The realization hit her like a hammer to the face. Instantly, she began sorting through the events and conversations that had led them to this point. Esme's insistence that Elliot wouldn't turn down her asking for help. Elliot's slightly off reaction to seeing her dress. The very suggestion that they practice by having dinner at fancy restaurants.

  Holy… Am I on a date right now?

  Taken together, the events painted quite a compelling picture. One that left her feeling like a complete idiot.

  "Kate?"

  She forced herself to look at Elliot. She'd completely missed the last few sentences he'd spoken, engrossed as she was in her thoughts. Was she imagining the glint of warm affection in his eyes? Or had she simply overlooked it all this time? "Sorry! Just… got distracted for a second. Had a thought."

  He chuckled. "Is that really such a rarity for you? I figured you'd be used to those by now."

  Kaitlyn was too distracted to even roll her eyes at the joke. Her attention was still focused on figuring out her current situation.

  Ok. So. I'm on a date with Elliot—at least, I'm pretty darn sure I am—even though I specifically was trying to just play it cool and rest this loop. Which means I think I may have accidentally stumbled on his romance route. But… how?

  It made absolutely no sense. Even after combing through her memories, there was still no hint about what kind of deep-seated issue Elliot might be dealing with, much less how she could have possibly managed to help with it. There was nothing. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she began to doubt herself.

  Maybe… maybe I'm jumping the gun here? Maybe it's not a date, and I'm reading too much into it? I mean, this is just what I asked him for. So he really could just be helping me as a friend.

  She studied the ginger sitting across the table, his eyes beginning to fill with unasked questions. It would be easy to ask. But if it backfired…

  …I've gotta press him at least a bit. Maybe asking directly will be a one-way ticket to screwing things up. But there's too many coincidences I ignored along the way to just leave it like this.

  Kaitlyn felt her shoulders relax. Despite what she'd expected, her initial panic subsided rather quickly. There was no lingering wave of dread left in its wake, either.

  It's… ok. This isn't like with Philip. Back then, I was terrified of moving on and trying to date again. But now? I think… I think I can do this. I can handle it.

  The first course arrived just as she was considering what to say, putting the rest of their conversation on hold. A small plate bore what appeared to be a golden egg yolk set within a nest of something thinly shredded and crispy. Delicately cut pieces of carrot and squash in the shape of autumn leaves decorated the exterior of the nest, their surfaces slightly browned and textured. A light sprinkle of something red gave the whole ensemble a visual pop.

  Wow. They went all out with this plating. How much time does cutting a single one of those leaves even take?

  Kaitlyn squinted at the dish, trying to determine what exactly the different components of the dish were made out of. Until she heard someone clear his throat.

  "You know you can eat that."

  Elliot's amused comment brought a slight flush to her face. "I know! I just wanted to look at it first…"

  Kaitlyn picked up her spoon—the outermost one, as Elliot had instructed—and gingerly tasted the "yolk". A wave of pure, savory flavor washed across her tongue, followed closely after by a series of unexpected autumn spices that seamlessly rolled into each other in sequence.

  She closed her eyes, focusing on the subtle flavors as they came and went. Wow. This is… this is on another level. How did they even make this?!

  Her eyes opened once more to see if Elliot was having the same reaction. To her surprise, the picky ginger was actually eating the dish—although he didn't appear to be undergoing the same kind of religious experience. At her look, he raised a curious eyebrow. "So? What do you think?"

  "It's amazing," she readily admitted. "I don't think I've ever eaten anything like this. But… I thought you were a picky eater?"

  Elliot took another bite and swallowed before answering. "I don't hate food, you know. I just have simple preferences. Why drop a bunch of cash on something like this when I'd rather enjoy plain pasta or a sandwich? Besides, I'm not gonna sit here and just not eat all night."

  Because this is so much better, by pretty much every metric. I mean, seriously. Comparing this to Cappy's pasta is basically heresy.

  Once the last of the taste had faded, Kaitlyn dove in again, this time sampling the nest. A different, yet complimentary set of flavors greeted her, their profile meshing effortlessly with the last. Trying them together yielded yet another new and completely unique experience.

  Her attention focused on the food, her taste buds cataloging every detail. It was all too likely that she wouldn't be able to recreate this. She could only guess what was actually inside, and it was clear that a solid amount of the dish's impact stemmed from the sheer quality and freshness of the ingredients. That was something she would be hard-pressed to duplicate. Yet if she could even get close…

  …It's definitely not something I could sell. I don't even want to think about how much I'd have to charge. But just as a treat sometimes…

  They continued chatting as the next few courses came out, each consisting of a small amount of food artfully arranged on a fittingly tiny dish. Not all of them were quite as good as the first—there was some sort of seafood eggroll that felt simply too fishy for her tastes, for example. But each presented her with a fascinating flavor profile that left her with plenty of ideas for her own cooking.

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  By the time they'd made it to dessert, Kaitlyn felt surprisingly satisfied. Not full, of course—the portions were too small for that. But overall happy with the experience. Still, the food had distracted her for long enough. It was time to address the elephant in the room.

  She shot one last longing look at her empty plate before bracing herself. All right. No more putting this off. Time to get it together.

  "Hey, Elliot?" The ginger looked up from his own plate. "Can I ask you something?"

  "Sure. What's up?"

  Kaitlyn took in a deep breath, choosing her words carefully. "Why… did you agree to this?"

  He tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean? You asked me for a favor, and I said yes. What's so complicated about that?"

  "Sure, but this is more than I asked for." Kaitlyn gestured around the space. "Sure, we're trying to practice being fancy, but all this? You could've picked somewhere that was just a little nice, not… this."

  "Well, that wouldn't be great practice, now, would it? I couldn't call myself a great teacher if I cut corners like that."

