Things were going swell for Momo. She was getting the hang of work, the new app for the meter, and slowly getting used to chatterbox Sana. She was ultimately glad to stop receiving tickets and finally start saving money. But now that she was earning money, she still felt like there was an absence of something. Or someone.

The meter maid was on her usual rounds and saw a familiar black car. But this time, Momo was sitting in it and the meter was blinking green.

"Oh hey, you're here!" Momo greeted cheerfully.

"Didn't remember how to use the app?"

"No, the app is great! I won't ever have to worry or run out several times a day to pay now."

"Oh, then why are you sitting in your car?"

"I was waiting for you."

The meter maid coughed to hide her blush. "What for?"

"I didn't get a chance to know your name."

"Why? Are you going to report me?"

"No! Well, not anymore. You were really nice to me last time and even patiently walked me through the app. I think this could be grounds for a potential friendship."

Unexpectedly, the very cute meter maid became extremely cute when she displayed her timid smile, Momo thought.

"My name is Myoui Mina."

Still in her daze with half of her mind functioning, Momo replied, "I'm blockhead. I mean, I mean! I'm Hirai Momo!" She quickly corrected.

"Nice to meet you, blockhead Momo."

And now Momo was rewarded with an even better smile that showed Mina's gums, along with an incredibly cute giggle that trumped the first laugh she heard. And Momo was willing to do anything to get this woman to smile and laugh at her again.

"Well, I'm glad you're finally more responsible now."

"Y-yeah. Me too." What was wrong with Momo? Stuttering was not something the Communications Manager did.

"I need to run. I'll see you around." Mina flashed her another gummy smile and continued on her way.

Still in her stupor, Momo could not believe that the pretty meter maid wasn't against being friends with her. Not to mention, the girl was starting to warm up to Momo's charm.

--

"Are you kidding me? It just expired!" A burly man was yelling in the street.

"I'm sorry, sir. But I've already started writing your ticket and it expired before you got back."

"The hell! I ain't paying for this !" The man was visibly upset, balling his fists. He looked like he was about to either deck Mina or push over her little car.

Momo quickly rushed over to the man to quell his anger. But he simply got more upset.

"Who the hell are you? This ain't your business!"

"Please, calm down. There's no need to yell at this young woman. She's just doing her job."

"I was literally at my car when it expired!" The man raised his voice even more, anger threatening to burst out of him.

"How about I pay for your ticket?" She turned to ask Mina, "how much would the ticket be?"

"70 dollars."

Momo reached into her purse and dug out some money from her wallet. "Here's $80. This should be more than enough to cover your ticket and even some additional meter time. Now can you please apologize for your tone towards her? She really is only doing her job."

The man was stubborn, but ended up apologizing in an upset mumble before driving off.

"Thanks. You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to. I didn't want you to get hurt."

"You were worried about me?"

"Yeah. I mean, now I understand why you need to appear more strict and stand your ground. Some people are pushy and mean. And they take advantage of you just because you look like a timid girl. And it's obviously his fault. I bet the meter expired long before..." Momo finally stopped rambling and noticed Mina slowly grinning. "What?"

"Nothing... Thanks again."

"Of course. I hate it when people pick on others."

"Hey um... when is your lunch break?"

"At lunchtime."

Momo internally chastised herself for such a dumb answer. Obviously.

Thankfully, if Mina was judging Momo's goofy answer, she didn't show it.

"Yeah, but everyone has a different lunch hour. If you're free for lunch today, can I treat you? For helping me just now, of course."

"Oh, I'm free! I could go to lunch any time! All I need to do is tell my boss lady," Momo said a little too eagerly.

It wasn't necessarily true. Since she was still new, she didn't have complete say in her own breaks just yet. But she was not about to tell Mina that because it would be dumb (even for her) to give up an opportunity like that.

"Okay. My lunch is at 12:30. Let's go to that Japanese restaurant on the corner of 5th Street?"

"That sounds good. I'll see you there!"

Mina smiled that beautiful, radiant smile that melted her heart as she waved goodbye. Momo was ecstatic at scoring a hangout with Mina, the stern, yet soft meter maid.

Surprisingly, they had a lot to talk about and found many things in common. Like how they both were avid coffee drinkers and couldn't live a day without it, but if Momo could give up coffee for a month in exchange for a date with Mina, she would.

They learned that they both enjoyed action movies the most and Mina's second choice would be horror, which Momo would never step a foot inside such a film. Though, she would be willing to risk a heart attack to go with Mina if she ever got the chance.

Both of them were completely engaged in their conversation and they were enjoying each other's company. Plus, Momo learned the most valuable fact: Mina was single.

