Chapter 190 | I Checked Your Schedule (It’s Not Weird)
Chapter 190: 190 | I Checked Your Schedule (It’s Not Weird)
The lecture ended at ten fifty and students began filtering out of the hall in waves. Kumiko gathered her things with the kind of manic energy that suggested she’d been vibrating in her seat for the past hour, waiting for freedom. Her notebook was now approximately sixty percent dragons and forty percent actual economics notes.
"Jordan-kun!" She grabbed his sleeve before he could stand. "What are you doing after this? Do you have class? Please say you don’t have class. I checked your schedule and I think you have a gap until sociology at one but I wanted to confirm because sometimes people change their schedules and I didn’t want to assume—"
"You checked my schedule?"
Kumiko’s face went pink. "Chloe told me. It’s not like I... I didn’t hack into the registrar’s database or anything. That would be weird. And also probably illegal. Though technically I could do it because I took a coding class in high school and—"
"Kumiko."
"Yes?"
"I have a gap until one."
Her eyes lit up like someone had plugged her into a power outlet. "Really? That’s amazing! I mean, obviously I knew that already because Chloe told me but hearing you say it makes it feel more real and now I’m wondering if maybe we could—"
"Do you want to go somewhere?"
The question stopped her mid-ramble. She stared at him with her mouth slightly open, her twin tails swaying as she processed the implications.
"Like... together? Just us? Without Chloe? On a date? An actual date? Like boyfriends and girlfriends go on? That kind of date?"
"That kind of date."
Kumiko made a sound that was somewhere between a squeak and a scream. Several departing students turned to look at them. One guy in the front row actually dropped his textbook.
"Yes! I mean, obviously yes! Where are we going? Should I change? I feel like I should change. This outfit is fine for class but it’s not really date-appropriate and I want to make a good impression even though you’ve already seen me at my worst which was probably when I couldn’t stop staring at your hip bone yesterday and—"
Jordan stood and offered her his hand. "Come on."
Kumiko took it.
Her fingers were small and warm against his palm. She squeezed with surprising strength, like she was afraid he might disappear if she didn’t hold on tight enough. Jordan led her out of the lecture hall, past the rows of empty seats, past the lingering students checking their phones.
Past Alexis, who was still typing at her laptop and definitely not watching them leave.
Definitely not.
Outside, the California sun was warm and the campus was busy with students moving between classes. Jordan pulled out his phone and checked the time. Almost eleven. That gave them about two hours before he needed to be back for sociology.
Two hours wasn’t much but it was enough.
"Where are we going?" Kumiko asked, practically bouncing as she walked beside him. "Is it far? Should we drive? I have my car but it’s parked really far away and also there might be a coffee cup situation in the back seat that I’ve been meaning to clean up but haven’t gotten around to—"
"The aquarium."
Kumiko stopped walking.
Jordan turned to look at her. She was standing completely still in the middle of the pathway, her twin tails frozen mid-swing, her eyes wide and glistening.
"The... the aquarium?"
"Newport Beach has one near the pier. It’s small but they have a jellyfish exhibit."
"You want to take me to see jellyfish?"
"I heard you like them."
That was technically true. Kumiko had mentioned it in her stream two nights ago while designing a jellyfish-themed costume for an upcoming convention. Jordan had been watching in bed while Chloe slept beside him, listening to Kumiko ramble about bioluminescence and ethereal movement and how jellyfish represented the beauty of existing without a brain.
"I love jellyfish," Kumiko whispered. "They’re my favorite animal. They’re just... floating. Glowing. Being pretty. Not thinking about anything. Just vibing."
"Then let’s go watch them vibe."
Kumiko tackled him in a hug that nearly knocked him off his feet. Her arms wrapped around his torso and her face pressed into his chest and she made a sound that was probably supposed to be words but came out as an unintelligible series of happy noises.
"Mmmphh... Jordan-kun... nnnhh..."
Students walking past gave them looks ranging from amused to envious. Jordan patted Kumiko’s head, which made her melt further into his chest.
"We should probably get moving if we want to make it back for class."
"Mmm... five more seconds..."
"Okay."
He let her have her five seconds. Then ten. Then fifteen. Eventually she pulled away, her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling with moisture that she rapidly blinked away.
"Sorry. I just... no one’s ever taken me on a date to see jellyfish before. Most guys want to go to dinner or movies or whatever. Normal date stuff. But you remembered that I like jellyfish and you actually planned something around it and I’m trying really hard not to cry right now because that would be embarrassing."
"You can cry if you want."
"I know but if I start I might not stop and then my makeup will be ruined and I’ll look terrible in all the pictures and—"
"You look fine."
"Fine?"
"Beautiful. You look beautiful."
Kumiko’s face went from pink to crimson. She covered her cheeks with both hands and turned away, making small distressed sounds that sounded vaguely like a kettle reaching boiling point.
"You can’t just... say things like that! With your face! And your voice! It’s not fair!"
Jordan took her hand again and started walking toward the parking structure. His car was on the third level. If traffic cooperated, they could be at the aquarium in twenty minutes.
The drive was filled with Kumiko’s nonstop commentary about jellyfish biology, aquarium exhibit design, and approximately fourteen different tangents that somehow connected back to either Jordan or Chloe or both. Jordan learned that moon jellies could regenerate their bodies, that box jellyfish had eyes, and that Kumiko once cried for three hours after watching a documentary about jellyfish migration patterns.
"It was just so beautiful," she explained while Jordan navigated the Pacific Coast Highway. "All those jellies, just floating together, going wherever the current takes them. No stress. No anxiety. No overthinking every single decision until you’re paralyzed by indecision and can’t even order food at a restaurant because what if you pick wrong and regret it forever."
"That sounds specific."
"It happened once! One time! And the waiter was really mean about it!"