”Wine is gross,” Ying Sheng laughed out as she swayed with him.

”Fine, Dr. Pepper and… Thai food?” Liam asked as they moved slowly, lifting an eyebrow at her. He had found plenty of empty Dr. Pepper cans in their recycling bin, and he couldn’t count how many times she had dragged him to a Thai place to eat.

”Wow, you do know me,” Ying Sheng murmured in awe.

Liam did know her. At least on the surface. He knew the little things that she probably didn’t expect him to remember, like what her favorite coffee creamer was or what show she liked to watch the most. Increasingly, he noticed that she would be down at times, and he wasn’t sure if it was solely because of school or not.

”I want our date to be fun, and luckily, I know what you like,” Liam pointed out before playfully twirling her. It was a perk of living with her. She told him the things that she liked, even if she didn’t realize it.

”I know you too. Like, I know that you don’t do well with spicy food, so you might want to choose something else besides Thai,” Ying Sheng giggled as their hands reconnected.

”I can take the pain for you,” Liam mused, wondering how she was never phased by the spiciness. It made him feel like his face was on fire, but at least it tasted good.

”Brave too? You’re quite the catch,” Ying Sheng murmured as she smiled at him warmly.

Liam hoped that was the case. He knew that he wasn’t the smoothest or most charming guy on the planet. He stumbled over his words. He could be awkward. However, he only had her best interests in mind. Maybe that would be enough.

”So, are you free next Friday night?” Liam asked her, hating that he had to wait so long, but they were both so busy during the week. He didn’t want them to have to rush through the date so that they could get home at a decent time to get to sleep. He wanted the night to go on as long as they wanted it to.

”You know it, and I’d skip anything if I wasn’t,” Ying Sheng quipped excitedly.

Liam smiled as they slowly came to a stop, their dance coming to an end. He held her close for a few more moments before releasing her.

”Then, I’ll pick you up from your bedroom door at six on Friday night,” Liam told her, figuring that was as romantic as he could get since they lived together. Things would have to play out a little differently since they were roommates.

”Sounds like a date,” Ying Sheng replied with a bold smile that nearly knocked the breath from him.

”You better go get some work done now because you won’t have any time for it Friday night,”Liam suggested as he playfully nudged her toward the door. He didn’t want her to go, but he knew that she had plenty of work that needed to be done. He didn’t want her to stress about it during their date.

”Yeah, yeah,” Ying Sheng groaned.

Liam parted his lips to reply when his phone suddenly rang from his desk. He leaned over to grab it, a sheepish smile coming onto his face.

”Sorry, it’s my mom,” he told her. His mom checked in on him from time to time, making sure that he was doing okay and not in any trouble. He was close to his family growing up, so he didn’t mind the random calls.

Ying Sheng’s face seemed to drop a little, but she caught herself and smiled.

”Oh, okay. I’ll talk to you later,” she murmured quietly before heading out of the room.

Liam frowned as he watched her go, wondering why she had looked so crestfallen. Maybe she would tell him later. Right now, he had to answer his mom’s call because she would automatically assume the worst if he didn’t pick up the phone. He clicked on the answer button and brought the phone up to his ear.

”Hey, Mom,” he greeted her.

”Hi, sweetie. Everything going okay?”

Liam felt a smile creep across his lips. Things were great now. He wanted to tell his mom about him going on a date with Ying Sheng , who she was fond of, but he didn’t want to jinx anything.

”Things are good. Work is busy,” Liam told her, giving her the highlights instead of boring her with the details. He doubted that she would understand a word he said if he tried to explain what he did at work to her.

”That’s good to hear! How’s Ying Sheng? I bet she’s working hard since her semester is coming to an end so soon,” his mom asked.

”She’s definitely busy, but I think she’s good,” Liam murmured as he moved to sit back in his gaming chair. It was nice of his mom to ask, even if she had only met Ying Sheng once when she came to visit. His mom was the type to take his friends in as her own children, which made his house the place to hang out at when he was younger.

”Oh, good! I just wanted to check in. I hope you’re not working too hard,” his mom fretted.

Liam knew his mom still worried over him. He and his brother was the only children and his brother was never around, so to his mother he was still her baby. He almost felt bad about growing up and moving out because he knew how much she enjoyed his company. He tried to make the hour drive to visit as much as he could, but work ate up a lot of his time and he was tired on the weekend.

”I’m not, Mom. I’m getting plenty of rest, which you need to be doing now. It’s late,” Liam told her within a light laugh. His mom was a teacher, so he knew how busy she could get. He remembered seeing her return home completely drained from a long day of teaching at the middle school.

”Oh, I know. I know,” his mom laughed out. “I love you, honey.”

”I love you too,” Liam replied before bidding her goodbye and hearing the line go dead. He lowered his phone back down to the desk and leaned back in his chair, taking a moment to just revel in everything that had happened. He had actually asked Ying Sheng out. It was probably something that wasn’t a big deal to some people, but it meant the world to him.

He had some planning to do, but he was up to the task and determined to make Friday night one that she would remember. Social events were usually Ying Sheng’s thing, but he was actually excited about planning this one out. It would be fun for both of them with a little dash of romance included.

The worst part was having to wait all the way until Friday, and he knew that the week was going to drag by as slow as possible. It would be torture, but at least it would give him enough time to plan the date out. He turned to his computer screen and quit his game, not interested in playing anymore. He had more pressing matters at hand and a little research to do.