  She remained silent. As it became clear that she wasn't going to rise to the bait, Elliot's smile faded slightly. With a sigh, he set down his drink. "Do I need a reason? I could just enjoy your company, you know."

  "Sure, but… is that really all there is to it?"She pressed him. The words came out before she could consider whether they'd be going too far. "You could have done this in so many other ways—or not at all. I'm sure you have other things you could be doing, too. So… why this? Why here? Why me?"

  A bitter chuckle escaped him. "Now you're starting to sound like me. Since when did you become such a cynic?"

  Since you've never acted like this in a single other loop.

  That thought remained safely inside her head as she continued to stare expectantly at Elliot. Before long, he shook his head. "Fine, fine. If you're going to twist my arm…"

  The ginger settled back in his seat, thinking for a second before he spoke. "There's… a few reasons. First of all, it is true—I do legitimately enjoy your company. Despite what you might think, you're quite fun to be around. Even when you're destroying me in Bash Bros. I enjoy hanging out with you, whether it's in lab or studying or whatever.

  "Which brings me to reason number two." He frowned, hesitating. "It's… considerably more selfish, if we're being honest. I'm not sure if you want to hear it."

  Kaitlyn crossed her arms. "Of course I do. Especially after that."

  Elliot gave her a wry smile. "Fair enough. Then…" He let out a long breath. "The second reason… well, to be blunt, it's that you're easy to be around. Comfortable. It feels like I can actually relax around you. Because… I don't have to worry about you having some kind of angle or motive."

  "Why not?" She asked.

  "Well…" Elliot shifted. "Because you don't need to. You're doing pretty darn well for yourself, Kate. You have money, a great job, successful hobbies… What could I offer you that you couldn't get yourself?"

  Kaitlyn's eyebrows felt as though they were about to crawl right off her forehead. She had to take a moment to digest the information. Elliot enjoying her company was one thing. She could believe that. But the idea that she was somehow successful enough that there was nothing he could offer her? That was completely absurd.

  Though… it kind of isn't, I guess. He has a point. I've come a pretty long way from being just a normal college student.

  Still, something about the idea rubbed her the wrong way. Was he really just interested in her because she was successful? Because she was doing well for herself?

  Elliot took another sip of his drink. For the first time that Kaitlyn could remember, he actually looked a little uncomfortable. "Told you it was selfish. You wanted the truth, though, so there you have it. But don't take it the wrong way."

  "What do you mean?"

  "It's not some kind of classist thing. Like I only want to hang out around successful people." He began to explain as though reading her mind. "I'm not trying to get anything out of you, either. It's just refreshing to be around someone who doesn't see this insurmountable gap between me and them. It's one thing to say that you don't care about money, status, fame, and all that. But actually acting like it, actually being able to back it up? Well… that's pretty rare. Esme's about the only example I've run into, and she's family."

  Kaitlyn bit her lip, considering whether to voice her question on her tongue. "How do you know I don't care? That I'm not just around you for your money or something?"

  "I guess you could be. But like I said, it's not like you stand a whole lot to gain from it. Not from what I've seen." Elliot smiled at her. "And besides, I've gotten pretty good at spotting stuff like that from a mile away. I'm used to people having an angle. And Kate, you've never seemed like the type to me."

  His expression seemed almost wistful as he finished speaking. The statement reminded her of just how often Elliot probably had to deal with things like that—inauthentic people cozying up to him for favors or some other benefit that had nothing to do with him as a person. It made her feel a bit of sympathy for his situation.

  Though… he's not entirely right. I do have an angle. It's just one that I couldn't possibly tell him about. Not that he'd understand or believe me about the time loop thing, anyway.

  "Is it really that bad, though?" She couldn't help but ask. "I mean, what about other rich kids? By your logic, wouldn't they be fine to hang out with?"

  Elliot was already shaking his head. "You're not entirely wrong. But it's not just about being rich or successful. Honestly, the rich kids can be even worse with all the political games they play—keeping good relations with potential business partners or their kids, that kind of stuff. If they're not just outright narcissists. There's more to it than that."

  He picked a piece of lint off his dress shirt. "...Have you ever wondered why celebrities always date other celebrities?"

  Kaitlyn frowned. "No. But now that you mention it…"

  Elliot nodded. "It's for a lot of reasons - publicity, marketing, all of that. But one of them is that they can understand each other. It's hard for most people to fathom that kind of lifestyle. The good parts, of course, but the bad stuff too—a lack of privacy, the expectations, how hard it can be to go out in public… All that. I'm not saying my situation is exactly like that—thankfully not—but it's the same idea. At least, that's how I see it."

  Is that what you're doing here? Trying to date someone who understands you?

  Before she could voice the question, the next dessert course arrived. The moment seemed to pop like a soap bubble in its wake, and the question suddenly felt far out of reach.

  It's ok. I don't have to ask right now. No sense in pushing things even further, not all at once.

  Still, Kaitlyn didn't want to entirely leave things like that. If Elliot was actually interested in her like she was beginning to suspect, then the least she could do was reciprocate. Even better if she could do it in a "selfish" way that he might understand.

  "You know…" she began, digging her spoon into the bowl of citrusy sorbet sitting before her. "I can bring a plus one to the work party. And I'd feel a lot more comfortable if there was someone else I knew there…"

  Elliot's eyebrows raised, then settled down as he gave her a lopsided smile. "Sure. I'd love to go. Well, as long as you're not clinging to me the whole night."

  "I would not! What do you even take me for?"

  "A scaredy cat. Obviously. It's in the name."

  She leaned forward, attempting to swat at his arm across the table and failing. He just laughed. "You know, in polite society, you're supposed to kick the guy under the table instead."

  She obliged.

  "Much better. Also, ow."