Various emotions burst in her heart as she never experienced this kind of feeling before. Her heart wouldn't stop racing as she thought about their linked fingers. When someone walks in her way, he would protectively pull her behind him.
He was attentively looking out for her wherever they headed too. Soon, they arrived at the bubble tea spot and shared a menu. After contemplating between getting passionfruit fruit tea with popping mixed boba or oolong milk tea with bubbles, she chose the fruit tea. Seeing her stares arrowing at the oolong milk tea as she pointed at the passionfruit drink, he decided to get the milk tea.
Since he's not picky, he didn't mind getting any flavors in general. Since she wanted to try both flavors, he ordered the oolong milk tea to share with her. When they ordered, her eyes instantly lit up hearing him choose the oolong option.
"You like oolong milk tea too?"
"I'm fine with any flavors, but I saw you looking at it earlier. You could try both the milk tea and fruit tea. Next time you come; you would know which one is your favorite."
"Hehe. What do you want to eat for lunch? We have Thai, Vietnamese, Sichuan and Japanese restaurants options." She smiled as a taste of sweetness blossomed into her taste buds. She hasn't even tasted the drinks yet, and she felt her sugar level rising.
"You choose. I'm fine with anything. Our drinks are ready. Wait here." He didn't want the crowd in front of them to sandwich her. Frowning at the thought of her squeezing through with him, he quickly slipped through the crowd and grabbed the drinks. A group of teenagers blocked the straws container, so he could only take the straws that came with the drinks on the counter.
"Here, your fruit tea. There are too many people in front, and I couldn't get extra straws. Are you okay with sharing drinks?" He wanted to make sure she was alright with it before leaving the store. Seeing the long line and loud group of teens in front, she nodded.
"I'm fine with that. I always share my drinks with Lily." While exiting the store, a few guys were trying to fit through the small space in the crowd. They were focused on their conversation and didn't see Ginny waiting by the side for them to pass.
Alan could tell from her complexion that she didn't feel good in tight space. She also mentioned how she didn't communicate with males outside of school. Worried, he held onto her shoulders with one arm while the other arm slowly paved the way for them to get through. After much efforts, they finally got out of the store.
"Sorry, there was too many people inside. I didn't want you to get hurt." he released his hand from her shoulder and stabbed the straw into the drink. Helping her poke the straw through her drink, he collected the straw wrappers and threw it in the garbage bin.
He wouldn't mind sharing the straw with her, but wasn't sure if she was really fine with it. Waiting for her to finish the first sip from her drink, he held the milk tea in his hands. When she swallowed, she smiled excitedly and brought the straw to his mouth.
"Try this fruit tea! It's really good!" She smiled, not realizing her actions were sweeter than the sugar from the drink.
He parted his lips and consumed a mouthful of the fruit tea along with some mixed popping boba. As flavor exploded from the boba, his eyes caught the anticipated look on her face. He never thought that a drink like this could make her so happy.
"How is it?" She asked, hoping he would like the taste of it.
"It tastes good." He smiled and brought the straw for the milk tea closer to her lips. Taking the straw into her mouth, her throat freshened up by the smoothness of the milk tea. She furrowed her brows slightly as she failed to get the bubbles from the bottom of her drink.
"Haha, take your time. Don't rush." The white straw showed no signs of bubbles flowing into her mouth. Realizing what she was trying to do, he held the drink a little lower for her to get the bubbles easier. After two sips, she managed to get a few bubbles.
Seeing her chew satisfyingly, he took a sip from the milk tea and thought it tasted really good. "The bubbles are chewy and milk tea tastes just right. What do you think?" She tilted her head and asked for his opinion.
"I like it." For some reason, when he responded to her question, his words sounded pleasing to her ears. It felt as if he was smiling and confessing to someone. Her ears heated up as her mind thought about them holding hands.
"Where do you want to eat at?" Seeing her quiet down, he quickly jumped to a different topic.
"Hmm, can you handle spicy food?" She asked as she opened the Yelp app on her cellphone and viewed the reviews for Thai Villa restaurant near them.
He nodded, "I could handle spiciness." Peeking over her shoulders, he saw her going through different sections of the menus. She marked a star for this restaurant because she had wanted to try it a while back. It's been a while since she had time to eat out.
Hearing his response, she smiled, "Then let's go. It should be this way." She pointed down the corner of the block and walked forward. The group of teens from the bubble tea store coincidentally walked out and almost separated the two of them. This time, he pulled her back to avoid anyone from bumping into her.
He remembered her tensed shoulders when he had his arm around her earlier. This time, he got smarter and held her hands. Feeling his slightly larger hands holding hers again, she started blushing. She took a sip from her drink to cool herself down. 'Calm down. Calm down. Calm down.' She repeated continuously to herself.
Just like that, they held hands until the reached the restaurant.