..." "What! When was the last time I had a bad idea??" "Well, it was your idea to jump in the river last Monday. I told you it was 20 degrees out and freezing cold!" "Yeah, but- alright, alright, that was a bad idea. You're right. But other than that." "I'm sure there've been plenty of times." Arjaan sighed dramatically, putting his arm around her. "Listen, honey, we're never gonna get anywhere if you don't have any faith in me." She elbowed him. "I didn't say you [i]never[/i] have good ideas, I just said you don't [i]always[/i] have good ideas." They sat there for a moment before she added, "Can you come over tomorrow? I really need to get some meditation done." "Tomorrow is Saturday, right? Yeah, I can come over. What time?" "Any time. Uh, any time after ten. Please don't come before that." "Not a morning person?" "Nope." Arjaan threw Lola's Frisbee. "Unless, of course, you need to not be distracted. I'm pretty distracting." He flexed his arm muscle as he tugged the Frisbee out of the puppy's mouth to throw it again. Thora punched him. "I'll just ignore you." "But you're not good at ignoring me." "Yes, I am!" "No. You're not." "Fine, then. If you won't shut up, I'll freeze your mouth shut." "Oh, you will, will you?" "Yeah, I will!" "I'm so hot, it'll melt right away." He grabbed her and tickled her until she giggled hysterically, Lola jumping around in her lap. Before she even realized what was happening, he had suddenly wrapped his arms all the way around her and kissed her. Thora felt warm and dizzy and happy and when he let her go, she found herself smiling. She did like him and he did like her and now she was sure of it. "Sorry...." He looked away. "I didn't mean to do that. Since we agreed to wait until your parents decided to like me. You have to tell them now, though, don't you?" "Yeah. But it's alright." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "It was always going to happen eventually." He kept one arm wrapped around her, holding her close to his side. "Honestly, I don't know how it happened myself. It was kinda just... an instinct. You're so... I don't know, I just wanted to, and before I could even think about it, I just did it." "Can you come over for dinner tomorrow? I can't afford to do anything behind my parent's backs right now. They barely trust me at all. We have to have their approval if we want to date or whatever we're going to do now." "I agree. It's better if you tell them. I can come over any time that works for you, I guess." "Alright. I'll talk to them and let you know what they say." Thora glanced at her watch and sighed. "I should probably go home now." "Oh, okay." He hugged her. "Bye." "Bye."