Is this a date?

Javi was sitting patiently in Washington Square Park. He was dressed nicely, much nicer than he usually dressed. His light blue button-up was tucked into his blue pants that looked like jeans but weren't. He had hiked the bottom of the pants in an attempt to seem hipper and more fashionable than he was, he had been riding that trend for most of the summer. It was a breezy autumn day, 75 degrees and sunny. The perfect type of day. It was evening. His date was running late.

He met Kate walking his dog, pure happenstance. He remembered being in a good mood that day. The two of them were neighbors, and they bonded over the local gym. There appeared to be a mutual attraction. Javi asked for Kate's number, and she gave it to him. This was a few months ago, it had been a struggle to get Kate out. She had flaked twice already. But, finally, they set a date and here Javi was, waiting for Kate to show up. He barely recalled what she looked like at this point. He remembered she was blonde and pretty.

"Hey!" said Kate. She snuck up on him.
"Oh my god, hi!" replied Javi. They hugged. "We finally meet again."
"Yes!"

Kate was rocking classic New York chic. Black tube top tucked into her black Alexander Wang sweat pants. Black leather jacket with black shoes. She had on a touch of makeup and hoop earrings.

"I was a little worried when you wanted to meet at Washington Square Park, a lot has been going on here ever since covid," said Kate. They started walking through the park.
"Oh yeah, I guess I didn't think of that. I spend a lot of time here, usually during the day tho," replied Javi.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Is this a date?"

This took Javi by surprise. How could she possibly ask that? He had been pursuing Kate pretty consistently for a few months now. He wasn't openly hitting on her but when a guy shows that much effort to get you out, what else could it be? He went the political route.

"Why don't we just call it a meet-up?" offered Javi.
"Okay, so what do you have planned for this meet-up?" asked Kate.
"Well, I thought we could start with some coffee or a drink and then go from there. Which would you like?"
"It's a little late for coffee, don't you think?"
"A drink it is."

Javi had done his homework. He showed up to the area extra early to find nice cocktail spots. Hard to do on a warm Saturday night, especially in that neighborhood. He didn't know why but he really liked Kate. Maybe it was the build-up. Maybe it was just the chase. He didn't really know why he wanted to impress this girl, he just knew that he did. He knew exactly the place he wanted to take her to. They started walking that way.

The cocktail bar was upscale with mood lighting. Javi suggested that they sit at the bar, and Kate agreed. The bar was busy but not overly crowded. Most of the crowd was seated at tables. The place offered food but no one was there for the food.

"So what's your drink?" asked Javi.
"Tequila, the answer is always tequila. You?" replied Kate.
"Tonight, I am feeling very Old Fashioned."
"Oh, so are you old-fashioned?"
"Yes, I would say so. More than most."

Javi ordered the drinks. A tequila-based cocktail for her and an Old Fashioned for himself. From there the conversation took off. Kate was recently unemployed. She had spent the majority of her professional life working in the grueling fashion industry. She tried finding new positions but fashion did not have the same spark for her that it once had. Javi was a banker, but the lazy kind. They both grew up in New York. She grew up in Long Island, and he grew up in Manhattan.

"Long Island is not the city," said Javi poking and prodding.
"It is so! And besides I went to college in the city, I've been here ever since I was 18," replied Kate.
"Okay, I guess you're a New Yorker."
"You guess? Honey I used to run this city!"
"What does that even mean?"
"Let's just say there is no club in this city where I haven't danced on the tables."
"Oh, so you were a socialite?"
"I was the queen fucking bee."
"Wow, very Gossip Girly."
"Exactly."

After another round of drinks, Javi suggested they check out his favorite live music spot in the city, it was on the same block. Kate agreed. When they walked into the establishment the band was playing 'All The Small Things' by Blink 182. The party was on. The place was crowded but not uncomfortably so. Kate loved it. They got another round of drinks and started dancing. Not with each other, but more around each other. They were both impressed by one another's dance moves. After some time on the dance floor, the two of them stepped out for a smoke.