Before they returned to their respective jobs, Momo was gathering up her courage as they both left the restaurant.

"That was a really nice talk. Maybe we can do it again some time?" Momo tried to sound as nonchalant about it as possible.

"Yeah, it was nice. I'll let you know when I'm free."

"Can I... can I have your number then? Just so we can line up our schedules, instead of me waiting in the car."

"You mean, you don't want to see me when I'm giving you a ticket?"

"I want to see you! Wait, but I don't want any tickets either!"

Mina chuckled softly, "I'm kidding. Here," She took out her pen from her pocket and held out her hand.

"Huh?" Momo was confused. Was she trying to write her up another ticket?

"My number. You said you wanted it."

Momo took out her phone for Mina.

"No, give me your hand."

"Wha–"

Mina didn't wait for Momo to finish asking her question and grabbed her wrist, holding her hand and scribbling her number on the backside of Momo's palm. The entire time, all Momo could do was stare at Mina's concentrated face and the feeling of her smooth hand cupping her own.

"I just like writing things, that's all."

If Momo's mind wasn't short-circuited, she probably would've snapped back with a "you mean like writing parking tickets?" or something of the sort. But nope, she certainly was not working right.

It was interesting. Momo was usually very confident, but this meter maid kept throwing her off. Not that she minded it one bit. Mina did things that were a bit out of character, nothing she would ever expect, and each time it was a very pleasant surprise.

--

The two had been meeting up more often for lunch breaks on most days and occasionally Momo's break, in which they would just chat for a bit when Mina was on her shift. It was nice and all, but Momo had not found an opportunity to ask her to spend more time with her, without the restriction of work or expired meters.

That was, until Mina ended up surprising her again when she asked Momo to watch a movie that Friday. Momo didn't even have to think twice and instantly accepted.

But oh, how foolish Momo was for the sake of hanging out with Mina. She really didn't think that lying about loving horror movies would get her in trouble. Yet here she was in the theater, sitting side by side with Mina, who had revealed a little too late that she was dying to see the third installment of The Conjuring. Momo thought to herself that this was so not worth her own death.

And why would they need three different movies of this? Shouldn't it be enough to scare someone's pants off with just the first movie? But how could Momo complain, when she did make a silent vow that she would be willing to risk anything for a chance to go out with Mina? So she was going to have to it up either way because they weren't leaving until the movie ends.

"I'm so excited to see this! I've seen the first two and so far, I still like the first one the most."

"Oh... yeah. For sure," Momo tried to sound convincing. Mainly to convince herself.

"I'm so glad you like horror movies too. No one I know likes to watch them." Mina grinned happily and Momo decided it wouldn't be too bad. Plus, she got an extra point with Mina for being exceptional. It was going to be okay.

Nope, Momo was wrong again. The entire time the movie was rolling, she was fighting back her screams from the nightmare on screen. Even closing her eyes won't help, for the sounds were penetratingly loud.

Then, all of this suffering became worth it when Mina gripped her hand a few times during some of the jump scares in the movie. She forgot she was even in the theater, in the middle of a frightening film. All she could think of and feel was Mina's warm hand. It felt just like the first time she touched her hand. She only hoped that her hand wasn't too sweaty from her panic attacks.

By the time the movie ended and they were leaving the theater, Momo was practically a soulless zombie. Her spirit had left her in between all the heart attacks in a single 2-hour span. She walked Mina home, still trying to calm her racing heart from the scary movie. Or maybe from Mina's touch.

"Well, this is me."

Momo couldn't speak yet and instead, simply nodded.

"I really enjoyed the movie. Thanks for coming with me, even though you hated it." Mina brought her hand up to squeeze Momo's arm lightly.

"W-what are you talking about? It was good..."

Mina chuckled, a sweet sound to Momo's ears. "I know you didn't like it because your eyes were closed for half the movie."

"Oh... you found out."

"Yeah, I'm sorry for forcing you to watch it. But I'm really happy you didn't suddenly bail on me." Mina smiled reassuringly. "And thank you for walking me home. It was sweet of you." She slid her hand down to Momo's and swung their hands gently.

"Goodnight, Momo."

Good night indeed, Momo thought. Maybe this meant that Mina was interested in her. Maybe at last, she had a chance with her. And maybe this night was really worth it after all.

--

Their next meetup was scheduled successfully without any scary movies. And Momo could not be any more grateful for that.

Dinner was at a quaint little Thai restaurant that Mina picked. They talked about everything from their day at work, to how Mina suspected her neighbor was secretly having an affair with another woman.

