Keiba hopped out of the car and grabbed her cello from the backseat before Min could even step out.

“Someone’s eager.” He teased, closing his door.

“The faster we get this done, the faster we can get started on our date.” She reminded him, speed walking into the building.

“Someone’s very eager.” He grinned, following her.

Classical music played softly from the speakers at the back of the room. Jingle seemed to have everything: from instruments to CD’s to amps to instrument cases to sheet music. There was even a blonde, upright piano in the back corner of the room. Min walked toward it and ran his fingers down the keys. He smiled to himself; there was something satisfying about the sound of a good piano.

Keiba would’ve loved to browse with him, but today she was on a mission. She made a beeline for the cashier to ask where the cello strings were. He pointed to the corner where the piano was. “Adra” was printed on his nametag.

“Do you need any help restringing it?” He asked.

She shook her head. “No thanks. But would you mind if I did it here?”

“Not at all. But you have to buy them first. Store policy.”

“Okay.” Keiba picked out a pack and went back to pay for them.

“Follow me,” he said as he handed her the change. “There are a couple of rooms we use for tuning in the back. They’re soundproof.”

Keiba and Min followed him through a door and into one of the rooms. She went to the one chair in the room while Min leaned against the wall.

“Did you want a chair?” Adra asked.

Min shook his head. “I’m good, thanks.”

Adra shrugged and stood by the door with his arms crossed. The middle-aged cashier didn’t have anything else to do what with the store being empty; besides, he wanted to make sure that his customer didn’t change her mind about needing help.

Keiba set her cello in her lap and removed it from its case. She set it on the floor in between her legs and loosened the pegs to remove the damaged strings. Min stuffed his hands in his pockets as he watched her attach the end of each string to the tailpiece before threading it through the hole of its according peg. She worked diligently, but efficiently; he’d never seen her so focused or serious. He usually thought of her as bright and energetic, like the glint of sunlight that had peered in through blinds that morning. But this intensity—this steadiness—was new.

Once the strings were in place, she plucked a pizzicato rhythm. And there was something familiar about it. Like a lullaby he’d heard once. Then she stopped to adjust the pegs.

“She’s really something.” Adra commented quietly.

Min blinked. He’d forgotten the man was there. “Yeah,” he agreed. “She is.”

“She’s got steady hands. But I guess that’s pretty normal considering the instrument she plays.” Adra shrugged. “I can see I’ll be of no use here. I’ll go check on the store. You kids have a nice day.”

“Oh. Thanks. You too.”

Adra smiled at him before walking out of the room. Keiba glanced up at the sound of the door shutting, then back down at her cello.

“Are you almost done?” Min asked.

She nodded. “Almost. The D is being stubborn.” She plucked, adjusted, plucked some more, and adjusted again. When she played the song from earlier, she nodded to herself, satisfied that she’d tuned it to her liking. She laid her cello back into the case.

“What was that song called?”

“The song I was just playing?”

“Yeah.”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never known.”

“Where’d you hear it?”

“My dad used to hum it to me sometimes when I was younger.” She said, putting the strap over her head.

“Your dad?” Min couldn’t imagine the big man humming anything.

She smiled. “I know, right? Though I’m a little surprised you recognized it.”

“Why?”

“Well, I usually sing it to myself when I’m alone or when I think you’re asleep, but I guess your subconscious heard me.”

He smiled. “Like when I heard you say you loved me the first time.”

She smiled too, slipping her hand in his. “Yeah. Like that.”

As they exited Jingle, she breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad we were able to take care of this so quickly.”

Min nodded. “Me, too. I’m glad it was such an easy fix; I’d hate to think that Meaghan was able to ruin your performance.”

She shuddered. “Ugh. Don’t even say her name. She is the last person I want to think about today.”

“I have to agree with you on that one.” He said, opening her door. Before going in, she stood up on her tip toes to kiss him.

“Thank you for taking me here, Min.”

He grinned. “Anytime, baby.”

“So what do you want to do now?” She asked.

“Let’s go see a movie.” He suggested as they got into his car.

“Mmkay.”

“Which one do you want to see?”

“Ohh let’s go to that new scary one.”

“The one with the angel that turns out to be a demon?”

She nodded, jumping excitedly in her seat. “That one!”

He laughed at her exuberance. “I’m surprised you don’t want to see one of those romantic comedies.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Mini, come on, do I seem like that type?”

“Okay, okay. So then other than horror, what kinds of movies are you into?”

“Action movies—especially the ones with martial arts—, comedies, thrillers… most anything that’s not romantic or dramatic.”

“Martial arts, huh?”

“Yep. Bruce Lee, Donnie Yen, Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White, they’re some of my favorites.”

He grinned at her. “Keiba you are perfect.”

She laughed. “Never forget you said that.”

They went to the theater to buy tickets to the next showing of the movies, which would be at 3 o’clock. They had a couple hours to burn, so they decided to walk around the mall to waste time.

“You want anything?” He asked as they passed the food court.

“Uh, sure. Why not a smoothie?”

“Sounds good.”

Keiba got a mango smoothie and Min decided on a blueberry one. They talked more about martial arts and other movies as they walked around. They got a few stares from other people: some were disapproving, but most were curious, as though Min and Keiba were that mall’s entertainment for the day. Keiba had noticed the looks, but Min had been oblivious until he heard one black man say, “What’s that fine piece of doing with him?”

He tried to turn around to confront him, but Keiba tugged on his hand, urging him not to.

“Keiba, didn’t you hear what they’d said?” He asked.

“I did.”

“Then why did you—?”

“I don’t want anything to ruin our plans for today, Min.” She told him. “We both know that no matter what you would’ve said or done to him, it wouldn’t take back what he’d said and it wouldn’t change the way he thinks.”

