Stupid for Love

Hallie looked at her phone. He was supposed to be here at eleven. Sometimes, he could be a flake. Sure, it was ten right now. But still.

She started to pace around as she frowned. Maybe she should call him? He wouldn’t forget, would he? It was not like him to make her wait on purpose.

“Hey!”

Hallie looked up. Dustin was running over to her. The girl stood up straight. She folded her arms across her chest and frowned.

“You’re late,” she said.

“Am I?” he asked. Hallie fought to keep up her rouse. She ended up giggling. The cowboy looked confused.

“What?” he asked. Hallie patted him on the back. Dustin stood there confused. She looked up, smiling.

“Shall we get going?” she asked. Dustin perked up.

“Sure!” he said. Hallie took him by the arm and dragged him along.

“Whoa! Hey!” her cowboy shouted. His girlfriend threw back her head and laughed.

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They were going on a simple first date. Hallie had to be the one to make the first move. This was going to be the last time she saw him before she went off to basic training. It quite surprised Dustin when he asked.

“You want to go out? With me?” he asked. He stared at her with big eyes. Hallie raised her eyebrow.

“Is that a yes?” she asked. He quickly nodded.

“Yes! Yes, I want to!” Dustin shouted. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Hallie stood with an odd look on his face.

“Easy there,” she said to herself. She hadn’t expected her to act like a hyper little puppy.

“So where are we going today?” he asked.

“That café I always wanted to try,” Hallie said.

“The really nice one?” he asked.

“Uh-huh,” she said. Dustin gave off a low whistle.

“Wow,” he said. “Never took you for the type to like fancy things.” The would-be cadet made a face at him.

“What?” he asked.

“Do you think me for some thug?” she asked.

“No, no!” Dustin yelped. “It’s just…” Hallie stared at him. The cowboy struggled to say something but nothing came out. He dropped his shoulders.

“Forget it,” he said. His girlfriend laughed.

“I’m just messing with you,” she said. It took a moment but then Dustin nervously laughed.

“Oh, yes. Yes, yes,” he said. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder if the whole date was going to be like this. She patted him on the back.

“Come on,” Hallie said. “I won’t overdo it.” She kissed him on the cheek. The cowboy’s face turned bright red. His girlfriend took him by the hand.

“Let’s go, cowboy,” she said. Dustin came back to his senses and nodded.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said. Hallie chuckled as they walked further down the street. She was going to make this day worth her while.