A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop. 

When Anita was ready, (f/n) watched her walk out of her room and do a brief twirl. Anita had on a gold fitted dress that stopped above her knees and had off-the-shoulder straps with a sweetheart neckline. On her feet were her gold high heels. Her hair hung loosely and was brushed nicely. A smile spread on her lips. "Well, what do you think?" Anita asked as her right hand now held onto her black purse. Black eye shadow and dark crimson lipstick complemented her look more.

"You look great, Anita, as always. But," (f/n) tried to keep from whining, but her tone was close to it, "can't we ditch the guys and go to a restaurant on our own? It'll be nicer."

Anita rolled her eyes and grabbed her friend's hand that wasn't holding her black clutch. "No. This will be nicer. Promise." Already, she was leading (f/n) down the stairs. Frankly, (f/n) doubted that promise quite a bit. Since when was hanging out with Kaleb the nicer option? Yeah, never. A drawn-out sigh left her.

"Can I at least know the name of the restaurant now? I'm not going to be able to cancel reservations anyway." Anita shook her head and now unlocked the front door. She peered over her right shoulder and gave her friend a look of knowing. "Okay, fine. I could, but I won't." One of Anita's brows raised. "... Fine, I won't ask. Lead the way," (f/n) practically groaned out.

A satisfied smile touched Anita's lips, and she headed out of the building with her. (F/n) peered over her right shoulder and towards the dining room connected to the kitchen. Lee was in there. At least, he wouldn't bother her in public ... hopefully. It'd be very unlikely that he would, but he might get impatient with her all of a sudden.

Soon, though, the view of the dining room vanished from her sight, and they were both on the sidewalk. When she glanced back to the café another time, she swore that she saw him looking out of one of the windows in the other dining room, but when she checked again, he wasn't there. "Stop looking back there like you'll never return," Anita teased, rolling her eyes.

That caused (f/n) to focus back on her friend, and a frown touched her lips. "That may be the case. You're dragging me to my doom after all." Another drawn-out sigh parted from her, and her shoulders sagged.

"Oh come on. Stop being dramatic." Anita continued to guide her to the location, and (f/n) felt the urge to drop down and just stay sitting on the sidewalk increasing all the more. When they got to the location, (f/n) peered up and read the name: Eric's Pub and Grill. She had heard of it from other patrons at The Iron Clipper. The food was decent, and the drinks okay, but most people preferred The Iron Clipper over it.

"So, why choose here? It doesn't seem to be better than our usual spot," (f/n) commented, hoping that maybe that would convince Anita to turn around. Unfortunately, it didn't.

"A change of place. Plus, the seating is a bit nicer," Anita explained, and (f/n) rose a brow.

"Did Kaleb or Tristan recommend this place too?" (f/n) questioned, her tone not amused.

"... Possibly. But, give it a chance." Anita tugged on her hand a little, and (f/n) nearly glared in annoyance before she sighed deeply and indicated silently for her friend to drag her into the establishment.

Inside, it definitely was fancier than The Iron Clipper, but she liked the comfort and easy-feeling atmosphere of the bar better. It felt more like home than this place. Maybe, it also was because she was associating the restaurant with the double date that was only coming closer. Anita walked up to the podium where a waiter was standing. "Reservations for four at six. It's under Anita Vincent."

Looking over the list, the waiter nodded. "Right this way." The waiter led them to a table and booth mix towards the back of the restaurant. Green velvet covered the booth portion of the seating area, and black suede covered the two chairs on the other side of the wooden table. Pendant lights illuminated the establishment, and antique mirrors decorated the walls. Little gold candle holders were on each table to provide a more intimate feeling. How lovely. Across from the seating was the bar.

Taking a seat on one of the chairs, Anita set her purse on the other chair. How nice. (F/n) sent a small glare her friend's way, which went unnoticed by the waiter, before she took a seat on the booth. The waiter placed a menu down in front of them both. "Would either of you like a glass of water while you wait for the rest of your party to arrive?"

"No, I'm good," Anita answered. "But, I'll take a whiskey with ginger ale. Thanks." The waiter jotted her order down and looked over to (f/n).

"Water is fine for now. Thank you." He nodded before he smiled to them both and walked off.

"Only a water?" Anita asked, obviously amused. "I'm surprised. I thought that'd you like to start off with a wine or daiquiri right away." She rested her chin on the palm of her right hand. "So, do you actually want to pay attention to Tristan, then, and you've just been acting about hating this the whole time?"

"It's not that. I'm saving it for when he starts talking," she grumbled, glancing over the menu for a brief moment. So far, nothing sounded appetizing, but she wasn't exactly in a good mood either so that probably was contributing.

"Oh? Are you now?" Anita teased and chuckled. "Well if that's the case, maybe, you'll accidentally agree to a second date."

"Uh huh, sure." (F/n) crossed her arms. "And, you won't even help me out of that, will you?"

"Nope. It means that I get another double date out of you." A happy grin touched Anita's lips, and (f/n) simply wanted to hit her forehead against the table in annoyance. "But," her grin faded, and she glanced around the restaurant, "I'm surprised that neither of them is here yet." (F/n) wasn't. If anything, it just validated that Kaleb probably was still an a**hole and was pretending to be nice to get Anita attached to him again. "Ooh, maybe, Tristan is nervous to meet you. Wouldn't that be cute?"

Almost, (f/n) thought that she saw heart shapes in Anita's optics. "Not really. It'd be surprising after all of the flings he's had."

"But, this will be the first time he's seriously dating someone or trying to," Anita pointed out. A grin returned to her lips. "And, you're the lucky girl."

"Right, lucky me." Sarcasm practically dripped from (f/n)'s voice. "Can't he get back together with one of his flings? They actually like him."

"You haven't even met him yet," Anita argued, a pout now on her lips.

"And, I only am because you dragged me into this situation," (f/n) mentioned back, crossing her arms over her chest and raising a brow. Anita winked in response, the comment clearly not affecting her. (F/n) released another sigh before she stood up. "I'm going to use the restroom. I'll be back in a bit."

"You're not going to try and escape, are you?" Anita asked, giving her friend a suspicious glance.

"Here." (F/n) handed Anita her black clutch. "Now, I have to come back to get back into the café even." Her key was in her clutch. Anita seemed satisfied and relaxed back onto her seat. Frankly, (f/n) just was happy to get away from the conversation for the moment.

Since they already were towards the back of the restaurant, it didn't take her long to reach the two one-person bathrooms. Beyond them was the backdoor leading out of the restaurant and into the alley behind the building. (F/n) didn't pay it much mind even though the door was opened a little bit. She figured that a staff member was outside or was going to head outside soon. At least, that was the case until she heard two people talking. One of the voices happened to sound very familiar.

Admittedly curious, she glanced around. No one could see her due to the angle of the bathroom hallway with the rest of the restaurant and the dim lighting of the single recessed light above. There wasn't anyone coming back towards the bathrooms either. Quietly, she moved closer to the backdoor and peered out the small opening. She couldn't see anyone, so they must've been standing to her right more.

"Thanks for agreeing to this again. It really removes the possibility of that happening. My parents are happy about it too." That sounded like Kaleb. No, she was certain that it was him. After being forced to dine with him, she wouldn't misplace his voice.

"Well, your parents did help mine out, and mine wouldn't mind me 'settling' down as they call it." A chuckle left the other person. "It'd certainly get them off my back a bit." His tone sounded smug. "And even if you don't like her, she has good business sense and is attractive. Where'd you even get that photo of her from?" Slowly, a pit began to form in her stomach, but she remained as quiet as she could.