Min let that sink in. He agreed with her on one level, but it still upset him. A couple hours later they went back to the movie theater. He had been a little withdrawn as they walked around, and his funk didn’t let up even after the previews started showing. Keiba bit her lip, thinking about how she could cheer him up. He was simmering, and she could feel the irritation wafting off of him.

As the movie started, she pecked him quickly on the neck. The gesture was so unexpected that he jumped a little. When he looked at her, she was staring straight ahead at the screen as though nothing had happened.

A few minutes later, when Keiba was sure his guard was down, she kissed his cheek. This time, a small grin lifted his lips, but he didn’t look at her.

Finally, about halfway through the movie, Min saw her moving out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and surprised her by intercepting with his. As they kissed, something gruesome happened on screen and the people around them jumped. The pair didn’t notice. Min’s hand palmed her cheek as her tongue ran slowly over his bottom lip. He opened his mouth and turned his body more toward hers to get into a more comfortable position. But before things could really heat up, they pulled away and settled back in their seats.

When Min felt Keiba’s hand touch his, he took it and brought it to his mouth to kiss.

 

“So what happens now?” She asked as they exited the movie theater.

His arm wrapped around her waist. “Now I take you out.”

“What, you mean right now, right now?”

He shook his head. “Nope. At seven.”

Keiba checked her phone; seven was almost two hours away.

She nodded. “Sounds good.”

“Of course it does.” He kissed her temple and then put his lips at her ear. “And remember what I said: I want you in something dark and y.”

She bit her lip and nodded. His tone made her shiver in secret places.

Min drove them back to campus, and they went into their respective dorms to get ready. She placed her cello in the corner of her room (she didn’t think it was a smart idea to leave it in the storage room again) before she ransacked her closet, looking for the dress she’d had in mind. She found it in the very back still wrapped in plastic from the day one of her aunts had bought it for her.

Actually, it’d only been a year since she’d received it. Her aunt had meant it as a birthday present, but the forgetful lady was a full month early when she’d sent it. Keiba had brought the dress with her because she’d had a feeling Regina would get rid of a lot of her stuff while she was gone. And obviously, her instincts had been right.

She gently laid the dress out over her bed, but then she had to rush to get ready. The drive back had taken up a large chunk of the time she’d needed, plus the time she’d wasted looking for the damned dress in the first place. She freshened up quickly in the shower and then spent most of the rest of her time on her hair, which she straightened, and makeup.

The dress was a dark plum color that, she was pleased to note, hugged her body but not so tightly that it was restrictive. She was applying lipstick the same shade of purple as her dress when Min knocked on the door.

Keiba capped the lipstick and dropped it into her purse. “Coming!” She called.

As she stepped back to take one last look at her reflection, it hit her: tonight would be her last night as a . For a minute, she stood there staring into her own eyes, reading the unease in them. Am I ready? She wondered. I know I suggested we do this, but am I really ready?

Troubled by her doubts, she went to her door to let Min in. When she opened it, his body went still and his mouth fell open. His eyes traced over the curves that were accentuated by her dress. Keiba, a little surprised herself, watched his face closely. She was searching for something in his eyes, and luckily she found it when his gaze finally returned to her face. Calm almost immediately washed over her, but it was a special, womanly calm.

She stepped forward and closed the door behind her without taking her eyes off his face. In her dark, metallic grey heels, she was barely an inch shorter than him. He lifted his hands and then let them fall. He wanted to touch her, but didn’t want to ruin her vision.

“I,” he started, then stopped. “You look,” he paused again, seeming to be at a loss for words.

Keiba smiled up at him and took his hand. “Let’s go.” She said softly.

He followed her out to the car. His mind had turned to mush.

“Oh. You washed Midnight.” She noted as they came up to it.

“I—who? Oh. Right, yeah. At the gas station down the block. Did you know they were having a discount on car washes today? I didn’t.” He stopped, his cheeks heated when he realized he was starting to babble. “But you, ah, didn’t really need to hear all that.”

She giggled. He opened the door for her and went around to his side.

“So where are we going?” She asked as he backed out.

“Ah.” He held up his finger and reached for the CD player. Jazz music filled the car. Keiba raised her eyebrows.

“Hm. Okay, so is this some kind of hint?”

He smirked and to the freeway. She smiled too and leaned back into her seat.

“Fine.” She said. “Don’t answer. I can be quiet too you know.”

She looked out of the window toward the moon as the smooth rhythms flowed through her ears. She’d thought Min was just being a smart , but everything made sense when they reached the restaurant.

Keiba gasped, leaning forward in her seat. “No way. I’ve heard of this place!”

It was a jazzy little joint called “Expressionz”: the word was written in black, Italicized cursive letters and the first “E” was replaced with an alto clef. The building was constructed out of beige, white, and brown bricks which gave it a chic, classy look.

“I thought it was really hard to get a reservation—especially on Thursdays.” She added, mostly to herself.

That was because Expressionz hosted various up-and-coming jazz musicians on Thursdays. And on those nights, they took forty percent off of the bill.

Min grinned as he pulled into a parking spot near the back of the lot. “I know one of the guys who plays here regularly. He worked something out with the owner.”

Keiba looked up at him. “Mini, have you been planning this?”

“Well, yeah. To be honest, I’ve been thinking about taking you here for a little while now. I just wasn’t sure when I should ask you.”

“But wasn’t this last minute?”

He nodded. “Someone cancelled their reservation, so he was able to get us in.”

“Wow that was lucky.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to think about how lucky we are right now.”

Keiba smiled and held his hand. “Neither do I.” 

---

I've cleaned up this chapter some, so it sounds better, I guess. The rest of Keiba and Min's night will be posted within the next few days. ;3