Being with Mina felt comfortable. There were no complaints, no worries, just deep heart-to-heart conversations that bring out all aspects of Momo. Especially the side where she would get extremely flustered, causing her to become mush in front of the younger woman.

But the night ended too soon for Momo. They were both enjoying each other's company immensely and it was a pity they didn't have more time. Momo drove Mina back to her place, then decided to walk Mina to her door only because she felt like that was the least she could do, since Mina insisted on paying. Definitely not because she wanted to delay their farewell or hoped for a hug.

Momo couldn't help but notice their hands nearly grazing and she wanted so bad to hold it and feel her in her hand again. But the walk to the door was too short before she was able to make a move.

"Thanks for bringing me home again."

"Thanks for paying for dinner."

Mina nodded. "You know, you didn't have to walk me to my door."

"But I wanted to."

A light pink color dusted Mina's cheeks as she smiled and bit her lower lip nervously. "Spending time with you is nice."

"Then maybe we should spend more time together soon."

"I'd like that a lot."

Momo couldn't help but mirror Mina's smile. She felt the silence and the tension building up and wasn't sure if she should make a move or–

"So... goodnight, Momo."

"Oh. Night."

Momo was about to turn around and walk away, but Mina coughed a little to catch her attention again. The younger woman shifted on her feet nervously, then lifted her arms slightly to imply she wanted a hug. Boy, was Mina cute when she was being shy.

The next moment went by so quick, Momo wasn't sure what exactly happened. They leaned in towards the same direction, which was awkward considering the fact that they ended up inches away from each other's face. It could have been her or Mina, or maybe the small gust of wind that nudged Momo forward, but before she knew it, the distance between them closed and lips met lips. They were kissing and Momo was enjoying the kiss much more than just the hug she had hoped for and Mina was returning her kiss with her hand on Momo's jaw and, oh god, was that a bit of tongue? And every thought was running at a million miles per hour in Momo's head.

That night, Momo couldn't sleep from her giddy thoughts of finally kissing Mina.

--

Momo was so drained in the morning, not even her large cup of coffee could wake her up. She momentarily reflected on the kiss with Mina and thought that the fatigue was tolerable.

"Good morning, Momo!" Sana chirped.

Nevermind, it was no longer tolerable. Momo immediately winced at the loud woman. "Ugh, Sana, please lower your voice."

"But this is my normal volume."

"Exactly." She rubbed her temples.

"Well, I wanted to remind you of your meeting at 1 today. By the way, why are you so tired? Stayed up all night doing naughty things?" Sana snickered at her own joke.

Tired of her yapping, Momo demanded, "Sana, get out before I throw my stapler at you. And close the door behind you."

Sana wiggled her eyebrows as she left the office.

Momo closed her eyes briefly, relying on the alarm she had set for her car to wake her up. Even in her brief nap, she had dreamt of kissing Mina's soft lips again.

After what she thought was 15 minutes of dozing, she checked the time on her clock to realize she had overslept for over an hour. She quickly tried to open her app to pay, but realized she didn't remember her password. Once more, she bolted out of the building to her parking space.

Much to her dismay, she spotted Mina already drafting up another ticket.

"Forgot to use your app?"

"Forgot my password."

"Sorry, Momo."

"Aww, come on Mina," she whined. "I couldn't sleep a wink last night."

"You know the rules. Once it's down on paper, I can't take it back." She scribbled on the paper. Without looking up, she continued, "Why couldn't you sleep last night?"

"Umm..." Momo was not about to confess that she, as a grown woman, was so overjoyed about their kiss, she ended up flailing around in bed all night, replaying the kiss in her mind like a teenage girl.

Mina ripped the ticket out of her booklet and placed it gently in Momo's hand, squeezing it affectionately. She kissed Momo and caressed her cheek with her other thumb. "Try to get some sleep, okay? I don't want to worry about you."

Momo nodded dumbly, watching Mina drive off. Right when she thought she was no longer going to repeat the mindless mistake of forgetting to reload her meter, she received another ticket. Though, she can't say it wasn't partially enjoyable.

A/N: So you thought Momo was such a confident, smooth operator huh? Well, it goes to show that Mina also has her own way to flirt that leaves Momo a huge bumbling mess in front of her. But Momo finally got what (or who) she wanted!

I feel like most parts were fillers just to add in fluff scenes. Maybe I should stop editing my work so much haha. The next part will need time to be edited as well. I hope part 2 didn't disappoint my readers!

And please, please feel free to give me feedback on things you liked/didn't like as well as what you think will be coming up next. Suggestions are welcome too! Thanks for reading! :) By the way, if you'd like, come talk to me on my Curious Cat!