"Do you smoke weed?" asked Javi when they were outside as he pulled out his weed pen.
"Oh no, I can't anymore. It makes me paranoid," replied Kate.
"Oh well, more for me!"Javi took a puff of his vape pen.
"I was a major stoner in college, now I just can't do it anymore." She took out her Juul and took a puff. "Is there someplace where we can sit outside and smoke."
"I think so, this way."

They crossed the street and walked to the end of the block. There weren't seats per se, but there were wooden structures that restaurants had set up to block off traffic for outdoor dining purposes. Kate sat on the structure and leaned back looking out at the night sky. In the distance, you could see two large beams of blue light, the memorial for the twin towers. She smoked her Juul. He smoked his vape. Kate looked immaculate leaning back on the wooden structure. Javi figured the moment was right. He put his hands on both sides of Kate, on the wooden structure, and leaned into her.

"I told you I worked in sales!" said Kate as she leaned back.
"What?" asked Javi. He was a bit taken aback but he wasn't disheartened. Kate was being playful. He tried leaning in again.
"I'm not going to be that easy, I told you I worked in sales!"

The art of the deal. The dance of romance was on. Javi stopped from that point on. It wasn't that Kate wasn't ready, it was that Kate wasn't ready yet. They finished their smoke break and went back into the live music spot. They continued dancing and flirting.

Once the night was winding down Javi asked Kate if she wanted to get some pizza, and Kate did. They started walking towards the pizza place, it was quite a distance. They came upon a crosswalk where there was a woman standing trying to hail a cab.

"Oh my god, you guys look like the cutest couple," said the woman.
"Oh it's mostly her, she's a beautiful woman," said Javi.
"He's being modest. Like he doesn't know he's gorgeous," said Kate to the woman. The woman laughed.
"Add a point!" said the woman.
"What did you say?" asked Javi as he grabbed Kate's hand.
"Oh nothing!" replied Kate as she pulled away and started crossing the street. Javi followed.
"Have a good night," said Javi to the woman as they left her.
"Good night! Keep trying!" said the woman.
"Ohhhh don't you worry, I will," said Javi to the woman as he left her. Javi looked up to the sky as he was crossing the street. "Fuck you, God!" Kate couldn't help but laugh up ahead.
"Why are you cursing God?" asked Kate once Javi had finished crossing.
"He's an asshole. He put something in front of me that I simply can't have!"

They were quite drunk by now. By the time they got to Bleeker Street Pizza, they were starving. He got two margarita slices, and she got a gluten-free pie. They ate and the conversation continued.

Kate was used to the kinds of guys that pulled out all the stops for her. For example, her ex-boyfriend on their third date, flew her out to Miami for a Tiesto concert. If Javi had believed in leagues, even he would have to accept the fact that she was clearly out of his league. After finishing their pizza, Javi hailed a cab and the two of them started riding back to their neighborhood. They did live across the street after all.

"Shall we call it a night?" asked Javi as he got out of the cab in their neighborhood.
"I have to walk my dog, you're not going to join me?" asked Kate.
"Sure, I'd love to."
"Come up."

They got in Kate's elevator and rode up to her apartment. Once in the apartment, Kate started prepping her dog for the walk. This involved hugging and kissing him incessantly for 5 minutes. Her back was turned to Javi, and the lights were off. Javi wanted to make another move right there but he talked himself out of it. Kate put a leash on her dog and they made their way back down. Kate's dog was old and walked very slowly, it took well over 20 minutes for the dog to walk to the end of the block and back.

"I guess this is where I leave you," said Javi as he looked into Kate's eyes.
"Yes, thanks for a great night!" replied Kate.
"You're welcome. You are one special girl." Javi leaned in to hug Kate. They hugged. On his way out of the hug, he kissed her on the cheek. "Good night." Javi turned around and started crossing the street to his building.
"Weak!" yelled Kate as he was crossing. Javi couldn't help but look back and smile.